Retired Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland

Retired Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland, who served as the ninth archbishop of Milwaukee from 1977 until his retirement in 2002, died overnight at Clement Manor in Greenfield, Wis., where he was living, the archdiocese announced Aug. 22. He was 95.

"For a quarter of a century, Archbishop Weakland led the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and his leadership embodied his Benedictine spirit," said Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki. "His pastoral letter, 'Eucharist without Walls,' evoked his love for the Eucharist and its call to service."

"During his time, he emphasized an openness to the implementation of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, including the role of lay men and women in the Church, the celebration of the sacred liturgy, ecumenical dialogue and addressing societal issues, especially economic justice," he added. "May he now rest in peace."

Raised in Pennsylvania and ordained a Benedictine priest, the future archbishop rose to lead his religious order. He was 36 when he was elected archabbot for life of St. Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pa. In 1967, the Benedictines, while meeting in Rome, elected him the fifth abbot primate.

Archbishop Weakland chaired the committee that developed the U.S. Catholic bishops' 1986 pastoral letter on the economy. He ranked that document's development and the "events that surrounded it" among "the most important and formative periods of my life."

A cloud hung over Archbishop Weakland in 2002 when he retired as Milwaukee's archbishop. He submitted his resignation to St. John Paul II in April when he turned 75, the age canon law requires bishops to submit their resignation to the pope.

The following month news broke of a 1998 archdiocesan settlement with a man named Paul Marcoux, who had accused the prelate of sexual abuse. Archbishop Weakland acknowledged he had had an improper relationship with Marcoux in 1979 but denied Marcoux's claim that he had been sexually assaulted. The archdiocese made a $450,000 payment to Marcoux to settle his claim.

The payment was leaked to new media and the pope accepted the archbishop's resignation the day after the story broke.

(Cardinal Dolan succeeded Archbishop Weakland as archbishop of Milwaukee, a post he continued to hold until his appointment to New York in 2009.)

On May 31, 2002, Archbishop Weakland issued an apology to the archdiocese "for the scandal that has occurred because of my sinfulness."

With money he earned from speaking and writing, and through funds raised by friends, Archbishop Weakland repaid the $450,000 to the archdiocese.

Born in Patton, Pa., he enrolled at the minor seminary run by the Benedictine monks of St. Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe. In 1945, he entered the novitiate of the archabbey. He went on to study at St. Vincent College and St. Vincent Seminary, also run by the archabbey.

He made his solemn profession as a monk in 1949 in France. In 1951, he was ordained to the priesthood. He furthered his studies in music in Italy, France, and Germany, as well as at the Juilliard School and Columbia University, both in Manhattan.

In 1964, he received a papal appointment as consultor to the Commission for Implementing the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council, and was appointed a member of that commission in 1968.

He was elected abbot primate of the International Benedictine Confederation in 1967. He also became chancellor of the International Benedictine College of Sant'Anselmo in Rome. He was re-elected to a second term as abbot primate in 1973.

St. Pope Paul VI named him Milwaukee's archbishop Sept. 20, 1977. His episcopal ordination and installation was Nov. 8, 1977.

In 1999, he received a doctorate in musicology, "with distinction," from Columbia University for his research and thesis on "The Office Antiphons of the Ambrosian Chant."

Funeral arrangements were pending. —CNS