June 28, 1988

Msgr. Arthur Holtz

Msgr. Holtz was born on January 26, 1902 in Newport, KY and received his elementary education at St. Stephen’s School in Newport and St. Joseph’s School in Cold Spring, KY. After working for the railroad he decided to be a priest and began his high school studies at St. Meinrad Seminary, St. Meinrad, IN where he was ordained by Bishop Joseph Ritter for the Diocese of Wichita at thirty-seven years of age on May 30, 1939. After serving at St. John Parish in El Dorado, St. Mary Hospital in Winfield, and St. Mary’s Cathedral, he was made pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Caney and St. Joseph Parish in Cedarvale in 1941. Other parishes Father Holtz served as pastor were Sacred Heart in Arkansas City, St. Anne in Wichita, and St. Peter in Willowdale. He retired on March 13, 1984 and resided at the Catholic Care Center in Wichita until his death on June 28, 1988. He was named a monsignor in 1962, served on the Diocesan Priests’ Council and was Dean of the Kingman Deanery. Bishop Gerber was main celebrant of his funeral Mass at the cathedral and, following a memorial Mass at St. Joseph Parish in Cold Spring, KY, he was buried in the parish cemetery. “Although considered a ‘belated vocation’ in 1939, Msgr. Holtz gave nearly 50 years of service to the diocesan family in such a quiet, kind way that no matter where he was, he was universally loved.” (The Catholic Advance, July 14, 1988)