Auxiliary Bishop Emil A. Wcela, at the Diocese of Rockville...

Auxiliary Bishop Emil A. Wcela, at the Diocese of Rockville Centre on Thursday, April 3, 2003. Credit: Newsday/Karen Wiles Stabile

Bishop Emil Wcela, a leading figure in the Roman Catholic Church on Long Island who worked for decades on the East End, served as a seminary rector and was a Scripture scholar, has died at age 91.

Wcela, who was stationed at St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church in Riverhead for years while he served as vicar for the Eastern Vicariate of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, died on Saturday, the diocese said.

Wcela was remembered as an auxiliary bishop who was humble, learned and willing to speak up on issues including immigration and women in the church.

Bishop John Barres, head of the diocese, called Wcela “a humble man, fine Scripture scholar, faithful pastor and dedicated bishop,” noting that he served the diocese for more than 65 years.

Barres’s predecessor, Bishop William Murphy, said Wcela was a trusted adviser.

“Bishop Wcela's great intellect, which he used to open up our minds and deepen our understanding of the Word of God, was proven time and again as a seminary professor and rector of our seminary in Huntington,” Murphy said. “Our priests who studied there as seminarians are a testimony to his skills as teacher both an intellectual and spiritual guide.”

“His was not just intellectual wisdom,” Murphy added. “Equally he was a kind and generous pastor who knew how to listen to his people and offer to them the merciful love of God.”

Sister Margaret Smyth, head of the North Fork Spanish Apostolate, said Wcela often celebrated Mass in Spanish for the local Hispanic community, and was much beloved. “He was the kindest, gentlest, humble man you’d ever want to meet,” Smyth said. “For all of his stature, he never put that as a first.”

As an example, she recalled the first time she met Wcela. They were at a conference, and after the group finished their meal, the bishop got up, went into the kitchen and  washed his own plates.

Local Scripture classes given by Wcela, a former president of the Catholic Biblical Association, were well-attended and well-received, Smyth said.

Wcela sometimes spoke up for the local immigrants whom he was teaching. At a public hearing in Riverhead in 2016 on police cooperating in the deportation of immigrants who were in the country illegally, Wcela called for compassion in the national and local debates over immigration.

"My words this morning are just a reminder that our country and our community of Riverhead are dealing not just with a problem, but with men, women and children with human lives and human hopes for whom we share some responsibility," Wcela said.

A few years earlier, in 2012, he spoke up on another contentious topic: the role of women in the Roman Catholic Church.

In an article and an interview in "America," a weekly Jesuit magazine, Wcela said the time may have come for women to become deacons in the church. Deacons perform some of the same duties as priests, including preaching at Mass, witnessing marriages and conducting baptisms.

Wcela argued that “there is evidence of women deacons going back to the third century.” Deacons were largely phased out about 800 years ago, but returned with the 1960s Vatican II reforms, with women excluded.

Wcela grew up in Bohemia, attended St. Francis College in Brooklyn and went on to studies at Immaculate Conception Seminary — where he later became a faculty member and then rector.

He served at parishes in Seaford, Garden City and Farmingville, and worked for several years at St. Pius X Preparatory Seminary in Uniondale, where he taught Latin.

Wcela earned graduate degrees from Fordham University, the Catholic University of America and the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome.

Pope John Paul II appointed him auxiliary bishop in 1988. He also held roles in the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in areas including lay ministry and pastoral practices. He wrote six books in a Bible study series, “God’s Word Today.”

A wake is scheduled Thursday 2-5 p.m. at St. John the Evangelist, with a Mass of Transferral at 7:30 p.m. A funeral Mass is scheduled Friday at 11 a.m. at St. John Nepomucene Roman Catholic Church in Bohemia.

Deadly crash on Sunrise Highway … Blakeman raise … What's up on LI Credit: Newsday

Wake for NYPD officer ... Deadly crash on Sunrise Highway ... Congestion pricing ... Women's History Month: Jockey Madison Olver

Deadly crash on Sunrise Highway … Blakeman raise … What's up on LI Credit: Newsday

Wake for NYPD officer ... Deadly crash on Sunrise Highway ... Congestion pricing ... Women's History Month: Jockey Madison Olver

Latest Videos

Newsday LogoSUBSCRIBEUnlimited Digital AccessOnly 25¢for 5 months
ACT NOWSALE ENDS SOON | CANCEL ANYTIME