Retired Bishop Lucker dies

By RACHEL WEDDIG

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Bishop Raymond Alphonse Lucker, 74, second bishop of the Diocese of New Ulm, died Wednesday at Our Lady Good Counsel Home in St. Paul.

Lucker, a leading progressive voice in the Roman Catholic Church, was bishop of the New Ulm Diocese for 25 years, from 1975 until his retirement in November of 2000.

He spent a lifetime devoted to the renewal of the church through religious education.

"Bishop Lucker worked tirelessly for the good of the people entrusted to his care," said Bishop John Nienstedt of the Diocese of New Ulm in a statement. "He had a passion for fostering ecumenical relations, for promoting social concern on issues of justice and peace and for empowering lay men and women in the ministry of evangelization, catechesis and as he said, in the transformation of the world."

Lucker was one of the first bishops to openly favor ordaining married men to deal with a shortage of priests in some parts of the world.

Latin rite priests in the Roman Catholic church are required to be celibate.

Lucker led the diocese -- which has about 80 parishes -- from 1975 until late last year. He was known for working with the poor and American Indians, and for supporting weapons disarmament and greater relief for farmers.

Lucker also expanded the role of women in the church and clashed with the church's hierarchy by advocating the ordination of married men.

Lucker was a pioneer in the renewal movement nationwide of the Catholic church and a leader in the development of religious education.

Lucker's devotion to the people of the diocese led him to establish a comprehensive parish planning effort to ensure that small parishes would not go without pastoral leadership because of the shortage of priests. He was the first bishop in the United States to appoint pastoral administrators as leaders of parishes in March of 1981.

Lucker reached beyond the Catholic Church. Bishop Stanley Olson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America for Southwest Minnesota, and a former pastor of Our Savior's Lutheran Church in New Ulm, received a warm greeting when he came to New Ulm.

"When I arrived in New Ulm in 1987, there was a letter on my desk from Lucker inviting me out to lunch," Olson said. "That kind of warm hospitality continued throughout all the years. He was a superb ecumenical colleague. He was a very strong in his Catholic faith and on that foundation he reached out to others. I extend my sympathy on behalf of our church to the people of the diocese."

The Rev. Dennis Labat worked with Lucker for 10 years. He serves part time at St. Raphael's Catholic Church in Redwood Falls and also is the supervisor for pastoral administration for the Diocese of New Ulm.

"One of the things I admired most was his very deep and sincere love for the church and for all people," Labat said. "He also felt it was always important to consult and ask for the input of others and felt there was a wisdom of the people."

Lucker was ordained to the priesthood in 1952.

Lucker was nationally recognized for his actions on behalf of social justice issues. Serving for 20 years as Episcopal Moderator of Pax Christi USA, a national Catholic peace movement, he embraced the belief that nonviolence is the heart of Christian faith and received the organization's highest honor, the Ambassador of Peace Award in July.

The Rev. Richard Bonin of St. Michael's Catholic Church in Gaylord was studying with two other priests in Wisconsin when he heard Lucker had been named bishop.

"When I heard the news, two other priests and I happened to be studying in Wisconsin, and we drove over to congratulate him at his mother's cabin which also is in Wisconsin," Bonin said. "I've been with him all these years. He's been a very good bishop and was a gentle man and it was easy to work with him and for him."

Colleagues of Lucker will remember him for his caring and compassionate nature.

"He certainly was a grace-filled man who led us as people," said the Rev. Germain Rademacher of St. Catherine's Catholic Church in Redwood Falls. "He was a very human, down-to-earth person who was guided by an inner spirit, who led him in the growth and movement of the church. He was a friend and my bishop for 25 years and I appreciated his leadership and friendship and he helped me to become a better pastor."

The Rev. John Berger of St. Paul's Catholic Church in Nicollet served as the interim administrator between Lucker's retirement and the installation of Nienstedt.

"I don't know what a person says -- we all knew he was dying and was grateful he could get to God and go in peace," Berger said. "An awful lot of people haven't known anyone else but him."

For service times please turn to the obituary on page 5A.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.