Bishop Charles Grahmann concluded his life's journey and arrived at the Household of the Father on August 14, 2018.  He was born on July 15, 1931, the 4th child in a family of 11 children, in Hallettsville, Texas.  His early life was spent on a farm.  He attended Sacred Heart School in Hallettsville, left after elementary school to enter St. John's Seminary in San Antonio to study for the priesthood.  His studies at St. John's took him through high school.  College and theology were taught at Assumption Seminary.  Archbishop Robert E. Lucey ordained him a priest on March 17, 1956, at San Fernando Cathedral.  He celebrated his first Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Hallettsville on March 18, 1956.  He was assigned to St. James Parish, St. Joseph's, Yoakum, and St. Paul's.  August 1964, he was appointed Priest-Secretary to Archbishop Lucey.  After Lucey's retirement, he continued as Secretary to Archbishop Francis Furey with pastoral duties at St. Gregory's.  Upon the death of Archbishop Furey, he was named Vicar General to Archbishop Patrick Flores with pastoral duties at St. Joseph's Church, San Antonio.

While serving as priest-secretary for the Archdiocese of San Antonio, he was appointed Diocesan Director of Catholic Relief Services.  After a trip to South America with CRS, his heart was moved greatly by the suffering of the poor people in that region.  As a result, he pledged a lifetime commitment to caring for the poor which continued throughout his ministry.  June 1981, he was appointed Auxiliary to the Archbishop of San Antonio and ordained bishop on August 20, 1981.  He chose as his Episcopal Motto: "Walk Humbly with Your God (Micah 6:8).

May 29, 1982, he was installed as first Bishop of the newly created Diocese of Victoria, Texas.  He created a diocesan-wide consultation process to bring together clergy, religious and lay people of the Diocese.  After multiple gatherings reflecting on the nature of the Church, the positive strengths of the people of the area and negative conditions confronting the people, issues and goals were set forth and a plan of action was presented for this new diocese.  December 11, 1989, he was appointed co-adjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Dallas, was received in Dallas in February 1990 and became Ordinary of the Diocese of Dallas on July 14, 1990.

Because of his special love for Hispanic people, he made ministry to them a primary goal.  During the 1990's some 1,000,000 migrants, mostly Hispanic, came to Dallas in search of work.  When the migration began in early 1992, he vigorously moved to welcome them and accommodate them.  Masses in Spanish were promoted in every parish where sufficient numbers were present.  As the numbers increased during the 90's, 3 parishes were established in dense Hispanic population areas, Santa Clara of Assisi, Nuestra Senora del Pilar and San Juan Diego, and the Cathedral was renovated to receive some 12,000 Hispanics who attended Mass on weekends.  Priests were recruited from Latin American countries so that a Spanish-speaking priest was present in most parishes.  The Diaconate program in Spanish was established to train Hispanic men to serve in the parishes and parishes were established for other immigrant newcomers: Vietnamese, Chinese; Indian immigrants; also, Lebanese, Ukraine and Latin Rites. Because many companies moving to Dallas, five new parishes were established, plus the new John Paul II high school and four elementary schools.

He invited the Neo-Catechumenal Way to the Diocese in the early 1990's.  The Way, one of the many movements in the Church, promotes a deep and intensive journey of faith based on the Word of God.  Because of its success, Bishop Grahmann invited them to bring one of their seminaries to the Diocese, the Redemptoris Mater Missionary Seminary.  It prepares young men for the diocesan priesthood.  He also participated in the spirituality of the Focolare Movement, founded by Chiara Lubich in 1943 in Trent, Italy.  Its hallmark is the promotion of unity by always living the simple command to love one another as you love yourself.  Because of its wide spread appeal, it is highly ecumenical.  He brought this to his ecumenical brothers in Dallas and formed a close-knit group with the ministers in other faith groups.  Four of the ecumenical leaders attended yearly worldwide ecumenical meetings with Bishop Grahmann in Europe, giving all of them a new sense of their common journey toward unity.  They engaged their churches in the three-year journey toward the third millennium, with yearly gatherings of the ecumenical leaders, clergy and lay people, culminating in the festive gathering of all at the Meyerson in January 2000.

