HOOPESTON — After attending vows ceremonies and ordinations for three older brothers, Father Thomas Gibson had no intention of becoming a priest. That changed “Suddenly” as he was preparing for his senior year at the University of Notre Dame. “I worked as a stockbroker during the summers. The summer before senior year I actually landed […]
Continue readingPENFIELD — While he admired faithful priests and prayed the rosary daily, Father Michael Menner didn’t plan to be a priest. “I tell people that I always wanted to marry a good girl and did not think much beyond that path of adventure,” he said. “I was in the business world for seven years and […]
Continue readingROCK ISLAND — Msgr. Mark Merdian said it was “an interior call whereby I heard God calling me to explore service to Him as a priest” that brought him to priestly ministry. “When I was younger, I had dreams of being a priest,” he told The Catholic Post. “I had a quiet love for the […]
Continue readingWASHINGTON — When Father Stephen Willard was a second-grader at St. Thomas the Apostle School in Peoria Heights, Sister Mary Elizabeth O’Hara told him that one day he would be a priest. His response was succinct: “No way!” “As the years progressed, Sister would talk to me about the priesthood and remind me of my […]
Continue reading
Following is the official list of clergy appointments announced in May 2018 by Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, Bishop of Peoria. TO SENIOR STATUS Father Carl LoPresti, from pastor, St. Joseph Parish, Chenoa; St. Joseph Parish, Colfax; and St. Mary Parish, Lexington, to senior status Msgr. Ernest E. Pizzamiglio, from pastor, Immaculate Heart of Mary […]
Continue readingSPRING VALLEY — Father Robert D. Spilman, 71, who has served in Spring Valley since 2004 and who guided the local Catholic community through the creation of a new parish dedicated to the Nativity of Our Lord five years ago, will transition to senior status on June 13. Father Spilman, whose 22 years of priestly […]
Continue readingGALESBURG — As Msgr. Ernie Pizzamiglio prepares to move to senior status at age 84 and after 52 years of priestly service, he repeatedly sums up his feelings with one word: Gratitude. That’s not surprising for someone who begins each day with the prayer: “Thank you, God, for this new day. May I glorify you […]
Continue readingCHENOA — Father Carl LoPresti may be starting life as a senior priest of the Diocese of Peoria on June 13, but he doesn’t consider it to be retirement. “My plans are to live in Fairbury and continue my ministry among the sick, the shut-ins, people in hospitals and nursing homes, and perhaps even expand […]
Continue reading
Deacon Ryan Mattingly will be ordained a priest of the Diocese of Peoria by Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, at St. Mary's Cathedral during a 10:30 a.m. Mass on Saturday, May 26. (Provided photo/Nellie Photography)
Deacon Ryan Mattingly has spent six happy and “blessed” years preparing for the priesthood at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, but elements of his boyhood in a military family also helped ready him for what’s ahead. “First, I’m used to moving around frequently,” said Deacon Mattingly, whose father, Troy, had a career in the U.S. Air […]
Continue reading
Deacon Andru O'Brien will be ordained a priest of the Diocese of Peoria by Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, at St. Mary's Cathedral during a 10:30 a.m. Mass on Saturday, May 26. (Provided photo/Nellie Photography)
Deacon Andru O’Brien says it’s probably a good thing he will have his face down when the priests of the Diocese of Peoria — one by one in a long line — prayerfully place their hands on his head during the Ordination Rite on May 26 at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Peoria. “It’s a beautiful […]
Continue reading
