Sidney Matthew Metzger
Sidney Matthew Metzger, STD, JCD was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Bishop of El Paso from 1942 to 1978.Biography
Born in Fredericksburg, Texas, Sidney Metzger studied at St. Joseph Seminary in San Antonio and the Pontifical North American College in Rome. He was ordained to the priesthood on April 3, 1926. During his studies, he obtained a doctorate in Sacred Theology and in Canon Law.
On December 27, 1939, Metzger was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Titular Bishop of Birtha by Pope Pius XII. He received his episcopal consecration on the following April 10 from Archbishop Arthur Drossaerts, with Archbishop Rudolph Gerken and Bishop Mariano Garriga serving as co-consecrators.
Metzger was named Coadjutor Bishop of El Paso, Texas on December 26, 1941. He later succeeded Anthony Schuler, SJ, as the third Bishop of El Paso on November 29, 1942, ending the twenty-seven-year-long Jesuit rule of the diocese. As Bishop, one of Metzger's challenges was to restore diocesan financial stability whilst creating new parishes and ministries for the growing Catholic population. He also established in 1961. From 1962 to 1965, Metzger attended the Second Vatican Council.
In 1973, the Bishop attacked Farah Manufacturing Company for unfair labor practices and asked his fellow clergymen to urge retailers to no longer order from Farah, saying, "I feel that the company is acting unjustly in denying to the workers the basic right to collective bargaining." William Farah, the company's president, subsequently called Metzger a member of the "rotten old bourgeoisie" and a man who is "lolling in wealth".
After thirty-five years of service, Metzger resigned as El Paso's bishop on March 17, 1978. He later died at Hotel Dieu Hospital, at age 83.
