Rev. Monsignor Allen’s Obituary Rev. Monsignor Allen J. Meier, P.A., age 98, of Covington, KY passed away peacefully on March 22, 2019 at St. Charles Community, Covington.
He is survived by brother August Meier, sister Helen Topmiller, brother-in-law Harry Tenkotte, sister-in-law Cecilia Meier, and many nieces/nephews, great-nieces/nephews, and great-great-nieces/nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, August and Katherine Meier, as well as his siblings Norma, Edward, Charlotte Bailey, John (Jack), Thomas, and Mary Margaret Tenkotte Visitation will be held on Thursday, March 28, 2019 from 9:00 AM until Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 AM at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, 1101 Madison Ave. , Covington, KY.
Bishop Roger J. Foys will be presiding, joined by concelebrants, Rev. Msgr. William Cleves (Meier’s cousin), and Thomas More University theology professor Rev.
Ronald M. Ketteler. Entombment will follow at St. John Cemetery (Ft. Mitchell, KY).
A graduate of Covington Latin School, Allen Meier was working as a civil servant supervisor for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Columbus, Ohio, when he was drafted for military service in July 1943. He was selected for the U.S. Army Air Corps and studied flight training at Marietta College in Ohio for five months. When the army was in need of gunners, they transferred him to gunnery school at Yuma, Arizona.
Eventually, Meier was assigned to the 8 th Air Force, 44 th bomb group, 66 th bomb squadron as a waist gunner. His squadron flew 24 missions over enemy territory in Europe. After VE Day, they flew over Germany at tree-top level to survey the damage.
Stated Meier, “There I saw the destruction and it was heartbreaking. I figured I had to do something constructive with my life”. Three weeks after his honorable discharge on October 25, 1945, he entered the seminary.
Meier studied Philosophy at St. Mary Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland, and Theology at the Theological College of the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Covington on June 2, 1951, and was immediately assigned as Secretary to Bishop William T. Mulloy. This began a long career in diocesan administration, including roles as Vice Chancellor, Financial Secretary, Vicar for Finance, and Director of Marydale Retreat House and Camp.
While serving in the diocesan chancery, Meier assisted in pastoral duties at: Immaculate Conception Parish, Newport, KY; St. Augustine Parish, Covington, KY; Chaplain to the Christian Brothers at Newport Catholic High School (now Newport Central Catholic); Chaplain to the Sisters of Notre Dame at St. Joseph Heights, Park Hills, KY; and Chaplain of Notre Dame Academy, Park Hills. Meier was active in issues of social justice. In 1960, in addition to his other financial responsibilities at the chancery, he was concurrently named Diocesan Director of the Pontifical Mission Aid Societies.
He joined other diocesan directors on a worldwide trip to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Lebanon, and Rome. In India, he met Mother Teresa, whom he described as “saintly”. After his return, he visited Catholic parishes throughout the United States raising funds for the missions.
Bishop Richard Ackerman appointed Meier to the Commission for Religion and Race, where he, Rev. Anthony Deye, and others joined Protestant ministers to promote civil rights. In fact, Rev.
Meier gave the invocation at the state capitol in Frankfort, Kentucky, when Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. held a Civil Rights rally there in March 1964. Meier met the Reverend King, and described him as “very sincere, the type of man you wanted to do what he wanted”.
After retirement in 1985, Meier resided at Notre Dame Academy in Park Hills, served as a consultant at the Diocesan Archives, and later moved to St. Charles Community in Covington. He was elevated to Monsignor by Bishop Ackerman in June 1970, and later to Protonotary Apostolic (P.A.) by Pope Benedict XVI and Bishop Roger J. Foys on October 30, 2005. Always a dedicated priest with a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin, Meier had a ready smile and a warm, sincere personality.
At the time of his death, he was the oldest priest of the Diocese of Covington, just shy of his 99 birthday which would have been in May. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to the Sisters of Notre Dame, 1601 Dixie Highway, Park Hills, KY 41011, or to the Priests’ Retirement Fund, care of the Diocese of Covington, 1125 Madison Ave. , Covington, KY 41011.
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