MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The funeral for Bishop Robert C. Morlino will take place Tuesday, Dec. 4 in Madison.
Morlino died Saturday night, Nov. 24 at the age of 71.
The funeral is set for 11 a.m. on Dec. 4 at St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church, 5313 Flad Ave, Madison.
A Prayer Vigil, with opportunity for visitation, will be held Monday, Dec. 3, at the O’Donnell Chapel at Holy Name Heights, 702 S. High Point Rd., Madison, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., with Solemn Vespers beginning at 7 p.m. Bishop Paul Swain presiding.
Visitation on Tuesday, Dec. 4, at St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church, Madison, from 9 a.m. until just prior to the Funeral Mass.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. at St. Maria Goretti. The Most Rev. Jerome Listecki, Archbishop of Milwaukee, will be the principal celebrant with the Rev. Monsignor James R. Bartylla as homilist.
Interment will be at Resurrection Cemetery immediately following the Funeral Mass.
The diocese said in a statement that Morlino died Saturday night at St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison. Diocese spokesman Brent King says the bishop suffered an apparent heart attack while undergoing medical tests.
Morlino was installed the fourth bishop of Madison in August 2003. The Wisconsin State Journal reports he upheld conservative Catholic Church teachings often at odds with the diocese’s more liberal members.
Morlino also gained a national reputation for his strong opposition to abortion and same-sex unions.
A native of Scranton, Pennsylvania, Morlino became a priest in the Diocese of Kalamazoo in 1981. Pope John Paul II appointed him the Ninth Bishop of Helena in 1999.