Longtime pastor, SA archdiocese leader Msgr. Larry Stuebben dies

Stuebben coordinated 1987 visit by Pope John Paul II to San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO – Monsignor Larry Stuebben, a longtime pastor and archdiocesan administrative leader who coordinated the papal visit of Pope John Paul II to San Antonio in 1987, died Tuesday. He was 84.

According to a news release from the San Antonio Archdiocese, Stuebben died in hospice care after being treated for a variety of serious illnesses in recent months.

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Stuebben was ordained as a priest for the archdiocese in 1955.

Related: Funeral mass held for Archbishop Emeritus Patrick Flores

The San Antonio native started and ended his official career as a parish priest. In between, he held various positions in the archdiocese, including serving as administrative assistant for then-Archbishop Patrick Flores. He was also instrumental in the founding of Catholic Television of San Antonio.

But Stuebben will be best known for organizing the papal visit in a field in west San Antonio that is now the site of John Paul Stevens High School, where the pope celebrated a Mass before a crowd of
330,000 people, the largest gathering in the state of Texas, the news release said.

Stuebben retired in 2007 from active ministry and  resided at Casa de Padres, the priests' retirement center near Leon Springs.

Related: Former Archbishop Patrick Flores dies at 87

Public visitation will take place Thursday from 2 to 4 p.m. at Angelus Funeral Home at 1119 N. St. Mary's Street.

A vigil service will follow at 7 p.m. at St. Matthew Church at 10703 Wurzbach Road. 

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m. Friday at St. Joseph Church 623 E. Commerce St.

Overflow seating for the Mass will be available at the church followed by a reception at San Fernando Cathedral Hall at 231 W. Commerce St.

The funeral will be broadcast live on Catholic Television of San Antonio and livestreamed on the CTSA Facebook page and the archdiocese Facebook page.

The Stuebben family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the seminary burse for Rev. Msgr. Lawrence J. Stuebben for Assumption Seminary.

To donate, make checks payable to: Archdiocese of San Antonio and send checks to: Archdiocese of San Antonio Pastoral Center; Attn: Julie Seguin, director of the Office for Development; 2718 West Woodlawn Avenue; San Antonio, TX 78228.

Donations can also be made to the Msgr. Stuebben Seminarian Scholarship Fund. Established in 1994, the Msgr. Stuebben Scholarship honors Msgr. Stuebben, who served as Catholic Life Insurance's spiritual advisor from 1990-1998. This fund provides financial assistance to Roman Catholic seminarians attending Assumption Seminary. Approximately 22 dioceses throughout the United States send seminarians to study at Assumption Seminary.

Scholarships totaling nearly $185,000 have been awarded to 49 seminarians to date.

Checks can be mailed to the Catholic Life Insurance Home Office: Catholic Life Insurance; The Msgr. Stuebben Scholarship Fund; P.O. Box 659527; San Antonio, TX 78265-9527.

Those interested can also call 1-800-262-2548 to make a donation by credit card.

Please be sure to indicate if you would like for Catholic Life Insurance to mail a memorial card, as well as to whom and where you would like for the card to be mailed to. For more information, contact the organization's Communications Department by phone or by email at branch@cliu.com

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About the Author:

David Ibañez has been managing editor of KSAT.com since the website's launch in October 2000.