By Barb Arland-Fye
The Catholic Messenger
SPENCERVILLE, Ohio – Scott and Pamela Brown and their young grandchildren brought up the gifts during the Mass of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary at St. Patrick Catholic Church. Bishop-elect Dennis Walsh stooped down to accept the collection basket from Waylon, 3, and Wrenley, 2, and then blessed the family. Just a few weeks later, their pastor would be leaving his ministry in Spencerville, Landeck and Delphos to become the 10th Bishop of the Diocese of Davenport.
“I’m really going to miss him,” said Scott Brown, who converted to Catholicism in 2019. Bishop-elect Walsh “is a blessing. I love his homilies,” Pamela said. “Every homily he has given, I’ve been able to apply it to some aspect of my life,” she continued. “We were so blessed to have him here and you are blessed,” she told The Catholic Messenger. Waylon and Wrenley may have considered their immediate blessing to be the small candy bars they held, a gift from the bishop-elect’s treat stash for kids.
The date of the Mass of the Assumption is poignant for Ken Goecke. His wife’s burial took place six years ago, on Aug. 15, 2018. Bishop-elect Walsh stops at Goecke’s pew after Mass and the two greet each other with big smiles. “He’s great,” Goecke says. “He gives the best homilies. If you listen to his homilies, it’ll do you good.”
Bill Wisher, a reader during the Mass, chokes up a bit as he thinks about what Bishop-elect Walsh has meant to him and the parish. “I would consider (the Diocese of Davenport) to be very blessed. They are receiving a good shepherd,” Wisher said. “His love for us as a parish and a community is overwhelming.” Wisher also appreciates Bishop-elect Walsh’s homilies, which are meaningful to the people whom he is addressing, Wisher added.