He always believed that a Bishop should be open to the needs of the whole Church.  Because of his experiences with the poor and suffering of the world, he became involved in multiple projects, worldwide.  Early in his ministry, he teamed up with Bishop John Yanta to buy a bus for the seminary in Guatemala.  They drove it from San Antonio to Guatemala City.  Already while pastor of St. Gregory, he initiated a "Walk for the Poor" by young people, to raise funds for the Diocese of Juticalpa in Honduras.  In Mexico, he provided funds for the Diocese of Oaxaca to buy sewing machines for groups of women who made clothing for the poor.  He assisted the Diocese of Linares in building the pastoral center for the Diocese.  In the Diocese of Ciudad Victoria, he supported a special evangelization project.

In Brazil he assisted the Diocese of Aracaju and Garenhius in renovating their seminaries and the Diocese of Recife in the construction of a new church.  In Syria, he provided funds to build a cheese factory in Aleppo for Christian and Muslim families.  In Lebanon, he provided funds to build an elementary school for 200 children who live in many nearby villages.  He built a new church for the Melkite Rite near Sidon, after the original church was destroyed by war.  He provided a computer lab for a Catholic high school to serve the students and the community.  In the Philippines, he funded the purchase of a closed hospital with 35 beds.  He provided transportation for the Poor Clare Sisters.  In Argentina, he provided transportation for Sisters, doctors and social workers ministering in the mountain villages.  In Croatia, he provided funds to bring food for refugees during the Yugoslavia's breakup.  In Russia, he provided funds to purchase and renovate a seminary for the Archdiocese of Moscow after the fall of communism.  In Ukraine, he assisted parish renovations after the fall of communism in Diocese of Lviv.  In the Czech Republic, he provided the Archdiocese of Prague funds to build a diocesan center, renamed after St. Mother Teresa.  In Ethiopia, he sent funds to assist the Daughters of Charity Sisters to feed some 200 children each day and teach them, in a remote area of the country.  Also, assisted the new bishop to get started.  The new Bishop had nothing.  South Sudan, he supported the only hospital in the war-torn country.

In the United States, he supported the Catholic Church Extension Society.  He provided funds for Catholic Relief Services which supports the poor worldwide.  He also assisted The Catholic Near East Welfare Association which assists the poor and victims of the wars in the Middle East.  Before he was ordained a bishop in 1981, he attended a private retreat at a Benedictine Monastery.  His spiritual director left him with a simple message for episcopal ministry as a bishop: "Be poor.  Be simple.  Be humble.  Point the way to Jesus for your people, and then walk humbly in their midst.  His motto became "Walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8.

He was preceded in death by his parents; sisters, Sr. Anastasia, IWBS, Sr. Sylvia, IWBS, and Rita Zaruba and survived by:  Brother Nicholas, FSC (Brothers of the Christian Schools), Marcus, Jerome, Fred, Anita (Spangler), Mary Ann (Michalke), Nicholas, Jr.; numerous nephews, nieces, grandnephews and nieces and 2 great-grand nephews.

FUNERAL SERVICES

In San Antonio, a Rosary will be recited Wednesday, August 22nd at 10:00 A.M. at St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church, 700 Dewhurst, followed by a Funeral Mass to be offered at 11:00 A.M.

In Hallettsville, TX, a Rosary will be recited Friday, August 24th at 7:00 P.M. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 400 E. 5th St., Hallettsville, TX 77964.

Mass of Christian Burial will be offered Saturday, August 25th at 10:00 A.M. also at Sacred Heart Catholic Church with interment in the Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery in Hallettsville.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Sacred Heart Parish, 400 E. 5th St., Hallettsville, Texas 77964.