MOST REVEREND EUSEBIUS J. BELTRAN
The fifth of nine children, Eusebius Joseph Beltran was born in Ashley, Penn., on Aug. 31, 1934. He was given the name of his Spanish grandfather, Eusebius, a common name in Spain.
Several saints, one of them a pope, and the important historian of the early Church, Eusebius, Bishop of Caesaria, also bear the name.
Archbishop Beltran’s father, Joseph Beltran, was born in Spain and came to New York in his late teens; he traveled to Pennsylvania to get a job in the coal mines. Helen Rita Kozlowski, the archbishop’s mother was born in the United States, though her parents were natives of Poland.
In the early 1950s, Joseph became ill with black lung disease. The doctors encouraged the family to move to the southeast or the southwest, so, in 1954, the family relocated to Gainesville, Ga. It was a devout Catholic family. Two sons became priests, Joseph in 1955 and Eusebius in 1960, both for the Archdiocese of Atlanta. A daughter Sponsa joined a Franciscan community, serving children at her mission in Liberia, Africa.
After studies at Saint Charles Seminary in Overbrook, Penn., Father Eusebius Beltran was ordained a priest on May 14, 1960. Following his ordination, he was immediately chosen to work part-time in the chancery, and in 1963 he was named vice-chancellor and the officialis, presiding judge, of the Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.
He accompanied Archbishop Paul Hallinan to the sessions of Vatican II as a peritus, or adviser. From 1971 to 1978, he was the vicar general for the Archdiocese of Atlanta. In addition to his duties as vicar general, he served as a pastor. His first assignments as pastor were a parish in Rome, Ga., and then a parish in the Atlanta suburbs; however, he gave up this assignment to take responsibility for an inner-city black parish.
His appointment as the second Bishop of Tulsa was announced on Feb. 28, 1978. He was ordained at Holy Family Cathedral in Tulsa on April 20. During his 15 years in Tulsa, he became known for his concern for Catholic Charities, for Catholic schools and for vocations to the priesthood. In each of these areas he developed innovative programs and extended the Church’s reach throughout eastern Oklahoma.
On Nov. 24, 1992, it was announced that he had been appointed to succeed Archbishop Salatka as Oklahoma City’s third archbishop. His installation took place on Jan. 22, 1993; the ceremony was held in Oklahoma City’s Civic Center Music Hall because The Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help could not hold all those expected to attend.
Later the same year, he was summoned to Rome to receive the pallium, the sign of an archbishop’s office. He received the pallium from Saint John Paul II on June 29, 1993 (the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul), in Saint Peter’s Basilica.
Archbishop Beltran is a long-time member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, Southwestern Lieutenancy and the Knights of Columbus. He served as a member of the board of directors of Saint Gregory’s University; the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops committee on the liturgy; the USCCB committee for the American College, Louvain; the USCCB committee for the American College, Rome; the USCCB Latin America committee; the board of regents for Conception Seminary as well as the National Conference of Christians and Jews and various local boards, organizations and committees.
He was instrumental in the creation of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Youth Camp northeast of Oklahoma City.
In 2007, Archbishop Beltran was granted permission to begin the Cause for the Canonization of Father Stanley Francis Rother in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. Due to funding and personnel issues, the Diocese of Sololá where Father Rother served in the Oklahoma mission was unable to open a cause. It was Archbishop Beltran’s steadfastness and sheer determination that brought about forming the tribunal to prepare the cause.
After three years of research and interviews, the archdiocese sent more than 7,000 documents to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome.
Ten years later, Archbishop Beltran’s vision came to fruition as Father Stanley Rother was declared the first U.S. martyr by Pope Francis, which led to his beatification in Oklahoma City on Sept. 23, 2017, which Archbishop Beltran concelebrated. Blessed Stanley Rother was the first U.S.-born priest to be beatified.
On his 75th birthday in 2010, Archbishop Beltran submitted his resignation. He was succeeded by Archbishop Paul S. Coakley in February 2011.
Archbishop Beltran will be remembered for his tireless dedication to the Church he loved, his kindness and compassion, his sense of humor, and his devotion to the youth of the archdiocese. He spent his retirement serving in whatever capacity was needed, including assisting with confirmations, celebrating Mass and visiting the aging and ill.
A Pastoral Letter
Raising Our Voices:
In Opposition to Violence Against Women
Violence and abuse affect women every single day, in every country of the world, in every walk of life. Social scientists note that sexual discrimination, physical abuse, psychological or emotional abuse, sexual assault, rape, detention, isolation, control of money, shelter, time, food, etc., financial exploitation, trafficking and other forms of abuse and violence against women most often respect neither race, culture, wealth, status, religion nor age. Violence against women is rampant and is egregious. As such, as people of faith, we are called and required to raise our voices in opposition.
Addressing this important issue, however, requires a return to, and a very thoughtful reflection on, our biblical “beginning.” For our biblical “beginning” reveals a fundamental truth that looms as imperative, a critical truth that women, as well as men, possess an inherent dignity, derived not from acts or efforts, but, rather, from the very fact that women are made in the image and likeness of God.
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