1. Rembert George Samuel Weakland was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Milwaukee from 1977 to 2002.
24 Facts About Rembert Weakland
1. 2.
George Rembert Weakland was born on April 2,1927, in Patton, Pennsylvania, to Basil Rembert Weakland and Mary Kane.
3.
Rembert Weakland had four sisters: Leora, Elizabeth, Barbara, and Marian; and a brother William.
4.
Rembert Weakland attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Patton, Pennsylvania, and then enrolled at the minor seminary run by the Benedictine monks of Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
5.
In 1945, Weakland entered the novitiate of the archabbey, taking the religious name of Rembert.
6.
Rembert Weakland made his solemn profession as a monk on September 29,1949, at Solesmes Abbey in France.
7.
On June 24,1951, Rembert Weakland was ordained to the priesthood for the Benedictine order by Bishop Simone Salvi at Subiaco Abbey near Rome.
8.
Rembert Weakland furthered his studies in music in Italy, France, and Germany, as well as at the Juilliard School and Columbia University, both in New York City.
9.
From 1957 to 1963, Rembert Weakland taught music at St Vincent College.
10.
Rembert Weakland was elected coadjutor archabbot of St Vincent Archabbey on June 26,1963.
11.
Rembert Weakland soon succeeded to the office and received the solemn blessing of an archabbot from Bishop William G Connare of the Diocese of Greensburg, on August 29,1963.
12.
On September 29,1967, Rembert Weakland was elected the abbot primate of the Benedictine Confederation; he was re-elected in 1973.
13.
Rembert Weakland served as a member of the Vatican Council of Superiors General from 1968 until 1977.
14.
In 1968, Rembert Weakland presided over an international, inter-religious monastic conference near Bangkok, Thailand.
15.
Rembert Weakland administered the last rites to Merton and arranged for a US military airplane to fly his remains back to the United States.
16.
Rembert Weakland's tenure was divisive due to his pronounced liberal views and liturgical experiments.
17.
Amidst abortion controversies, Rembert Weakland participated in public "listening sessions", encouraging Catholic women to share their views on the issue.
18.
Rembert Weakland's retirement was overshadowed by revelation of a large payout to prevent a lawsuit.
19.
In 2009, Rembert Weakland announced that he was gay in his memoir A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church: Memoirs of a Catholic Archbishop.
20.
Rembert Weakland died on August 22,2022, at his residence in Greenfield, Wisconsin, following a long illness.
21.
Rembert Weakland's remains were interred at the cemetery of St Vincent Archabbey on September 1,2022.
22.
In 1965 to 1966, Rembert Weakland served as president of the Church Music Association of America.
23.
Rembert Weakland's views did not prevail within the CMAA and so his presidency did not last.
24.
In 2000, Rembert Weakland was a critic of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's document Dominus Iesus on religious relativism.