Today would have been the 87th birthday of Msgr. Richard J. Schuler, former pastor of St. Agnes Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Today would have been the 87th birthday of Msgr. Richard J. Schuler, former pastor of St. Agnes Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.

“This blog is rather like a fusion of the Baroque ‘salon’ with its well-tuned harpsichord around which polite society gathered for entertainment and edification and, on the other hand, a Wild West “saloon” with its out-of-tune piano and swinging doors, where everyone has a gun and something to say. Nevertheless, we try to point our discussions back to what it is to be Catholic in this increasingly difficult age, to love God, and how to get to heaven.” - Fr. Z

I’ll remember Monsignor in my prayers during the Holy Hour at his beloved parish. I’m heading there shortly.
Thanks Fr Z. That picture brings back good memories. I was only momentarily at the parish a handful of times, though I did stay on once. The table conversation was quite ferocious at the time — humorously so — about the leadership of Musica Sacra at that time. It seems that it wasn’t what it should have been. Everything about the parish impressed me. Everyone liked the company of the old Monsignor. However, what I especially remember are the Masses, and isn’t that a compliment to give any priest.
I have heard from a priest of the Archdiocese of St.Paul-Mineapolis that Msgr.turned down a chance to have the Indult.Is that true?Why did he insist on a Latin NO instead.My late bishop,Bishop Thomas Keating,used him when he refused requests for the indult.The Bishop claimed preservation of the language (Latin) was more i mportant the the preservation of a form.Most peopel,the Bishop said,would go to the NO,and if he allowed the Indult noone would celebrate the NO in latin thus further eroding the roleof Latin.
From everything I’ve read, it seems like the late monsignor was the perfect example of what every parish priest should be, and that the parish of Saint Agnes is the perfect example of what every parish should be. Let us pray that it may be so!
The happiest five years of my priesthood were spent with Msgr. Schuler. His simplicity, charity and clarity of vision were unlike any I have ever known. He was a dear friend for over 30 years. Alas, he was one of the last of a dying breed of “gentlemen priests”. Truly someone ahead of his time and unfortunately never receiving the recognition he deserved. Pater Z, your site is a daily stop of mine and a great inspiration. May our heavenly patron RJS continue to watch over us both!
I met Msgr. Schuler once in Rome, during the 1985 Synod (already knowing who he was, of course, through The Wanderer). He was very kind.
I never met Msgr. Schuler but would attend the High Latin Mass at St. Agnes once every 2 years (it’s a long drive from my house). I felt the Mass was the most beautiful mass in the world, musically, even superior to the High Latin Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica the one time I went to one in the Vatican. I enjoyed reading the 50th anniversary writeup on his career by a Vatican official who also stated that musically, this High Latin Mass at St. Agnes, with the Minnesota orchestra performing, was the most beautiful in the world. Other readers, can download Mass music performances from http://www.stagnes.net – click on music and follow the links, the music I believe is held at mp3.com and the links to it are available on their web site.
I never met Msgr. Schuler but would attend the High Latin Mass at St. Agnes once every 2 years (it\’s a long drive from my house). I felt the Mass was the most beautiful mass in the world, musically, even superior to the High Latin Mass at St. Peter\’s Basilica the one time I went to one in the Vatican. I enjoyed reading the 50th anniversary writeup on his career by a Vatican official who also stated that musically, this High Latin Mass at St. Agnes, with the Minnesota orchestra performing, was the most beautiful in the world. Other readers, can download Mass music performances from http://www.stagnes.net – click on music and follow the links, the music I believe is held at mp3.com and the links to it are available on their web site.
I never met the man. But I drive about 30 miles every sunday to attend the mass he instituted.
A great guy
Three superb complete orchestral Masses from St. Agnes — Beethoven’s Mass in C, Gonoud’s Mass of St. Cecilia, Hayden’s Pauken Mass — are available on CD and tape from the Leaflet Missal Company. Go to
http://www.leafletonline.com/index.php
and follow the Media : Music : Orchestral Masses links. If you wanted to own just one orchestral Mass CD, I’d recommend this Gonoud.
The Gonoud Mass is downloadable here too:
http://www.stagnes.net/music-recordings-cd-gounod.html
Go here for the other downloadable Masses:
http://www.stagnes.net/music-recordings.html