Retired Bishop Albert H. Ottenweller died Sunday following a brief illness.
Ottenweller
was 96 years old and had been living in Toledo since his retirement as
bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Steubenville.
Diocesan
Communications Director Pat DeFrancis confirmed Ottenweller's death
Sunday night but said funeral services had not been determined as of
this morning.
"Viewing services for Bishop Ottenweller will be held in Toledo and
his body will then be brought to Steubenville where a Vigil Service and
funeral Mass will be held at the Holy Name Cathedral," said DeFrancis.
"Archbishop
Dennis M. Schnurr of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati will be the
celebrant of the funeral Mass. The day and time of that service has not
been set yet," said DeFrancis.
DeFrancis said Ottenweller was one of the oldest living bishops in the Catholic Church.
"He had become fragile in his physical mobility in recent months, but his mind was still very sharp," she added.
Ottenweller
was unable to attend the recent ordination and installation of Bishop
Jeffrey M. Monforton of the Steubenville Diocese but sent a personal
greeting to the new spiritual leader.
Monforton noted during his
personal remarks following his installation that he had the opportunity
to visit with Ottenweller earlier this month.
"It has come with
great sadness that we have learned that our brother and former ordinary
of the Steubenville Diocese died yesterday morning in Toledo. I received
word yesterday afternoon upon my return from meetings at the Vatican,"
Monforton said this morning.
"In my visit with the bishop,
approximately three weeks ago, the bishop expressed his deep love for
his people in the Steubenville Diocese and the very fond memories, which
were in his heart. I indicated to him how grateful I was to succeed him
as shepherd, knowing how well respected and loved he was by the
faithful of Steubenville," Monforton said.
"In my limited
experience with the bishop, when I was Cardinal Adam Maida's secretary,
Bishop Ottenweller was always kind and approachable. In my conversations
with the chancery staff, as well as some of the faithful in the
Steubenville Diocese, I came away with the understanding that Bishop
Ottenweller was a deeply spiritual and faithful man, who constantly
stressed our need to reach out to the disenfranchised and outcast in our
society and that in his leadership he always came across as a
gentleman," said Monforton.
Ottenweller moved to northwestern Ohio when he was 6 years old.
He
received degrees in philosophy and theology from the Catholic
University of America in Washington, D.C., in 1943 and was ordained a
parish priest in the Diocese of Toledo that year.
According to
his biography on the Steubenville Diocesan website, Ottenweller was
named auxiliary bishop of the Toledo diocese on April 17, 1974, by Pope
Paul VI.
Ottenweller was named the second bishop of the
Steubenville Diocese and installed as the spiritual leader of the 40,000
eastern Ohio Catholics on Nov. 22, 1977.
He retired as the bishop of the Steubenville diocese on April 2, 1992.
The
diocesan website credited Ottenweller for establishing a Diocesan
processing department in order to have a census of the entire Diocese of
Steubenville, the diocesan finance board and converting the former Fort
Steuben Hotel into a housing complex for the elderly.
He also founded the Diocesan/Parish Share Campaign as a method of funding for the diocese.