Retired Bishop Ottenweller of Steubenville, Ohio, dies at age 96

TOLEDO, Ohio -- Bishop Albert H. Ottenweller of Steubenville, the retired bishop of Steubenville and a former Toledo auxiliary, died Sept. 23 at the Ursuline Center in Toledo after a brief illness. He was 96.

Ottenweller was Toledo's first auxiliary bishop, serving from 1974 to 1977, when he was appointed to head the Steubenville Diocese, where he served until his retirement in 1992.

After his retirement, the bishop moved back to Toledo and was instrumental in establishing the Servant Leadership Center in Toledo.

An evening memorial Mass for Ottenweller was to be celebrated Wednesday at Toledo's Rosary Cathedral.

A funeral Mass was scheduled for Friday at Holy Name Cathedral in Steubenville with burial the following day at St. Mary Catholic Cemetery in Leipsic.

In a statement, Toledo Bishop Leonard P. Blair said it was a blessing to have known Ottenweller.

"When, in his retirement, he was in residence with me at the Bishop's House in Toledo, I always enjoyed his warm and engaging personality, his humor, and his wise counsel based on long experience as a priest and bishop," Blair said. "Now that he has passed from this life, I join his family and many friends in praying that the Lord will grant him a place of refreshment, light and peace with the saints in heaven."

Newly ordained Steubenville Bishop Jeffrey M. Monforton also expressed his sadness at the news of Ottenweller's death.

"In my visit with the bishop, approximately three weeks ago, the bishop expressed his deep love for his people in the Steubenville Diocese and the very fond memories, which were in his heart," Monforton said in a statement.

"In my limited experience with the bishop, when I was Cardinal (Adam) Maida's secretary, Bishop Ottenweller was always kind and approachable," Monforton continued.

"In my conversations with the chancery staff, as well as some of the faithful in the Steubenville Diocese," he continued, "I came away with the understanding that Bishop Ottenweller was a deeply spiritual and faithful man, who constantly stressed our need to reach out to the disenfranchised and outcast in our society and that in his leadership he always came across as a gentleman."

Born in 1916 in Stanford, Mont., young Albert grew up in Ohio and was ordained a priest of the Toledo Diocese in 1943 after studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington.

Then-Fr. Ottenweller held a series of parish posts and was involved in the diocesan Spanish-speaking apostolate, which he headed as director from 1958 to 1969. He was vicar general when he was named Toledo auxiliary.

He frequently spoke and wrote about the need for diocesan and parish structures to change and develop in light of the Second Vatican Council's vision of church, the emerging role of the laity and changing local needs.

After he became Steubenville bishop, a suggestion he made at a meeting of the U.S. bishops in 1975 led to a three-year national Project for Parish Renewal, aimed at helping parish priests, deacons, religious and lay leaders to collaborate more effectively and improve parish life.

As head of the U.S. bishops' Committee on the Laity from 1978 to 1981 he oversaw the writing of "Called and Gifted: American Catholic Laity 1980,'' a statement by the bishops that strongly affirmed the renewal efforts of U.S. Catholics in the years since Vatican II.

In 1989, he and 46 other abortion protesters were arrested for a demonstration in front of a Youngstown, Ohio, abortion clinic. All 47 remained in jail for six days because they refused to post bond, set at $500 each.

He was a member of the Governing Board of Retreats International and also was a longtime supporter of the Catholic charismatic movement.

Ottenweller is survived by four sisters and several nieces and nephews.