Biography
Early life
John Vlazny was born on February 22, 1937, in Chicago, Illinois, to John and Marie (née Brezina) Vlazny, who were of Czech ancestry. [3] His father was originally married to the sister of Vlazny's mother, Hattie Brezina, who died when their daughter, Marcella, was 13. [4] In addition to his half-sister, John Vlazny has a younger sister, Marion. [5] His father, who died from cancer when Vlazny was 18, owned a pharmacy in a three-story building at the corner of 18th and Throop Streets. [4]
Vlazny received his early education at the parochial school of St. Gall Church in Chicago [6] After attending Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago, he studied at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, Illinois where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1958. [6]
Vlazny continued his studies in Rome, where he attended the Pontifical North American College and the Pontifical Gregorian University. [1] He earned a Bachelor of Sacred Theology in 1960 and a Licentiate of Sacred Theology in 1962. [7]
Priesthood
On December 20, 1961, Vlazny was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Chicago by Archbishop Martin J. O'Connor in Rome at St. Peter's Basilica. [2]
Following his return to Chicago, Vlazny served on the faculty of Quigley Preparatory North in Chicago from 1963 to 1979. [1] He was also dean of studies at Quigley North from 1969 to 1979. [7]
In addition to his academic duties, Vlazny served as an associate pastor at St. Paul of the Cross Parish in Park Ridge, Illinois, from 1962 to 1963. [5] He then served at St. Clement Parish in Lincoln Park, Illinois, from 1963 to 1968, and earned a Master of Arts degree in the classics from the University of Michigan in 1967. [3] Vlazny became an associate pastor at St. Aloysius Parish in the Wicker Park section of Chicago in 1968, and served as its pastor from 1979 to 1981. [5] During this time, one of his seminarian assistants would go on to become Bishop Robert Barron. In 1972, Vlazny earned a Master of Education degree in school administration from Loyola University Chicago. [1]
From 1976 to 1977, Vlazny was president of the Presbyteral Senate for the archdiocese. [7] He also served as a diocesan consultor and member of the Diocesan Clergy Personnel Board. [6] He was appointed rector of Niles College Seminary in 1981. [3]
Bishop of Winona
On May 19, 1987, John Paul II appointed Vlazny as the sixth bishop of Winona. [2] He was installed and consecrated on July 29, 1987. [9] During his tenure, Vlazny increased the involvement of the laity, decentralized the diocesan staff, and created the Offices of Youth and Family Life. [5] He also started the tradition of the "Harvest Mass," an annual outdoor liturgy celebrated on a farm in the diocese.
As a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Vlazny was elected chair of the Committee on Evangelization in 1993. [7] In 1994, he asked Catholics to consider ending gambling as a source of revenue for parishes and schools. [5]
Archbishop of Portland in Oregon
On October 28, 1997, John Paul II appointed Vlazny as the tenth archbishop of Portland in Oregon. [9] He was installed and consecrated on December 19, 1987, succeeding Archbishop Francis George. [1] [2]
On October 10, 2000, the archdiocese settled a lawsuit by 22 men who had been sexually abused as altar servers by Reverend Maurice Grammond. The victims lived in Portland, Seaside, Oregon and in Oakridge, Oregon. Vlazny issued a statement of apology that was delivered in masses throughout the archdiocese. [10]
In July 2004, the archdiocese became the first American diocese to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy in response to the Catholic sex abuse cases. [11] [12] Vlazny described his actions by saying, "This is not an effort to avoid responsibility. It is, in fact, the only way I can assure that other claimants can be offered fair compensation." [13]
In January 2010, Vlazny defended his loan of money to Reverend Angel Armando Perez to cover his legal expenses, Perez had been indicted in Marion County, Oregon, on first-degree sexual abuse and abuse of a child in the display of sexually explicit conduct. While condemning Perez's alleged criminal actions. Vlazny expressed a need to help a fellow priest. [14]
In April 2010, Vlazny called for parishioners to cancel their subscriptions to The Oregonian , declaring it guilty of "Catholic bashing." The newspaper's editors, he said, "arrogantly scolded the church for its past failures in handling this matter of child sexual abuse." [15] The newspaper had run an editorial, an editorial cartoon and a syndicated column by E.J. Dionne on how the church had dealt with sexual abuse crime. [16]
On January 29, 2013, Pope Benedict XVI announced the acceptance of Vlazny's resignation as archbishop of Portland, with Bishop Alexander Sample to succeed him. [17] [18]
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