Served northwest Indiana Catholic faithful for 3 decades
The Most Rev. Bishop Emeritus Dale J. Melczek, the third bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gary, was remembered as a devoted man who spent his life in service to the church and the community.
Melczek, 83, died early Thursday morning in hospice after suffering an irreparable stroke over the weekend.
He died just six days after celebrating on Aug. 19 his 30 years with the Diocese of Gary, according to a news release from current Bishop Robert J. McClory.
“Bishop Melczek was a true shepherd who loved his flock in the Diocese of Gary,” McClory said. “He was a tireless servant and a compassionate pastor. We have been blessed tremendously to have such a hopeful and caring leader.”
“Until his last days, Bishop Melczek was still looking forward for new ways to share the love of Jesus in Northwest Indiana,” he added.
“We now entrust him to the love of Jesus so that he may be drawn forward into the Lord’s eternal embrace.”
Melzcek served as bishop from 1992 to 2015 when he retired. He then was assigned as pastor at St. Mary of the Lake parish in Gary.
Melzcek was installed bishop of the 50-year-old Diocese of Gary in June 1996, with Cardinal Edmund Szoka, archbishop emeritus of Detroit, presiding over Melczek’s installation. Pope John Paul II had appointed Melczek auxiliary bishop of Detroit in 1982 and Cardinal Szoka ordained him bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit in 1983.
Melczek was born in Detroit, the oldest of three children to Aloysius and Geraldine Melczek. He was ordained a priest in the Archdiocese of Detroit in 1964.
In 1992, after his predecessor, Bishop Norbert F. Gaughan, suffered a stroke, Pope John Paul II assigned Melczek as “apostolic administrator” for the Diocese of Gary, before he eventual took over full-time duties from Gaughan, who retired to St. Anthony Home in Crown Point before his death at age 78 in October 1999.
St. Mary of the Lake parishioner Jim Wiseman said he has spent almost every day of the past seven years with Melczek after the former bishop stepped in to help keep the parish open after it was slated for closure by the diocese.
“I’m completely heartbroken. He’s touched hundreds of people in his life in Northwest Indiana and Detroit,” Wiseman said.
Then-Bishop Dale Hying gave the parish a year of opportunity to demonstrate why it should remain open. Melczek stepped up to offer to lead the parish without taking a salary.
“The rest was magic,” Wiseman said. The parish was able to meet the goals set out by the Diocese and has been thriving under Melczek’s leadership.
One of his projects was establishing a food pantry at the parish that served parishioners and the community at large.
“He didn’t care where they were from. If they needed help, we would find a way,” Wiseman said. The pantry has served thousands over the past seven years, he said. “Here we are a small church and a lot of our own people are struggling yet our food pantry is thriving and very successful. He was very proud of that.”
Wiseman said the impact of Melczek’s passing will be profound to the parish and its members.
“He was a visionary for our parish and more importantly for the city, the community and the entire area. It’s a huge loss,” Wiseman said. “He’s an irreplaceable kind of guy.”
Gary Mayor Jerome Prince said he had the honor of meeting with Bishop Melczek on several occasions, and it was clear he was truly committed to his faith and spreading the Gospel in so many ways throughout the four counties of the diocese for three decades.
“Bishop Melczek led and loved his community, and he was a tremendous role model to everyday people and community leaders,” Prince said.
“On behalf of my family, friends and neighbors throughout the City of Gary, I offer my deepest condolences to the family, friends of the late Bishop Emeritus Dale Melzcek and to everyone in the Catholic Diocese of Gary,” he said.
Jaycob Knazur, Andrean High School principal, said Melczek has long been a supporter and advocate for the high school and for Catholic education.
He founded the Catholic Foundation for Northwest Indiana and established endowment funds for each of the three Catholic high schools to ensure these schools with future resources.
The Bishop Dale J. Melczek Fund for Andrean High School, which provided scholarships for future Andrean students, was formed in 2014.
He kicked off the funding the endowment with
a personal donation of $30,000.
“I think he loved being part of Andrean. He visited us often as bishop, even in his retired days. We miss him a lot, it’s that simple,” Knazur said.
Knazur, an Andrean alum, remembered having Melczek confirm him in 2003 when he was a student. Over the years he had more contact with the bishop.
“When I think of Bishop Melczek, one word that comes to mind is zeal,” Knazur said, adding Melczek had a zeal and enthusiasm for the school and the church. “He just had a great connection to our diocese.”
One of the great contributions Melczek made during his lifetime and his legacy was his fight against the injustice of the sin of racism, Knazur said.
“Bishop Melczek was ahead of the curve on that,” he said.
In 2002, according to the Diocese, Melczek began to address the sin of racism in northwest Indiana as a priority with the release of his first Pastoral Letter, “The Many Faces of Our Church: A Letter to our Catholic Faithful Regarding our Cultural Diversity.”
A year later he released another letter, “Created in God’s Image: A Pastoral Letter on the Sin of Racism and a Call to Conversion.” The letters opened up discussion on racism in the parishes and throughout the diocese.
He co-chaired the Race Relations Council of Northwest Indiana from 20022007.
“As we think about those big icons of the past, it’s sad to see some of those guys transition. It must motivate us to take the lead and live by their example,” Knazur said.
The Rite of Reception of the Body takes place at 1 p.m. Sunday at Holy Angels Cathedral, 640 Tyler St. in Gary. Visitation takes place from 1:30 to 8 p.m. with evening prayer at 5 p.m. and night prayer at 7:45 p.m.
Visitation resumes Monday from 8:30 to 9:45 a.m., followed by morning prayer.
The Mass of Christian Burial begins at 10:30 a.m. at Holy Angels Cathedral, followed by a light luncheon. All liturgies are open to the public and will also be livestreamed on the Diocesan YouTube channel (dcgary. org).