Funeral Mass Said for Bishop Maher

Bishop Leo T. Maher was remembered at a funeral service Wednesday as a leader who had the courage of his convictions.

A group of about 1,300, made up of parishioners, priests and civic leaders crowded into the Church of the Immaculata to pay their last respects to Maher, the spiritual leader of 500,000 Roman Catholics in the San Diego Diocese before he retired last July.

Eighteen bishops from around the state and from Mexico also attended the services at the church on the campus of the University of San Diego. “As a leader he was courageous. He was not resistant . . . to confront,” the Rev. Raymond Maher of the San Jose Diocese said in remembering his brother. “Of course, the pride and joy of his life was the development of his clergy.”

Maher, 75, died Saturday in his Mission Hills home following a long battle with a malignant brain tumor.

Maher had served nearly 48 years in the priesthood, including 28 years as a bishop and 21 years as the spiritual leader of the San Diego Diocese.

During his tenure, Maher restored fiscal health to the diocese and the University of San Diego, and established 19 new parishes. He also developed programs to serve a variety of needs in the ethnic populations.