Hundreds Gather For Bishop’s Funeral

More than 1,000 people packed into a funeral Mass at St. John’s Cathedral in Boise, many able to say Roman Catholic Bishop Sylvester Treinen touched their lives.

“He was always there for us,” said Lawrence Aripa, vice chairman of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, at Treinen’s funeral Mass on Tuesday. “He was very loyal and a personal friend to many of us.”

Treinen, 78, died Sept. 30 of viral pneumonia. He served 27 years as bishop of the Diocese of Boise (all of Idaho), retiring in 1988.

An overflow crowd watched on closed circuit television in a chapel beneath the main sanctuary.

Treinen was deeply respected by Idaho tribes, Aripa said. He negotiated the return of the Cataldo Mission land near Kellogg to the Coeur d’Alenes. It was an important victory because they had helped build the Catholic mission.

“He loved you to be yourself,” said Mary Treinen, married to one of Treinen’s nephews. “He was real.”

Treinen was buried in Morris Hill Cemetery, next to four other Roman Catholic bishops who served in Idaho.