Submitted by: Dan Rich
June 3, 1907 – Jan. 28, 1995
South Bend Tribune 1/31/1995
SOUTH BEND - Bishop Alfred F. Mendez, CSC, 87, of California, a 1931 University of Notre Dame graduate, died Saturday evening in Cincinnati. Bishop Mendez retired as bishop of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, in 1974.
He made his first profession of vows in 1927, and studied theology at Holy Cross College, Washington, D.C. He was ordained a priest on June 24, 1935, in Sacred Heart Cathedral, Notre Dame, and ordained a bishop there by Francis Cardinal Spellman on Oct. 28, 1960.
From 1936 until 1948, Bishop Mendez worked in Hispanic Ministry in the Holy Cross Missions in Austin, Texas. From 1948 to 1956, he worked in various capacities at Notre Dame. From 1956 to 1960, he was director of development for the Indiana Province and was responsible for raising money for Moreau Seminary, Notre Dame. In 1960, Pope John XXIII named Bishop Mendez the first Bishop of Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
He was born June 3, 1907, in Chicago, and lived in California during recent years. Services are being conducted today in Cincinnati. Burial and other services are being arranged by Hickey Funeral Home.