Raymond Emil Goedert (October 15, 1927 – December 9, 2023) 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

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 ...

. Goedert served as an

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of the Latin Church

Archdiocese of Chicago The Archdiocese of Chicago () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church located in Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. The Vatican erected it as a diocese in 1843 and elevated it to an ar ...

in Illinois from 1991 to 2003.

Biography

Early years

Raymond Goedert was born in

Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, adjacent to Chicago. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 26th-most populous municipality in Illinois, with a population of 54,318 as of the 2020 census. Oak Park was first se ...

, on October 15, 1927. He attended St. Giles Elementary School in Oak Park and Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago. Goedert attended

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

in Rome, where he obtained a

Licentiate of Canon Law Licentiate of Canon Law (; JCL) is the title of an advanced graduate degree with canonical effects in the Roman Catholic Church offered by pontifical universities and ecclesiastical faculties of canon law. Licentiate is the title of a person who ...

. He also went to University of St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, Illinois, where he was awarded a

Licentiate in Sacred Theology Licentiate in Sacred Theology (; abbreviated LTh or STL) is the second of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the first being the Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology and the third being the Doctorate in Sacred Theology) which are conferred ...

Priesthood

On May 1, 1952, Goedert was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Chicago by Cardinal Samuel Stritch. Arter his ordination, Goedert served as associate pastor for St. Gabriel and Blessed Sacrament Parishes in Chicago, and Mater Christi Parish in

North Riverside, Illinois North Riverside is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 7,426. Geography North Riverside is located at (41.846222, -87.829585). According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, North ...

. He was also a notary, vice officialis, judge of the

Tribunal A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a singl ...

, archdiocesan consultor, vicar for priests, archdiocesan director of NAIM, and pastor of St. Barnabas Parish in Chicago. Goedert served as

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

of the archdiocese from 1995 to 2003 and again briefly from August 2004 to November 2004.

Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago

On July 8, 1991,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

appointed Goedert as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago and titular bishop of Tamazeni. He was consecrated by then Archbishop

Joseph Bernardin Joseph Louis Bernardin (April 2, 1928 – November 14, 1996) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Cincinnati from 1972 until 1982, and as Archbishop of Chicago from 1982 until his death from pancreatic cancer. B ...

on August 29, 1991. In 1998, Goedert was one of 75 U.S. Catholic bishops to condemn the U.S. policy on

strategic nuclear weapon A strategic nuclear weapon (SNW) is a nuclear weapon that is designed to be used on targets often in settled territory far from the battlefield as part of a strategic plan, such as military bases, military command centers, arms industries, tra ...

Retirement and legacy

Goedert sent his letter of retirement as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago to Pope John Paul II on January 24, 2003. In 2008, as part of a legal settlement between the Archdiocese of Chicago and sexual abuse victims, Goedert answered questions in a deposition. Goedert admitted that when he was vicar general of the archdiocese, he knew of

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...

allegations against 25 priests. However, he did not report any of them to police because the standard practice then was to forward the matter to the diocese attorneys. The attorneys would then tell him if a

police report In legal terminology, a complaint is any formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons (see: cause of action) that the filing party or parties (the plaintiff(s)) believes are sufficient to support a claim against the party ...

was necessary, but they never did. Goedert served as vicar general under Bernardin and lived with Cardinal

Francis George Francis Eugene George (January 16, 1937 – April 17, 2015) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the eighth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago in Illinois (1997–2014) and previously served as bishop of the Dio ...

in the archbishop's mansion during his entire ministry. Goedert was with both men when they died and gave

last rites The last rites, also known as the Commendation of the Dying, are the last prayers and ministrations given to an individual of Christian faith, when possible, shortly before death. The Commendation of the Dying is practiced in liturgical Chri ...

to George.

Death

Goedert died in the United States on December 9, 2023, at the age of 96.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goedert, Raymond E. 1927 births 2023 deaths Clergy from Chicago People from Oak Park, Illinois Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago 20th-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops 21st-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II Religious leaders from Illinois Catholics from Illinois