A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 11 a.m. on Thursday, April 3 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, 2401 N. Broad Street, Galesburg for Msgr. Ernie Pizzamiglio, who once argued with God (unsuccessfully) that he wasn’t smart enough for the priesthood.

Msgr. Pizzmiglio, age 91, passed away on Sunday, March 23 at Seminary Manor, Galesburg.

In a Catholic Post profile on the occasion of his move to senior status in 2018, Msgr. Pizzmiglio described his conversion to the Catholic faith. Born on the south side of Chicago in the depths of the Great Depression in 1933, he was baptized in the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church.

SPRING VALLEY CONVERSION

Moving with his family to Spring Valley when he was in third grade, he attended public schools, and gradually slid away from regular church-going.

Then his Catholic brother-in-law, George Koehler– whom he credited with bringing him to the faith (and to Mary) – invited him to Mass at Immaculate Conception Parish.

As related in the 2018 profile, even without understanding Latin or the priest’s actions on the altar, he felt deeply drawn to what he was seeing and experiencing.

“I didn’t know it at the time, but it was the Blessed Sacrament,” Msgr. Pizzamiglio said. “It was so strong I wanted to go back again.”

Later, he was conditionally baptized and confirmed while serving in the Air Force and as an aircraft mechanic during the Korean War.

FROM MILITARY TO BATTLE OF THE BOOKS

After discharge from the military, he enrolled in basic training for the army of the Lord as a seminarian for the Diocese of Peoria. He went to St. Bede College to learn that Latin language he had first heard long ago in church, then attended St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, for philosophy, and finally on to St. Procopius Seminary in Lisle to study theology.

In the 2018 profile, he recalled a “terrible inferiority complex” academically, and told his fellow priests, “When God called me to the priesthood as an adult, I seriously thought He had to scrape the bottom of the barrel to get me.”

Even so, buoyed by grace, he persevered with the seminary coursework, and concluded, “If God calls us to anything, then no one — nor anything — will ever prevent it from happening.”

PRIESTLY PATHS

His priestly path commenced with ordination in 1966, followed by parish stops at Holy Family in Peoria, Holy Cross in Champaign, Visitation in Kewanee, and St. John the Evangelist in Galva.

Appointed vicar of the Kewanee Vicariate in 1974, he pastored St. Patrick in Elkhart, St. Thomas in Mt. Pulaski, and St. John in Middletown. Then he served at St. Mary in DePue, St. Edward in Chillicothe, and in the fullness of time came to Galesburg as pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in 1990.

He was named vicar of the Monmouth Vicariate, and while remaining pastor at Immaculate Heart of Mary, he also became pastor of St. Aloysius in Wataga.

He was named Chaplain to His Holiness (Monsignor) in 2009.

STAYED ON IN GALESBURG

After serving the Galesburg area for 28 years, Msgr. Pizzmiglio went on senior status in 2018, and spent the rest of his life in the Galesburg community.

Msgr. Pizzmiglio is survived by one nephew, John (Gerlyn) Koehler of Oglesby; three nieces, Sandra (Dale) Koehler-Boyce of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Linda (R.J.) Whitecotton of Oglesby, Beth (Will) Perkins of Clinton, Iowa; five great nephews, Steven (Michelle) Koehler, Luke (Kelly) Whitecotton, Ryan (Beth) Whitecotton, Jonathon Perkins and Joshua Perkins; three great nieces, Gretchen (James) Schaefer, Lindsay (Schuyler) Rossi, and Briana (Robert) Perkins; and twelve great nieces and nephews.

Along with his parents, Msgr. Ernest was preceded in death by his sister Lois Koehler, and the brother-in-law who led him to the faith, George Koehler, who died on August 26, 1993.

The rosary will be recited at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, April 2, at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church with visitation following until 8 p.m. Additional visitation will be 10 – 11 a.m. on Thursday, April 3, immediately before the funeral Mass.