Charles Albert Buswell (October 15, 1913 – June 14, 2008) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who served as bishop of the

Diocese of Pueblo In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

in Colorado from 1959 to 1979.

Biography

Early life

Charles Buswell was born on October 15, 1913, in

Homestead, Oklahoma Homestead is a small unincorporated community in northern Blaine County, Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States ...

, to Charles and Bridget Buswell. Soon after his birth, the family moved to

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

. Charles Buswell received his

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

and secondary education at the cathedral's St. Joseph School, the studied for two years at St. Benedict's College in Atchison, Kansas. In 1933, he entered St. Louis Preparatory Seminary in

Webster Groves Webster Groves is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 24,010 at the 2020 census. The city is home to the main campus of Webster University. Geography According to the United States ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. After studying theology at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

, Buswell entered in 1936 the

American College of the Immaculate Conception The American College of the Immaculate Conception, or the American College of Louvain (, ) is a former Roman Catholic theological seminary in Leuven, the Kingdom of Belgium (Belgium) in Europe. Founded in 1857, it was operated by United States Con ...

in Leuven, Belgium. He was known there as "both a serious student and a congenial companion among his fellow

seminarians A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clerg ...

." He also served as

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

and

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of ''The American College Bulletin'' during his studies.

Priesthood

Buswell was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood by Bishop

Paulin Ladeuze Paulin Ladeuze (; 1870–1940) was a Belgian bishop and theologian. Biography Paulin Ladeuze was born in Harveng, Belgium on 3 July 1870. He was educated at the Catholic University of Leuven, and became its rector in 1909, serving until his d ...

in Belgium for the Diocese of Oklahoma City-Tulsa on July 9, 1939. After returning to Oklahoma, he was named

assistant pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicis ...

of a parish in

Tonkawa, Oklahoma Tonkawa is a city in Kay County, Oklahoma, Kay County, Oklahoma, United States, along the Salt Fork Arkansas River. The population was 3,015 as of the 2020 United States census. History Named after the Tonkawa tribe, the city of Tonkawa was foun ...

, and of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cathedral Parish in Oklahoma City. Buswell, after being made

diocesan In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

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, became the first pastor of Christ the King Parish in 1947. At Christ the King, he placed emphasis on the greater involvement of the

laity In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all Church membership, members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-Ordination, ordained members of religious orders, e ...

. He was raised to the rank of a privy chamberlain of his holiness in 1949, and a

domestic prelate of his holiness A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour. They are addressed as Monsignor (typically abbreviated 'Mgr') and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing.

in 1955.

Bishop of Pueblo

On August 8, 1959, Buswell was appointed as the second bishop of the Diocese of Pueblo by

Pope John XXIII Pope John 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 on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

. He was consecrated on September 30, 1959, by Bishop Victor Reed, with Bishop s Stephen Leven and Glennon Flavin serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churche ...

. Buswell attended the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

from 1962 to 1965, and later described the council's mission as making the Church "a dynamic organism to penetrate the world with a spirit of truth and light" and not "a static remnant of past glory". He also spoke of opening the Church's windows "to let in fresh air and bring in a new vision that prepares the world for new responsibility for the world in which we live." Following the introduction of the

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

in English, Buswell criticized the wording of the

Gloria Gloria may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Christian liturgy and music * Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Greater Doxology, a hymn of praise * Gloria Patri, the Lesser Doxology, a short hymn of praise ** Gloria (Handel) ** Gloria (Jenkins ...

. In 1973, the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

ordered that the practice of separating a child's

first Communion First Communion is a ceremony in some Christian traditions during which a person of the church first receives the Eucharist. It is most common in many parts of the Latin tradition of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church and Anglican Communion (ot ...

from first

confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of people – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information that ...

, for

psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

purposes, be stopped. Buswell responded by saying, "I am convinced that the reception of first Communion before first confession is based on good theology, is rooted in solid findings of the

behavioral sciences Behavioural science is the branch of science concerned with human behaviour.Hallsworth, M. (2023). A manifesto for applying behavioural science. ''Nature Human Behaviour'', ''7''(3), 310-322. While the term can technically be applied to the st ...

, and is excellent pastoral practice". He promised to continue the practice until the Vatican's decree received the "mature consideration" of American

bishops A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

and educators. During a Sunday parish visit in 1976, he introduced himself to a five-year-old girl at a mass as "Charlie". Following the end of the Mass, the little girl told him, "Nice show, Charlie!".

Retirement and legacy

Pope Paul II accepted Buswell's resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Pueblo on September 19, 1979. In 1982, Catholics Act for ERA announced that Buswell had expressed his support for the proposed

Equal Rights Amendment The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States, United States Constitution that would explicitly prohibit sex discrimination. It is not currently a part of the Constitution, though its Ratifi ...

. The amendment failed ratification. A frequent visitor to American College in Leuven, Buswell served as "pastor in residence" there from 1985 to 1986. For the 150th

anniversary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the List of national independence days, date of independen ...

of the foundation of the college in 2006, he was awarded the DeBecker Medal. Although unable to attend the ceremony, he was presented with the medal in the following December. Charles Buswell died on June 14, 2008, at age 94.

References

External links

Catholic-Hierarchy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buswell, Charles Albert 1913 births 2008 deaths Participants in the Second Vatican Council Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) alumni Kenrick–Glennon Seminary alumni American College of the Immaculate Conception alumni Roman Catholic bishops of Pueblo 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Clergy from Oklahoma City