Belleville’s home-grown bishop dies after decades in ministry

Bishop Stanley G. Schlarman, a former auxiliary bishop for the Belleville Diocese and former bishop of the Dodge City, Kansas, Diocese died Monday at the Brightly Senior Living in Mascoutah.

The Belleville native was 91 years old. His obituary posted on the Belleville Diocese’s website does not include a cause of death.

In 2015, he celebrated a Mass at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Belleville to mark his retirement.

“I do not remember when I was here the first time,” Schlarman said in his homily, according to a Belleville News-Democrat article at the time.

But he said his earliest recollection was as a boy sitting in the choir and gazing at the scene of Christ’s crucifixion that had once graced the wall by the altar. That’s when he knew he wanted to join the priesthood.

“And from there, down to the main altar, I just fell in love with it,” he said. “That’s all I can say. You don’t know why as a 14-year-old why, you’re not sure.”

Schlarman was born in Belleville on July 27, 1933.

He was an auxiliary bishop in Belleville from 1979 to 1983. He then served as bishop in Dodge City from 1983 to 1998.

Along with his duties as bishop, his career highlights include his ordination in Rome in 1958 and serving as a teacher, counselor and principal at Mater Dei Catholic High School in Breese.

While still at Mater Dei, Schlarman worked and ministered to mentally and physically challenged children at the Warren G. Murray Developmental Center in Centralia, according to a biography.

Among his survivors are two sisters, including Sister Patricia Schlarman, who next year will celebrate 70 years as a vowed member of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ. Their great-uncle, Bishop Joseph H. Schlarman, served as bishop of the Bishop of Peoria from 1930 to 1951.

Visitation will be 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday and from 10 a.m. to noon Friday at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Belleville.

The funeral Mass will be at noon Friday at the cathedral with Belleville Bishop Michael McGovern presiding. McGovern is scheduled to take a new appointment as archbishop of Omaha, Nebraska, on May 7.

Burial will be at Green Mount Catholic Cemetery in Belleville.

Renner Funeral Home in Belleville is handling arrangements.

This story was originally published April 29, 2025 at 6:48 PM.