Robert Emmet Tracy
Encyclopedia
Robert Emmet Tracy was an American
prelate
of the Roman Catholic Church
who served as Bishop of Baton Rouge
from 1961 to 1974.
, to Robert Emmet and Margaret Agnes (née Cahill) Tracy. He studied at Saint Joseph Seminary College
and Notre Dame Seminary
. He was ordained
to the priesthood
on June 12, 1932, at age 22. He then served as a curate
at St. Leo Church in New Orleans (1932-1946) and archdiocesan director of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine
(1937-1946). He was chaplain
of the Newman Centers
at Tulane University
(1941-1946) and at Louisiana State University
(1946-1959). He was named a Papal Chamberlain
in 1947 and a Domestic Prelate
in 1949. From 1954 to 1955, he was national chaplain of the Newman Club Federation.
On March 13, 1959, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop
of Lafayette in Louisiana
and Titular Bishop
of Sergentza by Pope John XXIII
. Tracy receivied his episcopal consecration
on the following May 19 from Archbishop Egidio Vagnozzi
, with Bishops Maurice Schexnayder
and Louis Caillouet serving as co-consecrators
. He was later named the first Bishop of Baton Rouge
on August 10, 1961, being installed as such on the following November 8.
From 1962 to 1965, Bishop Tracy attended the Second Vatican Council
; on October 24, 1963, he addressed the Council in the name of his fellow American bishops on the subject of racial equality
. A year later, in 1966, he published his memoir
of the Council, entitled American Bishop at the Vatican Council. He established a consultative process as an integral part of the diocesan administration
, and encouraged the greater participation of the laity
in governing the Church. Tracy also oversaw the construction of the Catholic Life Center and the renovation of St. Joseph Cathedral.
In 1967, he became the first American Catholic bishop to publish a financial statement
for his diocese. In 1972, he established a committee for the regulation of allowing remarried Catholics to receive the sacraments
, saying, "The Church has a pastoral responsibility of healing and forgiveness".
He resigned as Baton Rouge
's bishop on March 21, 1974, after twelve years of service. Tracy later died at age 70.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
prelate
Prelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
who served as Bishop of Baton Rouge
Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge, officially in Latin Dioecesis Rubribaculensis, is a Latin Rite diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of New Orleans....
from 1961 to 1974.
Biography
Robert Tracy was born in New Orleans, LouisianaLouisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, to Robert Emmet and Margaret Agnes (née Cahill) Tracy. He studied at Saint Joseph Seminary College
Saint Joseph Seminary College
Saint Joseph Seminary College, also known as St. Ben or St. Ben's, is a private four-year seminary college founded in 1891. It is operated by the Benedictine Monks of Saint Joseph Abbey and the dioceses of the ecclesiastical provinces of New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama. The piney woods campus is...
and Notre Dame Seminary
Notre Dame Seminary
Notre Dame Seminary is a resident, accredited graduate theological school in New Orleans, Louisiana, founded in 1923 for the education of men to be priests of the Roman Catholic Church. The building, located at 2901 South Carrollton Avenue, was constructed between 1922-1923, and was designed by...
. He was ordained
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
to the priesthood
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
on June 12, 1932, at age 22. He then served as a curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
at St. Leo Church in New Orleans (1932-1946) and archdiocesan director of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine
Confraternity of Christian Doctrine
The Confraternity of Christian Doctrine was an association established at Rome in 1562 for the purpose of giving religious education. Its modern usage, often abbreviated CCD or C.C.D., is a religious education program of the Catholic Church, normally designed for children.-History:Until the...
(1937-1946). He was chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
of the Newman Centers
Newman Centre
Named in honour of Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman, the Newman Centers are residence and Catholic ministry centers at non-Catholic universities throughout the world. They were inspired by Newman's writings encouraging societies for Catholic students attending secular universities.In 1888 the...
at Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
(1941-1946) and at Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
(1946-1959). He was named a Papal Chamberlain
Monsignor
Monsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...
in 1947 and a Domestic Prelate
Monsignor
Monsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...
in 1949. From 1954 to 1955, he was national chaplain of the Newman Club Federation.
On March 13, 1959, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop
Auxiliary bishop
An auxiliary bishop, in the Roman Catholic Church, is an additional bishop assigned to a diocese because the diocesan bishop is unable to perform his functions, the diocese is so extensive that it requires more than one bishop to administer, or the diocese is attached to a royal or imperial office...
of Lafayette in Louisiana
Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana
The Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana is an ecclesiastical division of the Catholic Church in the United States. The oldest church in the diocese is the parish church of St. Martinville, dating back to 1756. The diocese was created on January 11, 1918 from the western part of the Archdiocese of New...
and Titular Bishop
Titular bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.By definition a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop the tradition of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place...
of Sergentza by Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
. Tracy receivied his episcopal consecration
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
on the following May 19 from Archbishop Egidio Vagnozzi
Egidio Vagnozzi
Edigio Vagnozzi was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as the second president of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See from 1968 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1967.-Biography:Egidio Vagnozzi was born in Rome to Francesco and Pasqua ...
, with Bishops Maurice Schexnayder
Maurice Schexnayder
Maurice Schexnayder was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Lafayette in Louisiana from 1956 to 1972.-Biography:...
and Louis Caillouet serving as co-consecrators
Consecrator
Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...
. He was later named the first Bishop of Baton Rouge
Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge, officially in Latin Dioecesis Rubribaculensis, is a Latin Rite diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of New Orleans....
on August 10, 1961, being installed as such on the following November 8.
From 1962 to 1965, Bishop Tracy attended the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
; on October 24, 1963, he addressed the Council in the name of his fellow American bishops on the subject of racial equality
Racial equality
Racial equality means different things in different contexts. It mostly deals with an equal regard to all races.It can refer to a belief in biological equality of all human races....
. A year later, in 1966, he published his memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
of the Council, entitled American Bishop at the Vatican Council. He established a consultative process as an integral part of the diocesan administration
Curia (Roman Catholic Church)
In Roman Catholicism, a curia consists of a group of officials who assist in the governance of a particular Church. These curias range from the relatively simple diocesan curia, to the larger patriarchal curias, to the Roman Curia, which is the central government of the Catholic Church.Other...
, and encouraged the greater participation of the laity
Laity
In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
in governing the Church. Tracy also oversaw the construction of the Catholic Life Center and the renovation of St. Joseph Cathedral.
In 1967, he became the first American Catholic bishop to publish a financial statement
Financial statements
A financial statement is a formal record of the financial activities of a business, person, or other entity. In British English—including United Kingdom company law—a financial statement is often referred to as an account, although the term financial statement is also used, particularly by...
for his diocese. In 1972, he established a committee for the regulation of allowing remarried Catholics to receive the sacraments
Sacraments of the Catholic Church
The Sacraments of the Catholic Church are, the Roman Catholic Church teaches, "efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper...
, saying, "The Church has a pastoral responsibility of healing and forgiveness".
He resigned as Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
's bishop on March 21, 1974, after twelve years of service. Tracy later died at age 70.