Archbishop Joseph Naumann's motto of 'vitae victoria erit,' meaning 'life will be victorious,' reflects the truth on which he has staked his ministry for more than 40 years.
(The Leaven) -- Vitae victoria erit.
It is Latin for “Life will be victorious.”
It’s been the episcopal motto of Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann since his 1997 ordination as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of St. Louis.
The motto, said pro-life leaders at archdiocesan, state, regional and national levels, reflects the truth on which he has staked his ministry for more than 40 years.
In 1984, Archbishop John L. May appointed the young priest director of the Respect Life office in St. Louis. Established in 1973 by Cardinal John Joseph Carberry, the office was the first of its kind in the country.
Through his new position, Father Naumann met others dedicated to the same mission, including Al and Molly Kertz.
“We had just taken over as parish pro-life coordinators at Mary, Queen of Peace in Webster Groves, [Missouri]. He was relatively new as the archdiocesan director. ... It was the beginning of officially our involvement,” Molly said. (Years later, the archbishop recommended Molly to serve in the same role he had.)
As the couple served their parish, they often saw Father Naumann at events, discussed issues with him during meetings and witnessed his thoughts turn into ideas, then actions.
To this day, the couple attributes many of the ministries within the Respect Life apostolate’s four focus areas of pastoral care, spiritual care, education, and public policy and advocacy to the archbishop.
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“He studies issues and situations. He processes them in his mind,” Al said.
“He’s thoughtful. He comes up with ideas,” he added. “He’s not intent on taking credit for the ideas. He will kind of demure or try to pass them off to someone else.”
Besides abortion, the archbishop focused on all life issues, including medical ethics, euthanasia and the connection between contraception and abortion.
“Until Archbishop Naumann left to go to Kansas City, he made sure [Archbishop Justin Rigali and Archbishop Raymond Burke] were surrounded by expert advisers on all of these issues so that they had the backing and the expert information on what’s going on with some of these delicate and complicated issues. ... He just has a seamless pro-life ethic,” Molly said.
Jeff and Jeanne Stoll, members of Sacred Heart Parish in Florissant, Missouri, agreed.
They, too, served in pro-life ministry under Father Naumann in numerous ways — from taking buses to the March for Life, to serving on advisory boards and teaching natural family planning. Like the Kertzes, they remain friends with the archbishop to this day.
“I think his quiet, humble example was a real beacon to us and encouraged us to jump in and do what we thought we could do,” Jeff said.
The natural family planning office sponsored an annual Mass to celebrate the 1968 papal encyclical “Humanae Vitae.” Jeanne often recalls the archbishop’s presence.
“His commitment to what we were doing, I think, helped people to see the connection between contraception and abortion,” she said.
Jeff agreed.
“He took all these things into consideration,” he noted. “He wasn’t a guy who was anti-abortion. He was truly pro-life.”
As the Respect Life apostolate grew under Father Naumann, its influence grew, Jeanne said, adding it’s no wonder people started looking to the archdiocese for guidance — including Carl Landwehr, founder of the Vitae Foundation headquartered in Jefferson City, Missouri.
Today, the foundation’s “lifesaving research” is used by many organizations including Heartbeat International, 40 Days for Life and Students for Life.
When Father Naumann came on the scene, the organization was growing, changing its focus from print media and trying to market its “product” — life.
“He was instrumental in everything we did,” Landwehr said, adding then-Father Naumann’s willingness extended to even driving the organization’s leaders to parishes in St. Louis. Upon arrival at their location, Landwehr remembers the archbishop almost always carrying one item.
“Father Joe was always willing to carry the TV set,” Landwehr said, chuckling.
The organization used a portable television to make presentations while soliciting donations. Landwehr said he and the tall young priest got some glances on more than one occasion as they walked the inner-city streets with the TV.
In addition to supporting organizations, leaders said, now-Archbishop Naumann is always willing to help brother priests and bishops, including Bishop James D. Conley of the Diocese of Lincoln.
Ordained for the Diocese of Wichita in 1985, Bishop Conley was appointed Respect Life director shortly thereafter and met Archbishop Naumann at the annual pro-life directors meeting a year or two later.
“He became a mentor to me because I just knew he was a strong voice, and the pro-life office in the Archdiocese of St. Louis was a model for the country,” Bishop Conley said. “We had a very strong pro-life community in Wichita, but the pro-life office had not really been developed [at that time]. So, I looked to Father Naumann and the office in St. Louis as a model of how we might grow our efforts. We met probably in 1986 or 1987, and we continued to get to know each other at the national meetings.”
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Learning from Father Naumann, Bishop Conley said his diocese was able to launch ministries similar to those in St. Louis, such as Gerard House, which provides stable housing and supportive services “to pregnant and parenting teens to give them and their babies a healthy start.”
In 2008, then-Msgr. Conley became an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Denver, where he was appointed liaison to the Catholic health care system. Having no experience with large health care systems, Bishop Conley said he naturally turned to Archbishop Naumann.
In 2012, Bishop Conley was installed as the bishop of the Diocese of Lincoln.
In 2018, when Archbishop Naumann became the first non-cardinal to serve as chair of the U. S. Catholic Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-life Activities, the archbishop invited Bishop Conley to serve with him on the committee and its health care subcommittee.
“I always want to know what his perspective is on these political issues,” Bishop Conley said. “I think he has the same effect for a lot of bishops. ... When he stands up to speak, people listen.”
