Leo Thomas Maher
Encyclopedia
Leo Thomas Maher was an American
prelate
of the Roman Catholic Church
. He served as Bishop of Santa Rosa
(1962-69) and Bishop of San Diego
(1969-90).
, Iowa
, the fifth of nine children of Thomas Joseph Maher (1862-1941) and Mary Agnes Teberg (1886-1946). His father was an Irish
immigrant who was from Shankill, Kilkenny
. As a child, he moved to California
, where he lived with his uncle, Rev. Edward J. Maher (1879-1960), pastor of St. Patrick Church in Oakland. His uncle spoke of his seminary life 1900-1906 at St. Patrick Seminary in Thurles, Ireland. Leo Maher attended 1927-1929, St. Patrick Elementary School in Oakland. In 1929 Leo began his studies for the priesthood
at St. Joseph High School in Mountain View and St. Joseph's College in Mountain View
. Father Edward Maher asked Archbishop Edward Hanna to be appointed pastor of St. Patrick Church in San Jose, the elder Maher would be closer to Leo in Mountain View. Edward J. Maher was appointed a Domestic Prelate, July 2, 1939 by Pope Pius XII. Leo Maher attended the investure of Right Reverend Monsignor Edward J. Maher by Archbishop Mitty at St. Patrick Church in San Jose. Leo Maher started the major seminary in 1938 and completed his theological studies in 1943 at St. Patrick's Seminary
in Menlo Park
.
a priest by Archbishop John Joseph Mitty
on December 18, 1943 at St.Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco. His first assignment was as a curate
at Holy Name of Jesus Church in San Francisco, where he remained for one year before serving at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption
(1944-47). He organized the prayer service for the 1945 meeting of the United Nations
in San Francisco.
From 1947 to 1961, Maher served as secretary to Archbishop Mitty. He was named a domestic prelate
by Pope Pius XII
on November 4, 1954. He served as chancellor
of the Archdiocese of San Francisco
from 1956 to 1962.
of the newly-erected Diocese of Santa Rosa
by Pope John XXIII
. He received his episcopal
consecration
on the following April 5 from Archbishop Egidio Vagnozzi
, with Bishops Hugh Aloysius Donohoe
and Merlin Joseph Guilfoyle serving as co-consecrators
, at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption. During his seven-year tenure, he led a program to build new parishes
and schools
to serve the increasing Catholic population in the diocese, culminating in the establishment of seven parishes, one mission, three high schools, four elementary schools, and several rectories
and convent
s. He also elevated three missions to parish status and oversaw major renovations of four existing parish churches.
He attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council
between 1962 and 1965.
, Maher was named the third Bishop of San Diego
on August 22, 1969. At the time of his arrival, the Diocese of San Diego was about $15 million in debt, which Maher fully retired by 1980. He presided over the second diocesan synod
from 1973 to 1976, revising the statutes and guidelines of the diocese to implement the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. In 1976 he created the first Diocesan Pastoral Council
. He ended the official relationship between the diocese and the University of San Diego
, establishing the school as a separate corporation.
Maher was a strong supporter of the ecumenical movement
, co-founding the San Diego County Ecumenical Conference and issuing joint statements on morality with non-Catholic religious leaders. He also supported workers' rights to organize into unions
, but pledged an official neutrality in a farm labor dispute in 1971. That same year, he suspended Father Victor Salandini, a San Diego priest and ally of César Chávez
, for wearing a serape with the black eagle of the United Farm Workers
instead of proper vestment
s and for using tortilla
s instead of sacramental bread
during his Masses
.
In 1975, he prohibited Catholics who are members of pro-choice
organizations from receiving communion or serving as lector
s, specifically citing the National Organization for Women
for its "shameless agitation." In 1980, Maher issued a public condemnation of the Ku Klux Klan
, saying that knowingly voting for a racist or a Klan member may constitute a sin
. He prohibited priests from celebrating Mass for Dignity
, a pro-LGBT
Catholic organization, but once celebrated a Mass himself for AIDS
patients at St. Joseph's Cathedral.
In November 1989, during a special election for the State Senate
in a San Diego-based district, Maher received national attention after prohibiting State Assemblywoman
Lucy Killea, a Catholic Democrat
, from receiving communion because of her support for abortion
rights. According to Maher, her position placed her in "complete contradiction to the moral teachings of the Catholic Church." Killea, who refused to change her position, was the first political candidate to receive this censure. She eventually won the election, acknowledging (along with her opponent) that Maher's action helped her win by creating voter sympathy and publicizing her candidacy.
. He later died at his residence in the Mission Hills
section of San Diego, at age 75.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
prelate
Prelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. He served as Bishop of Santa Rosa
Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa in California
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa in California is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the northern California region of the United States, named in honor of St. Rose of Lima. It comprises the Counties of Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa and...
(1962-69) and Bishop of San Diego
Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego
The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego is a particular church of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in the western region of the United States. Its ecclesiastic territory includes all of San Diego and Imperial Counties in Southern California, with a Catholic population of 1,981,057...
