Robert Emmet Lucey - Years As A Bishop

Years As A Bishop

One may argue that Lucey's years in California were formative years in propagating Catholic doctrine in society. As a bishop he created several institutions and vehicles that left a strong imprint in Texas that lasted even till this today. On March 1, 1934, after Archbishop Amleto Cicognani, Apostolic Delegate to the U.S., consecrated him bishop at St. Vibiana's Cathedral in Los Angeles he began to work on ways to bring the community aware of the Catholic Church in Amarillo. To better inform readers on Catholic news in the U.S. and around the world he established a newspaper called the Texas Panhandle Register. To bridge the gap between parish priests and lay people he either created or supported organizations such as Catholic Action, a lay ministry group, created the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, and constructed the first parish in Amarillo to serve the needs of the African-American community. However, bigger plans were needed as he was next appointed the second Archbishop in San Antonio, Texas to serve the community in 1941.

On January 23, 1941 Pope Pius XII appointed Bishop Lucey as Archbishop of San Antonio. His ordination, again presided by Archbishop Amleto Cicognani, took place at the Cathedral of San Fernando on March 27, 1941. The first 10 years of Archbishop Lucey in San Antonio proved busy yet fruitful because a variety of work was accomplished in so short a time. Indeed, so much work was done that he may be labeled as "The Great Laborer" not only for his belief in social justice but the work done on an average day. In San Antonio, Archbishop Lucey was able to implement may programs and initiatives again with the goal of better informing the community that the Catholic Church had a place for the betterment of society.

As he relocated the Archiocesan headquarters on 230 Dwyer Av., he organized the Catholic Welfare Bureau, the Catholic Action Office, and Council of Catholic Men. That same year he supported the sponsorship of a summer school of social justice for the clergy. The next year he created another Catholic newspaper called the Alamo Register (which still exists today under the name Today's Catholic). Finally, Lucey, who was very much concerned with parochial schools, appointed Father John L. Morkovsky as archdiocesan superintendent which was one factor that led to the increase of enrollment of children in catholic schools. Archbishop Lucey's involvement however, did not only extend to communications but programs aimed at the needy, sick, and destitute.

As mentioned earlier social action was an important piece of Lucey's agenda for San Antonio. This may be seen in the numerous hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics that were designed to specifically assist the needy such as Yorktown Memorial Hospital, the Czech Catholic Home for the Aged, and the Huth Memorial Hospital which included the latest technological equipment at the time. Lucey also created 29 clinics throughout Southwest Texas which served 39,000 patients at one time. Finally, he cooperated in the establishment of the founding of the Patrician Movement which helped rehabilitating drug using juvenile youths and created Project Equality in 1965, whose aim was to provide equal pay and wages to blue collar workers.