Ignatius Jerome Strecker (November 23, 1917 – October 16, 2003) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He served as archbishop of the

Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas ( la, Archidioecesis Kansanopolitana in Kansas) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical province or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the United States of America. The archbishop's episcopal seat is locat ...

from 1969 to 1993. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau in Missouri from 1962 to 1969.

Biography

Early life

Ignatius Strecker was born on November 23, 1917 in

Spearville, Kansas Spearville is a city in Ford County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 791. History 19th century The land for the townsite of Spearville was deeded by the Santa Fe to the Arkansas Valley Town Compan ...

, to William and Mary (Knoeber) Strecker. He was baptized at St. John the Baptist Church, where his parents were also the first couple to be married. He had a brother, Henry; and five sisters, Agnes, Catherine, Mary, Elizabeth, and Wilhelmina. Strecker attended Maur Hill High School and St. Benedict's College, both in

Atchison, Kansas Atchison is a city and county seat of Atchison County, Kansas, United States, along the Missouri River. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 10,885. The city is named in honor of US Senator David Rice Atchison from Missouri ...

. He then went to Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis.

Priesthood

Strecker was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

to the priesthood for the Diocese of Wichita by Bishop Christian Winkelmann on December 19, 1942, celebrating his first

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

in his native Spearville two days later. He then studied

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

at the Catholic University of America, and was later made chancellor of the Diocese of Wichita in 1948.

Bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau

On April 7, 1962, Strecker was appointed the second Bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau,

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, by

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

. He received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

on June 20, 1962, from Archbishop Edward Hunkeler, with Bishops

Charles Helmsing Charles Herman Helmsing (March 23, 1908 – December 20, 1993) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Kansas City–St. Joseph in Missouri (1962–1977). Biography Early life Helmsing w ...

and Marion Forst serving as co-consecrators, in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. From 1962 to 1965, Strecker attended the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

in Rome.

Archbishop of Kansas City

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

named Strecker as the second archbishop of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas on September 4, 1969. At age 51, Strecker was the second youngest

of that rank in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. He was elected president of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference twice. Widely known as an advocate for small family farms, as well as the poor in the inner city and

Hispanics The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

, Strecker urged

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

to work toward a comprehensive food and agricultural policy. He testified before the House Agriculture Committee in 1984, during hearings in preparation for comprehensive farm policy legislation, and stated,

"The fate of our family farmers is not an abstract concern...what happens to them will determine whether or not a land-owning elite will increasingly control our food and the price of that food."

In 1990, Strecker established background and reference checks for all persons working with children - including employees and volunteers, at the archdiocese as part of a policy to combat sexual abuse of minors. In 1992, Strecker denounced the

pro-choice Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pr ...

views of then-State Representative

Kathleen Sebelius Kathleen Sebelius (; née Gilligan, born May 15, 1948) is an American businesswoman and politician who served as the 21st United States secretary of Health and Human Services from 2009 until 2014. As Secretary of Health and Human Services, Sebeli ...

. He accused Sebelius, a Catholic, of leading "the death-march of the unborn to the

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

clinics in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

" and "attempting to make the 'death-marches' to the abortion clinics as legal as the death-marches to the

gas chamber A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or other animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. Poisonous agents used include hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide. History ...

s of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

Retirement and legacy

After reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75, Strecker resigned his post as Archbishop on June 28, 1993, following twenty-three years of service. During that time, he earned the nickname of "Gracious Ignatius". After a series of strokes and a fall, Ignatius Strecker died in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...

, on October 16, 2003, at age 85.

References

External links

Catholic-Hierarchy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strecker, Ignatius Jerome 1917 births 2003 deaths People from Ford County, Kansas Roman Catholic Diocese of Wichita 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States Participants in the Second Vatican Council Catholic University of America alumni Roman Catholic bishops of Springfield–Cape Girardeau Roman Catholic archbishops of Kansas City in Kansas