(1969-90).
Early life and education
Leo Maher was born in Mount UnionMount Union, Iowa
Mount Union is a city in Henry County, Iowa, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 132.-Geography:Mount Union is located at ....
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, the fifth of nine children of Thomas Joseph Maher (1862-1941) and Mary Agnes Teberg (1886-1946). His father was an Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
immigrant who was from Shankill, Kilkenny
Kilkenny
Kilkenny is a city and is the county town of the eponymous County Kilkenny in Ireland. It is situated on both banks of the River Nore in the province of Leinster, in the south-east of Ireland...
. As a child, he moved to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where he lived with his uncle, Rev. Edward J. Maher (1879-1960), pastor of St. Patrick Church in Oakland. His uncle spoke of his seminary life 1900-1906 at St. Patrick Seminary in Thurles, Ireland. Leo Maher attended 1927-1929, St. Patrick Elementary School in Oakland. In 1929 Leo began his studies for the priesthood
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
at St. Joseph High School in Mountain View and St. Joseph's College in Mountain View
Mountain View, California
-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...
. Father Edward Maher asked Archbishop Edward Hanna to be appointed pastor of St. Patrick Church in San Jose, the elder Maher would be closer to Leo in Mountain View. Edward J. Maher was appointed a Domestic Prelate, July 2, 1939 by Pope Pius XII. Leo Maher attended the investure of Right Reverend Monsignor Edward J. Maher by Archbishop Mitty at St. Patrick Church in San Jose. Leo Maher started the major seminary in 1938 and completed his theological studies in 1943 at St. Patrick's Seminary
Saint Patrick Seminary, Menlo Park
Saint Patrick's Seminary and University in Menlo Park, California is a Roman Catholic post-graduate seminary whose primary mission is the formation of clergy for Western and Pacific Rim dioceses, orders, religious congregations and secular institutes...
in Menlo Park
Menlo Park, California
Menlo Park, California is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, in the United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Stanford to the south; Atherton, North Fair Oaks, and Redwood City...
.
Priesthood
Maher was ordainedHoly Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
a priest by Archbishop John Joseph Mitty
John Joseph Mitty
John Joseph Mitty was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the third Bishop of Salt Lake City and the fourth Archbishop of San Francisco .-Early life and education:...
on December 18, 1943 at St.Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco. His first assignment was as a curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
at Holy Name of Jesus Church in San Francisco, where he remained for one year before serving at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption
Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption
The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, also known locally as Saint Mary's Cathedral, is the principal church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco in San Francisco, California...
(1944-47). He organized the prayer service for the 1945 meeting of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
in San Francisco.
From 1947 to 1961, Maher served as secretary to Archbishop Mitty. He was named a domestic prelate
Monsignor
Monsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...
by Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
on November 4, 1954. He served as chancellor
Chancellor (ecclesiastical)
Two quite distinct officials of some Christian churches have the title Chancellor.*In some churches, the Chancellor of a diocese is a lawyer who represents the church in legal matters....
of the Archdiocese of San Francisco
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northern California region of the United States. It covers the City and County of San Francisco and the Counties of Marin and San Mateo...
from 1956 to 1962.
Santa Rosa
On January 27, 1962, Maher was appointed the first BishopOrdinary
In those hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ecclesiastical law system, an ordinary is an officer of the church who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute the church's laws...
of the newly-erected Diocese of Santa Rosa
Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa in California
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa in California is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the northern California region of the United States, named in honor of St. Rose of Lima. It comprises the Counties of Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa and...
by Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
. He received his episcopal
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
consecration
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
on the following April 5 from Archbishop Egidio Vagnozzi
Egidio Vagnozzi
Edigio Vagnozzi was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as the second president of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See from 1968 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1967.-Biography:Egidio Vagnozzi was born in Rome to Francesco and Pasqua ...
, with Bishops Hugh Aloysius Donohoe
Hugh Aloysius Donohoe
Hugh Aloysius Donohoe was an American Roman Catholic clergyman.Born in San Francisco, California, Donohoe was educated at St. Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park and at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 14, 1930. He then served as a...
and Merlin Joseph Guilfoyle serving as co-consecrators
Consecrator
Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...
, at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption. During his seven-year tenure, he led a program to build new parishes
Parish (Catholic Church)
In the Roman Catholic Church, a parish is the lowest ecclesiastical geographical subdivision: from ecclesiastical province to diocese to deanery to parish.-Requirements:A parish needs two things under common law to become a parish...
and schools
Catholic school
Catholic schools are maintained parochial schools or education ministries of the Catholic Church. the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system...
to serve the increasing Catholic population in the diocese, culminating in the establishment of seven parishes, one mission, three high schools, four elementary schools, and several rectories
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
and convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
s. He also elevated three missions to parish status and oversaw major renovations of four existing parish churches.
He attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
between 1962 and 1965.
