Retired? Texas priest stays as busy as ever

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Today's Catholic) - "I guess if I could summarize my more than 50 years in ministry," says Msgr. Lawrence J. "Larry" Stuebben, "I was happy every place I went and every job I had." Happy is a word that definitely characterizes this people-oriented priest who has served the Archdiocese of San Antonio in so many ways over the years -- and continues to serve them in his retirement.

A San Antonio native, Msgr. Stuebben graduated from St. Joseph's Academy and Central Catholic High School before entering St. John's Seminary and, later, the new Assumption Seminary, which was to play a large role in his life and ministry. Ordained as a priest for the archdiocese in 1955 in San Fernando Cathedral by Archbishop Robert E. Lucey, Msgr. Stuebben started and ended his official career as a parish priest, a ministry he dearly loved. His first parish was St. Cecilia.

The following year he was appointed secretary to Bishop Stephen A. Leven. "I really had a magnificent opportunity, early on, to get to know the archdiocese," Msgr. Stuebben says.

"I knew every parish. I knew every priest. I knew every road in the archdiocese." From then until 1965, he was also with the archdiocesan matrimonial tribunal and chaplain and theology professor at Incarnate Word High School.

After that came his role as vocation director for the archdiocese. "I was all over the place, visiting homes," he recalls. "I found the dirt roads, the untraveled roads!" He also served as a faculty member at St. John's and Assumption seminaries.

'I love people'

Along the way, he received a master's degree in education at Our Lady of the Lake University and later spent a sabbatical studying at the North American College in Rome. He returned to parish work in 1969, pastoring at St. Patrick in Bloomington, St. Louis in Castroville and St. Matthew in San Antonio. "I love people," he says smiling, "so, a deep commitment to parish ministry, to the development of the parish as a faith community." He quotes Pope John Paul II's words, spoken on the papal visit in 1987 (which he coordinated), "A parish is a family of families."

"Being a part of the life of those people," he says, "walking with them through good times and the tough times -- the joys and sorrows in their lives, really being related to them, being part of their families, that's been a really big thing."

This leads to his other favorite subject, the priesthood and his love and awe of preaching God's word. "I'm not sure most people realize what a gift it is," he says, "to give people the Lord in the Eucharist, or to be able to ask God to forgive their sins, heal them, welcome them home, open the door for them, help them to come to know who they are, the gifts we share, the promise that's ours. That's a fantastic thing!" Over the years, in all his jobs, he tried to maintain close contact with parish priests, noting "that's where the rubber hits the road."

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He returned to Assumption Seminary as rector from 1981-87, also serving it through the years on its Board of Directors (including as its chairman) and in the Alumni Association, of which he is a past president. He was on national and state vocation committees and cochaired the successful campaign that raised funds for the new Archbishop Patrick F. Flores Residence Hall at the seminary.

"I've been aware that others helped my brother and me through the seminary," he says, "and now it's our turn to try and help others." He credits his older brother Msgr. George Stuebben (now deceased) for inspiring his priestly vocation.

He returned to work at the chancery in 1986 to coordinate the papal visit, going on to serve as administrative assistant to Archbishop Patrick F. Flores, heading the department of administration and subsequently being appointed vicar general and moderator of the curia.

Along the way he was instrumental in the founding of Catholic Television of San Antonio, recalling the archdiocese had been approached early on regarding the coming of cable TV to San Antonio and the chance to sign up for their own station. Fifty thousand homes had to be wired for cable before anything could take place, however, and by the time the "magic number" was approaching and the archdiocese notified, new management was in place and unaware of the earlier agreement. Msgr. Stuebben, Father John W. Yanta (now bishop emeritus of Amarillo), who was editor of Today's Catholic at that time, and Father Daniel Hennessey, then pastor at St. Luke, swung into action though.

"The three of us," said Msgr. Stuebben, "put our heads together and said, 'Well, look. We've got an opportunity. We need to at least see if we can run with this thing.'" Father Hennessey quickly set about raising funds, while Father Yanta dove into digging up the necessary equipment to operate a television station out of Today's Catholic old downtown office on Arden Grove. Msgr. Stuebben's task was to contact the parishes to develop programming. They succeeded and the station went on the air as scheduled when the time came.

Still working

In 2005, having experienced some serious health problems, he returned to his first love, pastoral work, assisting at St. Margaret Mary Parish, staying there a year and a half before retiring on his 75th birthday.

Today, he resides at Casa de Padres, the priests' retirement center near Leon Springs. "It was the right decision," he says. "I'm very, very happy at Casa de Padres. We have a tremendous community there." Geared for independent living in individual duplex apartments, but with community facilities and fellowship, Msgr. Stuebben, as do his fellow priests there, continues to serve the archdiocese in a variety of ways.

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"We take the place of priests who are sick or on vacation or away from the parishes," he says, noting they also go out to hear confessions, offer retreats, days of recollection, and Masses in convents, hospitals and colleges.

In addition to recreation with the other residents at Casa de Padres, Msgr. Stuebben has had time to visit friends he has not seen in years and gotten to do some traveling. He enjoys entertaining and is able to cook meals for visits from family and friends in his apartment. Hunting at a friend's lease on the Frio River recently netted him a wild turkey, to be cooked for his fellow priests at the retirement center, and a feral hog for sausage-making there.

A recent typical week for the "retired" monsignor involved celebrating six weekend Masses at a local church, then traveling to a mission parish near Del Rio to do Thursday through Sunday Holy Week services they would not otherwise have had, and back later Easter Sunday to celebrate Mass with family.

Earlier that week, his calendar held a meeting at the seminary, a reunion with students he taught in high school 50 years ago, a 60th anniversary lunch with his own graduating class from Central Catholic, taking part in the Chrism Mass at San Fernando Cathedral, doing a day of recollection and celebrating still another Mass, plus other assorted meetings.

"The diocese has been very good to us," he says, summing up retirement, "and we appreciate that and we want to be present. We sense the support and the care and the interest and the love of the people of the archdiocese and our brother priests and the people we've worked with. We're not on the shelf."

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This story was made available to Catholic Online by permission of Today’s Catholic (www.satodayscatholic.com), official newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, Texas.