SAN ANTONIO – A bishop with the Archdiocese of San Antonio has died at the age of 90, the organization announced early Saturday.
Bishop John W. Yanta passed away at his home on Aug. 6 after years of battling multiple serious health ailments.
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The archdiocese said despite the bishop’s health issues, Yanta “continued to lead and guide work on a number of endeavors close to his heart.”
Yanta was born on Oct. 2, 1931 and he grew up on a family farm-ranch in Runge, Texas. The archdiocese said his roots traced back to the Opole area of Silesia, Poland -- the same area that produced St. John Paul II.
“Bishop Yanta always wanted to be a priest, and he never shared this with his family in his early years. He said that he was a mischievous little boy and he knew his brothers would have laughed at the idea of becoming a priest. His heroes were priests,” the archdiocese said in a statement.
He was later invited by Father Erwin Juraschek to serve in the Archdiocese of San Antonio. The archdiocese said he was ordained to priesthood on March 17, 1956 and celebrated his first Mass in St. Anthony’s in Runge.
Yanta’s first assignment was as an associate pastor of St. Ann’s Parish from 1956-1962. It was also in 1962 that he was named the director of the Catholic Youth Organization, the archdiocese said. In 1968, he served as an associated pastor at multiple San Antonio parishes. You can read more about Yanta’s legacy in San Antonio here.
Funeral arrangements for Yanta are still pending at this time. We’ll bring more updates as they become available.