Bishop Thom Hennen of the Diocese of Baker, Oregon, greets Susie Wilden during a reception Oct. 18 at Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace Parish in Clinton.
By Lindsay Steele
The Catholic Messenger
During a brief return to the Davenport Diocese, newly ordained Bishop Thom Hennen reunited with friends and former parishioners during a series of homecoming Masses.
“Even though I am now called to serve a different local Church hundreds of miles away, we always meet again at the altar, don’t we?” he said during Mass at St. Ambrose University-Davenport’s Christ the King Chapel on Oct. 19. “We are fed by the same body and blood of Jesus Christ. We pray as one. Every Mass is a homecoming.”
Bishop Hennen, a native of Ottumwa and a St. Ambrose graduate, was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Davenport in 2004. Pope Leo XIV appointed the diocesan priest Bishop-elect of the Diocese of Baker, Oregon, in July. Bishop Hennen was ordained and installed on Sept. 29 at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Bend, Oregon.
The visit home coincided with a St. Ambrose University Board of Trustees meeting, he told The Catholic Messenger during an Oct. 8 recording of the Catholic Messenger Conversations Podcast. “I knew I was going to be back for the Ambrose board meetings, and I thought, why not make a week of this?” He wanted to come back at some point to meet with diocesan Catholics who were unable to attend the ordination and installation Mass, and was grateful for the chance to return so soon. “It’s a good opportunity to come back and say ‘thank you for your prayers,’ and ‘thank you for your faithful support over these years.’”
He presided at Masses in parishes he once served: Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace-Clinton, Sacred Heart Cathedral-Davenport and St. Mary of the Visitation-Iowa City. He also returned to his hometown parish, St. Joseph-Ottumwa, and St. Ambrose, where he served as chaplain from 2017-21.
At St. Ambrose, Bishop Hennen said he was “grateful for the many ministry opportunities I had here, and the friendships that I made here, many of which endure to this day.”
Podcast recording
Hear Bishop Hennen’s full interview with The Catholic Messenger in the latest Catholic Messenger Conversations Podcast. Listen at www.catholicmessenger.net/podcasting or on your favorite podcasting app.
