Richard John Sklba (September 11, 1935 – November 21, 2024) 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 ...

who 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

Archdiocese of Milwaukee The Archdiocese of Milwaukee () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in southeast Wisconsin in the United States. The Archdiocese of Milwaukee is the Metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolitan s ...

from 1979 to 2010.

Early life

Richard Sklba was born on September 11, 1935, in Racine,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. He attended St. Catherine's High School in Racine for two years, then entered St. Francis Seminary in St. Francis, Wisconsin. In 1954, Sklba entered the

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, earning a

Bachelor of Philosophy Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; or or ) is the title of an academic degree in philosophy that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's degrees, the ...

degree and a

Master of Theology Master of Theology (, abbreviated ThM, MTh or MTheol, or ''Sacrae Theologiae Magister''; abbreviated STM) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a ...

degree.

Priesthood

On December 20, 1959, Sklba 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 Archbishop Martin O’Connor for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. After his ordination, Sklba served as

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 ...

at St. Mary's Parish in

Elm Grove, Wisconsin Elm Grove is a village in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 6,524 at the 2020 census. Elm Grove was named as America's best suburb by Business Insider in October 2014. Geography Elm Grove is located at (43.047662, - ...

, for two years. In 1962, Sklba returned to Rome to study at the

Pontifical Biblical Institute The Pontifical Biblical Institute (also known as Biblicum) is a research and postgraduate teaching institution specialised in biblical and ancient Near Eastern studies located in Rome. Founded in 1909 by Pope Pius X, it is an institution of the ...

and the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. In 1965, he earned a

Doctor of Sacred Theology The Doctor of Sacred Theology (, abbreviated STD), also sometimes known as Professor of Sacred Theology (, abbreviated STP), is the final theological degree in the pontifical university system of the Catholic Church, being the ecclesiastical equ ...

degree with a dissertation entitled "The teaching function of the Pre-exilic Israelite priesthood." After returning to Wisconsin in 1965, Sklba performed weekend

pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

work at St. Veronica Parish in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, and taught scripture at St. Francis Seminary for the next 11 years.

Auxiliary Bishop of Milwaukee

On November 6, 1979,

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 Sklba as an

of Milwaukee and titular bishop of Castro di Puglia. He was consecrated on December 19, 1979 by Archbishop

Rembert Weakland Rembert George Samuel Weakland (April 2, 1927 – August 22, 2022) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Milwaukee from 1977 to 2002. Weakland previously served as Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Confederation from 196 ...

, with Archbishops William Cousins and Robert Sanchez 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 ...

.Sklba has been a member of the

Catholic Biblical Association of America The Catholic Biblical Association of America (CBA) is an American learned society dedicated to the academic study of the Bible. The suggestion to form a permanent association of biblical scholars was made at the beginning of 1936 at a meeting in ...

since 1968 and was named its president in 1982. In 1998, Sklba delivered a

eulogy A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person, especially one who recently died or retired, or as a term o ...

at the funeral of Lawrence Murphy, an archdiocese priest. In the eulogy, Sklba alluded to good work done by Murphy, but stated that "some shadows had been cast on his ministry". Before his death, Murphy had admitted to sexually abusing 30 students at St. John's School for the Deaf in St. Francis, Wisconsin, and was suspected in 200 additional cases. Critics accused Sklba of grossly understating Murphy's crimes against children. From 2005 to 2008, Sklba served as chair of the

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 2001 after the merger of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic C ...

' (USCCB) Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs. In this capacity, following

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

's reformulation of the

Good Friday prayer for the Jews The Good Friday prayer for the Jews is an annual prayer in some Christian liturgies. It is one of several petitions, known in the Catholic Church as the Solemn Intercessions and in the Episcopal Church (United States) as the Solemn Collects, th ...

in the Tridentine Mass, Sklba stated:

"Central to the concerns of the Holy Father is the clear articulation that
salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...
comes through faith in
Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
and his church. It is a faith that must never be imposed but always freely chosen. The
Catholic Church in the United States The Catholic Church in the United States is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in full communion, communion with the pope, who as of 2025 is Chicago, Illinois-born Pope Leo XIV, Leo XIV. With 23 percent of the United States' population , t ...
remains steadfastly committed to deepening its bonds of friendship and mutual understanding with the
Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
ish community."

On October 18, 2010, Benedict XVI accepted Sklba's letter of resignation as auxiliary bishop of Milwaukee.

Death

Sklba died in his sleep at his residence in Milwaukee on November 21, 2024, at the age of 89.

References

External links