San Diego
Following the promotion of Bishop Francis James Furey to the Archdiocese of San AntonioRoman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio encompasses in Texas.The archdiocese includes the city of San Antonio and the following counties: Val Verde, Edwards, Kerr, Gillespie, Kendall, Comal, Guadalupe, Gonzales, Uvalde, Kinney, Medina, Bexar, Wilson, Karnes, Frio, Atascosa, and McMullen.On...
, Maher was named the third Bishop of San Diego
Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego
The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego is a particular church of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in the western region of the United States. Its ecclesiastic territory includes all of San Diego and Imperial Counties in Southern California, with a Catholic population of 1,981,057...
on August 22, 1969. At the time of his arrival, the Diocese of San Diego was about $15 million in debt, which Maher fully retired by 1980. He presided over the second diocesan synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
from 1973 to 1976, revising the statutes and guidelines of the diocese to implement the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. In 1976 he created the first Diocesan Pastoral Council
Pastoral Council
Not to be confused with Parish councilIn Catholic dioceses and parishes, Pastoral Councils may be established by the diocesan Bishop or pastor. They are consultative bodies which serve to advise them regarding pastoral issues....
. He ended the official relationship between the diocese and the University of San Diego
University of San Diego
The University of San Diego is a Roman Catholic university in San Diego, California. USD offers more than sixty bachelor's, master’s, and doctoral programs...
, establishing the school as a separate corporation.
Maher was a strong supporter of the ecumenical movement
Catholic Church and ecumenism
The Catholic Church has been heavily involved in the ecumenical movement since the Second Vatican Council .- Before the Second Vatican Council :...
, co-founding the San Diego County Ecumenical Conference and issuing joint statements on morality with non-Catholic religious leaders. He also supported workers' rights to organize into unions
Labor unions in the United States
Labor unions in the United States are legally recognized as representatives of workers in many industries. The most prominent unions are among public sector employees such as teachers and police...
, but pledged an official neutrality in a farm labor dispute in 1971. That same year, he suspended Father Victor Salandini, a San Diego priest and ally of César Chávez
César Chávez
César Estrada Chávez was an American farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist who, with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers ....
, for wearing a serape with the black eagle of the United Farm Workers
United Farm Workers
The United Farm Workers of America is a labor union created from the merging of two groups, the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee led by Filipino organizer Larry Itliong, and the National Farm Workers Association led by César Chávez...
instead of proper vestment
Vestment
Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially among Latin Rite and other Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, and Lutherans...
s and for using tortilla
Tortilla
In Mexico and Central America, a tortilla is a type of thin, unleavened flat bread, made from finely ground maize...
s instead of sacramental bread
Sacramental bread
Sacramental bread, sometimes called the lamb, altar bread, host or simply Communion bread, is the bread which is used in the Christian ritual of the Eucharist.-Eastern Catholic and Orthodox:...
during his Masses
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
.
In 1975, he prohibited Catholics who are members of pro-choice
Pro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
organizations from receiving communion or serving as lector
Lector
Lector is a Latin term for one who reads, whether aloud or not. In modern languages the word has come to take various forms, as either a development or a loan, such as , , and . It has various specialized uses:...
s, specifically citing the National Organization for Women
National Organization for Women
The National Organization for Women is the largest feminist organization in the United States. It was founded in 1966 and has a membership of 500,000 contributing members. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S...
for its "shameless agitation." In 1980, Maher issued a public condemnation of the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
, saying that knowingly voting for a racist or a Klan member may constitute a sin
Sin
In religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...
. He prohibited priests from celebrating Mass for Dignity
DignityUSA
DignityUSA is a U.S. organization with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts that "works for respect and justice" for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons in the Roman Catholic Church and the world through education, advocacy and support...
, a pro-LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
Catholic organization, but once celebrated a Mass himself for AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
patients at St. Joseph's Cathedral.
In November 1989, during a special election for the State Senate
California State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...
in a San Diego-based district, Maher received national attention after prohibiting State Assemblywoman
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...
Lucy Killea, a Catholic Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, from receiving communion because of her support for abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
rights. According to Maher, her position placed her in "complete contradiction to the moral teachings of the Catholic Church." Killea, who refused to change her position, was the first political candidate to receive this censure. She eventually won the election, acknowledging (along with her opponent) that Maher's action helped her win by creating voter sympathy and publicizing her candidacy.
Later life and death
Maher resigned as Bishop of San Diego on July 10, 1990, after governing the diocese for twenty-one years and reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75. That same year, he underwent two operations for a malignant brain tumorBrain tumor
A brain tumor is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain or the central spinal canal.Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal...
. He later died at his residence in the Mission Hills
Mission Hills, San Diego, California
Mission Hills is a neighborhood of San Diego, California, USA. It is located on hills just south of the San Diego River valley and north of downtown San Diego, overlooking Old Town and San Diego Bay. It was subdivided on January 20, 1908 as a smaller portion of what is now referred to as Mission...
section of San Diego, at age 75.