Buechlein remembered as educator, steward and shepherd of Catholic faithful

The Most Rev. Daniel M. Buechlein returned one last time Wednesday to the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral, where he was installed as the Archbishop of Indianapolis more than 25 years ago.

This time, however, the hundreds of people in attendance in the cavernous church were assembled for Buechlein's funeral Mass, an event which drew the mayor of Indianapolis, 15 Roman Catholic bishops and a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.

Buechlein, who was known both to Death Row inmates and two popes, was remembered in lengthy program notes and in testimony afterward for boosting Catholic education; for putting the archdiocese's financial house in order and for something more ethereal, as Cardinal Joseph Tobin said, "seeking the face of the Lord."

“Daniel gave his life to following Christ and his body — the church,” as Tobin told the assembly.

Born in Jasper, Ind. as Marcus George Buechlein, he joined the nearby Saint Meinrad Archabbey at 20. A year later, he professed his vows as a Benedictine monk, and took the name Daniel.

After studying for two years in Rome, Buechlein returned to Saint Meinrad to teach Latin, religion and philosophy. Eventually, he became Saint Meinrad's president and rector. Among the hundreds of young seminarians he would influence was Charles Thompson, the current Archbishop of Indianapolis.

In 1987, Pope John Paul II plucked Buechlein from the archabbey and made him Bishop of Memphis, Tenn. In five years there, church membership grew and the diocese added new churches.

In 1992, at the death of then-Indianapolis Archbishop Edward T. O'Meara, the pope assigned Buechlein as his replacement. Upon arriving back home, Buechlein told a news conference he intended to emphasize Catholic education and youth ministries and to combat social injustice. "The church stands with the poor and must always stand with the poor," he said.

Buechlein's focus on Catholic schools, over the next 19 years, is perhaps his most lasting legacy.

Mickey Lentz, who served as the superintendent of the archdiocesan schools, said Buechlein quizzed her routinely on the students' performance on standardized tests. He pressed major corporate leaders to donate more money to keep inner city schools open — and improve them.

When politicians began talking about diverting public funding for private schools through vouchers, Buechlein was an early proponent, making the case for the experiment before lawmakers at the Statehouse. 

During Buechlein's tenure, enrollment in archdiocesan schools, which had been on the decline, grew 30 percent, to more than 25,000 students.

Monsignor Joseph Schaedel, who served as Buechlein's vicar general, said it was fitting, given that history, that Buechlein's funeral Mass should be held during National Catholic Schools Week.

"That was one of his great loves and one of his great legacies — the expansion of our Catholic schools, especially keeping them alive in the inner city," Schaedel said.

Buechlein's management wasn't just focused on schools. He turned the archdiocesan budget from running deficits of $2 million a year to one — after staff cutbacks and cost cutting efforts — that began running a surplus by 2004. "He taught us that, in order to do ministry, we need resources," Schaedel said.

Among the other areas Buechlein wanted to address: the priest shortage. In the 2000s, it was reaching crisis levels nationwide, forcing parish closings and consolidations. Buechlein founded a seminary, now adjacent to Marian University, which didn't solve the issue but began putting more priests in the pipeline.

Among those Buechlein ordained was Rev. Jonathan Meyer. He served as director of youth and young adult ministries for the archdiocese during Buechlein's tenure. After the funeral Mass, Meyer remembered Buechlein as a fatherly figure but also one willing to go into bars for "Theology on Tap" gatherings to connect with young adults.

When Meyer was a student in Rome, Buechlein would visit on his trips to the Vatican, encouraging him to not only pray, but to be thankful for the desire to pray. Now 41 and a pastor in Dearborn County, Meyer has reflected with gratitude in recent days on his mentor's passing.

"He knew the human heart," Meyer said.

Lupe Orozco saw that, too.

In the early 2000s, Orozco was new to Indianapolis. She was a Mexican immigrant who had lived in Los Angeles for many years before coming to the Midwest. Here, she faced a new culture shock and began drifting into depression. When Buechlein visited her church, she asked him to pray for her. He took her hand and looked her in the eyes. "He didn't say a lot of words," she said. But, to Orozco, his eyes conveyed a vital message: "Trust in God."

Orozco would see Buechlein again years later, after he had been addled by a stroke in 2011 and confined to a wheelchair, his head often titled to the side. By then, Orozco was a cancer survivor and it pained her to see the former archbishop now suffering, too. Even through his disability, Buechlein made the same connection with Orozco. Again, his eyes delivered the same message: Trust in God. 

Those memories led Orozco to Buechlein's funeral Mass, even though she learned about it only hours before it began. Through a voice choked with tears, she said she had to be there.

"I had to go say goodbye to him."

Buechlein had long intended to be buried in Indianapolis, close associates said. But after his stroke he eventually returned to Saint Meinrad to live out his days. There, he again became part of the community of monks and students. Ultimately, he decided he wanted to be laid to rest there. On Thursday, Buechlein will be buried in the archabbey cemetery.

Call Robert King at (317) 444-6089. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.