Background
Speltz, George Henry was born on May 29, 1912 in Altura, Minnesota, United States. Son of Henry and Josephine (Jung) Speltz.
Speltz, George Henry was born on May 29, 1912 in Altura, Minnesota, United States. Son of Henry and Josephine (Jung) Speltz.
Bachelor of Science, St. Mary's College, Winona, Minnesota, 1932. Doctor of Laws, St. Mary's College, Winona, Minnesota, 1963. Student theology, St. Paul Seminary, 1940.
Master of Arts, Catholic University America, 1942. Doctor of Philosophy, Catholic University America, 1944. Doctor of Divinity, Holy See, Italy, 1963.
He served as Auxiliary Bishop of Winona (1963-1966) and Bishop of Saint Cloud (1968-1987). He continued his studies at Saint Paul Seminary in Saint Paul. Speltz was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Francis Kelly on June 2, 1940.
He then served as assistant pastor of Saint John"s Church and superintendent of Loretto High School in Caledonia until 1941.
His thesis was entitled: "Decentralization and the Social Obligations of the Land". Returning to Minnesota, Speltz served as vice-chancellor of the Diocese of Winona (1944-1947) and superintendent of diocesan schools (1945-1949).
In 1946, he was named pastor of Saint Mary"s Church in Minneiska and a professor at Saint Mary"s College in Winona. He served as the first rector of Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Winona from 1948 to 1963.
On February 12, 1963, Speltz was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Winona and Titular Bishop of Claneus by Pope John XXIII. He received his episcopal consecration on the following March 25 from Bishop Edward Fitzgerald, with Bishops Peter Bartholome and Frederick Freking serving as co-consecrators, at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart.
In addition to his episcopal duties, he served as pastor of Saint Mary"s Church in Winona from 1963 to 1966. He also attended the last three sessions of the Second Vatican Council (1963-1965). On April 6, 1966, Speltz was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Saint Cloud by Pope Paul VI. His installation took place on the following June 7.
He succeeded Bishop Peter Bartholome as the sixth Bishop of Saint Cloud on January 31, 1968.
He was president of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference from 1970 to 1972. In 1984, he initiated a ban to deny church weddings to couples who live together before they marry, unless they agreed to live apart before their wedding.
He said cohabitation "calls into question fundamental moral values that have long been central to the Christian tradition: the sacred character of sex and of the Christian family." He retired as Bishop of Saint Cloud due to health concerns on January 13, 1987. Speltz died at Saint Benedict Senior Community in Saint Cloud, at age 91.
He is buried at Assumption Cemetery in Saint Cloud.