Leo Binz

Leo Binz (October 31 1900 – October 9 1979) was a Roman Catholic Bishop and Archbishop.

Born in Stockton, Illinois, Archbishop Binz is believed to have been the first priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockford to be named a Bishop.

Leo Binz was ordained as a priest on March 15, 1924. On November 21, 1942, Pope Pius XII appointed Binz a Roman Catholic bishop, and on December 21, 1942, he was consecrated. He was assigned as the apostolic administrator of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona, in Winona, Minnesota because Bishop Francis Martin Kelly was in poor health. In 1943 he was named Coadjutor Bishop of Winona. During his time in Winona, the Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary was established, all the diocesan offices were centralized, and plans for building the first cathedral in Winona were begun. [http://www.dow.org/history/history-pastbishops.html] [http://www.ihmseminary.org/about.htm]

In 1949 Archbishop Henry Rohlman of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque, in Dubuque, Iowa, requested a coadjutor bishop, and Bishop Binz was selected for this honor. He served as the Coadjutor Archbishop of Dubuque until Archbishop Rohlman retired on December 2 1954.

Archbishop Binz then became the sixth Bishop and fourth Archbishop of Dubuque. During his tenure in Dubuque, Archbishop Binz helped develop Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese. Binz blessed the cornerstone of Wahlert High School in Dubuque, which was opened during his tenure. The North American Martyr's Retreat House in Cedar Falls, Iowa was established through Binz's efforts, and he helped to expand Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese.

Archbishop Binz served as the head of the Dubuque Archdiocese from 1954 until his reassignment as the fifth Archbishop and seventh Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis in 1962. He was installed in the Archiepiscopal office on April 28, 1962 and remained in it until his retirement on May 28, 1975, succeeded by John Roach. Early in his term as Archbishop of St. Paul, in 1966, the Vatican altered the name of the Archdiocese to reflect the equal stature of the Twin Cities by naming the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis as co-cathedral of the Archdiocese, adding the words "and Minneapolis" to the name. Subsequently, he was known as the Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

Archbishop Binz was assisted in leading the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis by Leo Christopher Byrne, who served as Coadjutor Archbishop from July 31, 1967, until his death on October 21, 1974. [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bbinz.html]

On his death in 1979, in Maywood, Illinois, Archbishop Binz was awarded the title Archbishop Emeritus. Archbishop Binz was buried with other Archbishops of the Archdiocese at Resurrection Cemetery in Mendota Heights, Minnesota.

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