Portland’s most recent retired head of the regional Catholic diocese, Archbishop Emeritus John G. Vlazny, died in his Beaverton home May 23 at the age of 88.

Vlazny was born in Chicago and graduated from the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, Illinois, before attending Pontifical North American College and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome as well as the University of Michigan and Loyola University.

Ordained in 1961 in Chicago, he served as the auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago from 1983 to 1987 and as a bishop of the Diocese of Winona in Minnesota from 1987 to 1997.

Vlazny landed in Portland to become the 10th archbishop of Portland in 1997, serving through 2013 and during a tumultuous time in the Catholic church in the wake of sexual abuse allegations.

Current Archbishop of Portland,  Alexander K. Sample, said Vlazny will be missed by the congregation and those with whom he worked.

“This great spiritual father led this local Church in the Archdiocese of Portland through some of its most challenging days,” Sample said. “He was a man who always fully exhibited the joy of the Gospel. He was truly one of the kindest and most thoughtful men that I have ever known. His love for the priesthood and his own episcopal ministry was evident at all times. He has left a lasting and remarkable legacy in this local Church in Western Oregon.”

Kaleen Deatherage, interim CEO and Executive Director of Catholic Charities, said the former archbishop will be remembered as a “dedicated champion of the most vulnerable.”

“There is a good reason that the roadway behind our office building was dubbed ‘Vlazny Way.'” Deatherage said in a statement. “He supported our mission to accompany everyone, no matter their beliefs, often saying, ‘We don’t help people because they are Catholic, we help people because we are Catholic.’”

Visitation will be held 1-6:15 p.m. June 5 at St. Mary’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Northwest Portland. A vigil service will follow at 6:30 p.m. June 5, followed by a funeral mass at 11 a.m. June 6 at St. Mary’s. The mass will be livestreamed at archdpdx.org.

A troubled tenure

In 2000, during Vlazny’s tenure in Portland, the archdiocese settled a lawsuit by 22 former alter servers who accused a reverend of sexually abusing them during stints in several Oregon parishes. The lawsuit asked for $44 million in damages and compensation, and was the first large-scale case to resolve in the regional archdiocese. In the years following, more cases erupted along similar charges of negligence regarding sexually abusive priests.

In 2004, the Archdiocese of Portland became the first in America to file for bankruptcy in response to sex abuse cases in the Catholic church. At the time, Vlazny said in a statement to parishioners that the move was the “best choice” because ”circumstances beyond my control have created great financial risk.”

He added that filing for bankruptcy would allow the church’s parishes and schools to continue to operate while financial issues were resolved.