December 9, 1995
Father Leroy Matz
Father Matz was born on February 15, 1917 in Cicero, IL. After attending Conception Seminary, Conception, MO he was ordained by Bishop Winkelmann at Sacred Heart Convent Chapel in Wichita on June 1, 1946. He served as an assistant at St. Patrick Parish in Parsons and St. Joseph Parish in Ellinwood before he was named pastor at St. Rose Parish in Council Grove on June 8, 1957. Prior to 1957 he served as a chaplain at St. Mary’s Hospital in Winfield, Mount Carmel Hospital in Pittsburg, St. Francis Hospital in Wichita, and Villa Maria Home in Mulvane. While in Mulvane he served as an assistant at St. Anthony and St. Rose Parishes in Wellington and as an assistant chaplain at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita. In 1974 he went to his last assignment as pastor of Holy Redeemer Parish in Tampa where he remained until his retirement to the Priest Retirement Center in Wichita in 1991. “Father Matz, an avid stamp collector, especially prized his Vatican stamps that he kept updated by subscribing to a service run by seminarians in Rome.” (The Catholic Advance, Dec. 15, 1995) Father Matz died on December 9, 1995 and his funeral was celebrated at the St. Elizabeth Chapel at the Catholic Care Center in Wichita. Father Matz was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Wichita.