Retirement

by Bishop Raymond A. Lucker

I have always been open with the priests and people of the Diocese of New Ulm, sharing with you my joys and sorrows, my hopes and aspirations.

I want to share with you what I recently wrote to the Holy Father asking him to accept my resignation as Bishop of New Ulm. I sent my request some months before my 75th birthday, partly because of my health and because I wanted to allow sufficient time for the representatives of the Holy See to choose a successor by the time I do reach the age of 75.

Here are some of the things I said in my letter.

I have some health concerns. I was diagnosed with cancer (metastatic melanoma) a year ago. After an operation to remove lymph nodes, the cancer is now in remission. It can, however, return at any time even though my recent visits to the Mayo Clinic show that there is no discernible cancer.

I am also experiencing some difficulties with my hearing. I have a significant hearing loss and wear a hearing aid. Also, in about a month I will have surgery to remove cataracts from my eyes. All of this is a reminder that our bodies wear out and that I am not able to be as active as I once was.

I have served almost thirty years as Bishop since my appointment as Auxiliary to the Archbishop of St. Paul-Minneapolis on July 12, 1971. I was appointed Bishop of New Ulm December 23, 1975, almost twenty-five years ago. These have been wonderful years during which I have experienced the presence of God guiding my ministry. I chose as my Episcopal motto "Credo; sed adiuva incredulitatem meum." (I believe, but help my lack of trust.) (Mk 9, 24) There is nothing more important than my faith and my relationship with the all loving God.

From the time of my ordination to the priesthood in 1952 I had been involved through the appointment of the Archbishop of St. Paul-Minneapolis in the ministry of the word. For sixteen years I was Director of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine calling lay people to active participation in adult education, in catechetical ministries to children and youth, and to evangelization. Central to that ministry was inviting people to conversion through the grace and power of the Holy Spirit. That had a powerful effect on my own ongoing conversion.

I did graduate studies at the Angelicum from 1964 to 1966 during the Second Vatican Council. That experience in Rome touched me to the core of my being.

I taught at the St. Paul Seminary as Professor of Catechetics for eleven years. I was Superintendent of Schools and then appointed Director of the Department of Education at the National Conference of Catholic Bishops with the responsibility of helping dioceses throughout the United States coordinate the ministry of Catholic schools, religious education, adult education, campus ministry, youth ministry, and educational research. In all of this I felt the excitement of the call of the Second Vatican Council inviting each member of the church to take an active part in the life and ministry of the church.

After I was appointed bishop, I was privileged to continue to be active in religious education through the development of the Bishops’ Pastoral Letter, To Teach as Jesus Did, which has had such a formative influence on Catholic education in the Untied States. I was also one of the bishops on the supervisory committee which developed the National Catechetical Directory.

I was invited by Cardinal Wright to head the English speaking participants at the International Catechetical Congress in Rome in 1971. I was elected by the Bishops to be a delegate to the Synod on Catechetics in 1977, and to be an alternate to the Synod on the Laity in 1983. I served on several National Conference of Catholic Bishops committees, especially those on the Laity, Diaconate, Evangelization, Catechetical Directory, Charismatic Renewal, and the Administrative Board.

I have felt the loving presence of God throughout my ministry as Bishop of New Ulm. The Diocese of New Ulm is a small, rural diocese made up of wonderful faith-filled communities. Their active participation in the life of the church exceeds the national average of participation of Catholics in the church. I have had the loving support of the priests, the pastoral leaders, the diocesan and parish staffs, and the people of the diocese. This has been a time of great excitement as we have labored to implement the documents of the Second Vatican Council.

My primary emphasis has been to call the people of the diocese to the building up of the kingdom of God with a special concern for spiritual renewal and training of lay people for ministry, formation in faith of the children, youth and adults, active participation in the Sacred Liturgy, and the calling of the people of the diocese to a new evangelization. We have spent three years preparing for the celebration of the Jubilee Year and will continue with this celebration for another two years, hoping and praying that this millennial celebration will have an impact on the lives of the priests, religious, and laity of the diocese for many years to come.

Throughout these thirty years I have experienced the abiding love of God in my life and in my ministry. This has been especially true during these past couple of years as I have suffered health problems and as I have been preparing for my own retirement as Bishop of New Ulm.

I look back with great gratitude to almighty God and to the wonderful support and love of the priests, religious, and laity of the diocese. I look ahead to the months or years that the Lord may still give me to continue to serve God’s people to the extent I can in priestly ministry.

Every day for the last sixty-five years I have prayed at the elevation of the Body and Blood of Jesus at the Holy Eucharist, "Jesus, for thee I live. Jesus, for thee I die. Thine am I in life and in death." This is my prayer as I ask you to accept my resignation as Bishop of the Diocese of New Ulm.

September, 2000