The archbishop, he said, will go down as “one of the top pro-life leaders of our era.”
Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, who followed Archbishop Naumann as chair of the bishops’ pro-life committee from 2021-24, agreed, saying he learned a lot from the archbishop.
“I learned a lot about his leadership style when he was chair and I was a member,” he said. “For example, his ability to listen so well to all the voices and how to respectfully listen to different thoughts and insights and to bring that all together,” Bishop Burbidge said.
He said the archbishop often reminds him the focus cannot be on changing laws.
“We have to transform hearts,” Bishop Burbidge said. “That’s why his commitment and his consistency in a beautiful way speaking about Walking with Moms and that program he’s so passionate about is so important because that’s how you change hearts. You let people know the church is there every step of the way for mother and child.”
Announced January 2020 in Washington, D.C., the Walking with Moms in Need program grew, Bishop Burbidge said, not only out of the archbishop’s faith, but also his personal story.
In December 1948, with a toddler not quite 2, Louise Naumann, who was pregnant with the future archbishop, became a single mother when her husband Fred was murdered.
“The way that he shares that in such a personal and intimate way — you can tell that it shaped who he was and it formed him,” Bishop Burbidge said.
Besides aiding his brother bishops, Archbishop Naumann is a constant source of encouragement to everyone within his own archdiocese which he has led for 20 years — including Debra Niesen, consultant for the archdiocesan pro-life office since 2018.
Together, Niesen and the archbishop have continued or launched several ministries. (See below.)
In her role, Niesen said she’s heard nothing but gratitude for the archbishop’s leadership, especially from her counterparts in other dioceses. She’s also witnessed his graciousness at the March for Life.
“Every few steps, he is approached and asked for a photo, for a blessing, for a conversation, to kiss his ring, etc. Archbishop Naumann is always incredibly gracious and will stop to speak to anyone who asks for his time — despite the cold temperatures, the snow, his fatigue — and give his undivided attention to that person or group.”
One of his favorite events though, Niesen said, is the archdiocese’s annual luncheon for pregnancy resource centers (PRCs).
“He gets to hear about all of the good things happening and lives being saved in our local PRCs, and also gets to hear the challenges and offer blessing and prayers for those situations,” Niesen said. Five of those centers were started by a single couple: Ron and Donna Kelsey.
Ron was the archbishop’s first hire in 2005 and preceded Niesen in her role. After he left his post, the couple started establishing the PRCs.
“[The archbishop] knows firsthand what these moms go through because of the way he grew up,” said Donna. “His support and his initiation of the programs for these mothers has just been wonderful.”
Others pay tribute to Archbishop Naumann’s pro-life leadership“From my perspective, I would say that he is very well-known and speaks the truth with love and encourages us all to follow his lead.”
Bishop Gerald Vincke
Diocese of Salina
“He would talk about Catholic politicians who supported abortion, and he didn’t condemn them, but he did point out they shouldn’t call themselves good Catholics in good standing. Then, he would turn around and talk about how we need to have compassion for the women who are considering abortion or have had an abortion. ... I pray that he is with us for many more years, but when his days are up, he is one of those who is going to hear the words, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’”
Carol Tobias
president of National Right to Life Committee
“He speaks in a beautiful, simple and direct way. ... He speaks with the words of Christ.”
Steve Rupp
president of Missouri Right to Life
“He is a living embodiment of the pro-life movement.”
Peter Northcott
executive director, Kansans for Life
“Archbishop Naumann reads everything I send to him, often commenting upon or asking for more clarification on certain finer points. He has a profound understanding that I am his spokesperson on policy issues that must reflect Catholic teaching, while upholding and lifting up what we call ‘the common good.’”
Chuck Weber
executive director of the Kansas Catholic Conference
“No matter if I’m seeing him at the March for Life [in Washington, D.C.] or if we’re in Topeka or I run into him at an event somewhere in the Kansas City metro area, he is this wonderful example of compassion and boldness. ... To see him walk and talk in that manner has given me strength on the days where I’ve felt like maybe I can’t do this.”
Melissa Ohden
abortion survivor and founder of the Abortion Survivors Network
“He stands out as one of the best bishops in our country to not be afraid to speak out for the life of unborn babies and for the women who are pregnant with them.”
Dr. Angelique Pritchett
“He comes into those [ultrasound] rooms with all of the might of the church behind him, and he blesses that room and that ultrasound and all of us. ... That’s where the light comes to a lot of these women is in those rooms, and I think he’s just been such a beacon of light for us.”
Leah Conner
executive director, Wyandotte Pregnancy Clinic
“It’s always been encouraging to me that the head of the Catholic Church in this area is so vocal and brave and out there, always thinking of how to help the woman face an unplanned pregnancy.”
Ruth Tisdale
executive director, Advice & Aid Pregnancy Center
Pro-life ministries within the archdiocese• Kansas City Pregnancy Clinic
• Kansas City Pregnancy Clinic – Shawnee
• Walking with Moms in Need parish-based initiative
• Annual appeal for the Respect Life Fund
• Culture Project Missionaries
• Pro-life Youth Leadership Summer Camp
• Embrace Grace support groups
• Missionary Disciples for Life parish-based initiative
*These ministries preceded Archbishop Naumann’s arrival.
Reprinted with permission from The Leaven.
