Fr. Joe Juknialis, a close friend of Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Richard Sklba, gave the homily at his Mass of Christian Burial at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee Dec. 4. Numerous bishops — including Milwaukee Archbishop-Delegate Jeffrey Grob — and one cardinal attended the service. (Photos by Greta Taxis)
“I am the vine, you are the branches,” proclaims the Gospel of John, Chapter 15, verse five. “Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.”
More than a scholar, more than a priest, more than a prelate of the Church, the Most Rev. Richard J. Sklba, Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Milwaukee, saw himself as a branch on the vine: a thing always growing, always flowering, always beginning anew, nourished and sustained by the life-giving love of God.
This Gospel reading was proclaimed at Bishop Sklba’s Mass of Christian Burial on Wednesday, Dec. 4, just as it was at his Mass of episcopal ordination in 1979 when he became one of America’s youngest bishops.
“He really saw us living that way — about the Gospel that we listened to, about the vine and the branches. Jesus is the vine, we are the branches, and together, Christ and us bear fruit,” said Fr. Joe Juknialis, Bishop Sklba’s close and longtime friend, who delivered the homily. “I think he saw us all as branches on the vine … he saw us all, somehow, finding life from God.”
Bishop Sklba died in his sleep Nov. 21 at the age of 89.
Laypeople, religious, priests and bishops — including Cardinal Blase Cupich of the Archdiocese of Chicago and Milwaukee’s Archbishop-Delegate Jeffrey Grob — filled the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist to bid farewell to the man who “called everybody friend,” as Fr. Juknialis described him.
In his homily, Fr. Juknialis reflected on his many years of friendship with Bishop Sklba, especially the last decade, which saw the pair as tenants of the rectory at Old St. Mary together.
“Every morning, even when we were on vacation, he would get up and get a cup of coffee and sit for 45 minutes to an hour with the Word of God,” said Fr. Juknialis. “He was loyal to that Word.”
Fr. Juknialis also recalled how Bishop Sklba happened to be in Rome in 1962 as a young priest when the Second Vatican Council convened. He wanted to get into St. Peter’s Basilica for the opening session, so when he saw an elderly bishop walking down the street carrying a suitcase, he jumped at the chance to offer to carry it for him … straight into the Vatican.
“People thought he was that bishop’s secretary, so he got in for the opening session,” said Fr. Juknialis. “And he was always very proud of the fact that when all the bishops in St. Peter’s took the oath of faithfulness to the council, he took that oath with them. And he meant it, and he lived it.”
“Richard touched us all in a variety of ways,” said Bishop Sklba’s brother Paul, who addressed the congregation at the outset of the liturgy. “And the testament is the people that came yesterday, came today, and who have universally told my wife and I, this morning and yesterday, how he was such an important part of their life.”
The Mass of Christian Burial in downtown Milwaukee followed a two-hour visitation; the evening before, on Dec. 3, a visitation and prayer service was also held at St. Richard Church in Racine. Bishop Sklba was born in Racine in 1935.
“Richard’s legacy is one of personal care,” said Paul Sklba. “And so if we can do nothing else as we leave the Cathedral today, just embody that spirit of his that was grateful, prayerful and loving.”
At the funeral, a representative of the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi read from a letter of condolence addressed to Archbishop Listecki; the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi enjoyed a close relationship with Bishop Sklba.
“Bishop Sklba was a treasured part of the life of our congregation. In fact, he presided at our Sunday liturgy the weekend before he died, and he was supposed to have Christmas Sunday liturgy with us. Over many years, he came when we needed him most and was a faithful presider for Sunday Mass. He never ceased to inspire us with his knowledge of scripture and how it applied to all of us in our everyday lives,” read the letter.
And he never accepted the stipend offered to him by the sisters for saying Mass, the letter continued: “He suggested that we use the money to bring some additional spirits to our birthday, Green Bay Packer and other parties at the convent — and we did this faithfully.”
Letters were also read from Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Cardinal James Harvey and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, writing on behalf of Pope Francis.
“Recognizing his many years of priestly ministry to the church in Milwaukee, His Holiness entrusts the late bishop’s soul to the loving mercy of Christ, our Savior,” read the statement from Cardinal Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State. “To all present at the funeral Mass, and to all who mourn Bishop Sklba’s death, the Holy Father imparts his blessing as a pledge of peace and consolation in the Risen Lord.”
“Bishop Sklba was a person of consummate integrity. He lived to the full what he firmly believed and taught, no matter what,” wrote Cardinal Harvey in his letter, which was read by Auxiliary Bishop James Schuerman. “He always looked for the good in every person and in every situation, and he only showed annoyance in others when they did not do the same. To many, he will be remembered, and rightly so, as a scholar and a gentleman. But to those of us who had the privilege of knowing him as a wise spiritual guide, his memory will be cherished most for what made him such a remarkable figure — he was a truly holy priest, after the Lord’s own heart.”
“For me, he was a brother, friend, loyal auxiliary, wise counselor, patient listener — when his hearing aids were on — and cherished churchman,” read the letter from Cardinal Dolan, who worked alongside Bishop Sklba for the seven years that then-Archbishop Dolan spent in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Auxiliary Bishop Jeffrey Haines read Cardinal Dolan’s letter.
Before the final commendation and Bishop Sklba’s internment in the cathedral crypt, Archbishop Listecki called the late bishop “truly a great Christian gentleman. When you encountered Bishop Sklba, your own dignity was elevated.”
Archbishop Listecki extended thanks to all those who attended the funeral and those who organized it but reserved the greatest gratitude for God’s gift of Bishop Sklba to the archdiocese — “this wonderful vocation acting as a model … (of) kindness that we have to embody in our own lives, as we reach out to others fulfilling the commandment that Jesus has given us to love one another.”
Fr. Juknialis mentioned that Bishop Sklba’s episcopal motto was “Maranatha” — “Come, Lord Jesus, come.” It is a phrase weighty with expectation, often associated with Advent, and Cardinal Dolan noted in his letter that the true joy of Christmas and the glory of the Incarnation has now, finally, been realized in the journey of Bishop Sklba: “His wait is over.”
