Former Portland Archbishop John G. Vlazny dies at 88

John G. Vlazny

, who served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Portland between 1997 and 2013, died Friday at his Beaverton residence, the church announced Sunday. He was 88.

Vlazny was born on February 22, 1937 in Chicago, where he grew up and attended a seminary preparatory school for aspiring priests. He attended the Pontifical North American College and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome before returning to Chicago, where he was ordained in 1961.

Over the next 52 years, Vlazny served in church administrative and leadership roles in multiple states, including a 10-year stint as bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota.

Pope John Paul II appointed Vlazny as the 10th archbishop of Portland in October 1997. He was consecrated and entered the role later that year. Over the years, church members commended Vlazny for his approachable, kind and humble demeanor.

Colleen Jeffery, a Sherwood resident and longtime congregant who attended multiple retreats hosted by Vlazny, described him as a personable and polite leader and said his homilies were often deeply personal and inspiring.

“He believed in our church, and he really stood up for it,” Jeffery said.

During Vlazny’s tenure, the Portland archdiocese was the target of

dozens of lawsuits

from individuals who said they had been sexually abused by a former priest of the church. In 2004, the archdiocese became the first in America to file bankruptcy in response to sex abuse cases.

In 2012, Vlazny

received scrutiny

for helping cover the legal expenses of a Woodburn priest who had been accused of sexual abuse and abuse of a child. Vlazny defended the loan, saying he was “deeply saddened and troubled” by the accusations, but that he felt obligated to help the priest cover the legal costs.

Vlazny also asked

Catholic ministers

to cancel their subscriptions to The Oregonian after the newspaper’s editorial board criticized the church’s response to abuse cases.

Vlazny retired from his position in 2013 and was replaced by current Archbishop Alexander Sample. Following a farewell Mass for Vlazny, parishioners praised his engagement with them and his warm spirit.

“It was his homilies that got me back into the church,”

one attendee said

of Vlazny. “He has a wonderful, humble, pastoral style in the way he preaches and in the way he lives.”

Funeral arrangements will be announced soon, the archdiocese said.

— Carlos Fuentes covers state politics and government. Reach him at 503-221-5386 or

cfuentes@oregonian.com

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