Cleansing Fire

Defending Truth and Tradition in the Roman Catholic Church

60 Years a Priest

June 24th, 2013, Promulgated by Mike

Father Frederick Eisemann celebrated the 60th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood at Holy Cross Church yesterday.

Fr. Frederick Eisemann celebrates Mass in thanksgiving for his 60 years in the priesthood. Concelebrating are Frs. John Reif and Thomas Wheeland, with Dcn. Ed Giblin assisting.

Father Frederick Eisemann celebrates Mass in thanksgiving for 60 years in the priesthood. Concelebrating are (l. to r.) Fathers John Reif and Tom Wheeland, with Deacon Ed Giblin assisting.

Father Eisemann was raised in the Bulls Head area and was a member of Sts. Peter and Paul Church where he attended the parish school. According to the Catholic Courier,

He later attended St. Andrew’s and St. Bernard’s seminaries, also in Rochester. He was ordained by Bishop James E. Kearney on June 6, 1953, at Sacred Heart Cathedral.

He later served as assistant pastor at the following parishes: Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Rochester (1953-54); St. Alphonsus in Auburn (1954-58); St. Ann in Hornell (1961-65); Ss. Peter and Paul in Rochester (1965-67); and Our Mother of Sorrows in Greece (1967-74). He also served as procurator at St. Bernard’s Seminary (1958-61) and pastor at Holy Family Parish in Rochester (1974-90).

Father Eisemann officially retired in 1990. In his homily yesterday (here, beginning at the 17:45 mark) he described how he came to be at Holy Cross …

The year is 1990. I’m leaving Holy Family Parish and the bishop has suggested that I come to Holy Cross – for six months! – and then go over to St. Charles Borromeo Church for another six months.  In December of that year St. Charles called up and said, “We don’t need him.” So here I am 23 years later, more than a third of my priesthood given to Holy Cross.

Father Eisemann is a holy priest with a strong devotion to Our Lord and his Blessed Mother.  He is willing to hear confessions, not just on Saturday afternoon, but just about anytime he is asked.

At the end of yesterday’s Mass Holy Cross’ pastor, Father Tom Wheeland, offered these words of praise …

I want to thank Father Eisemann for the wonderful job he has done over these 60 years, the wonderful ministry that he has brought to the Church, giving people the Eucharist, celebrating with them the Word of God and bringing them the fullness of God’s forgiveness.

I think since 1990 that he has probably celebrated about 2,000 Masses here at Holy Cross. Father is willing to celebrate Mass at the drop of a hat, anytime, for the good of the Church. Father is also very willing to hear Confessions, in Italian or Spanish or almost any language you might be confessing in because he is multilingual. And he is willing to bring the forgiveness of God to us, to all of us. He is an inspiration in his priesthood and an inspiration in serving a parish and I want to thank him for that on behalf of all of us and all the people he has served over the last 60 years, celebrating that priesthood in a way that has brought joy and happiness, that has brought peace and forgiveness, that has brought love and celebration to the world.

Ad multos annos, Father Eisemann!

Tags: ,

|

7 Responses to “60 Years a Priest”

  1. Choir says:

    I remember Father’s fire-and-brimstone sermons when he was at St. Peter and Paul. He was, too me, a great preacher and a very holy priest. He definitely got peoples attention when he spoke – he was emphatic and very passionate. Wish I could hear those sermons again.

  2. Rich Leonardi says:

    Bulls Head and Ss. Peter & Paul are where my late father spent his youth. I wrote a piece about the church for Catholic Exchange on the eve of its closure (which for some reason CE has taken down):

    http://catholicforum.fisheaters.com/index.php?topic=1448956.0

  3. Jim says:

    Happy Anniversary, Fr. Eisemann! I see Father just about every evening at the 5:20 p.m. Mass at Holy Cross Parish. He has been a priest for about as long as I have been living! Father is know for remininding us that we must: ” Be Jesus to every single person that we meet, at every moment, every day of our lives….not just when we feel like it, but all of the time….. and we must not just read the Gospel, but LIVE the Gospel.” (Father’s words) Father, I hope you enjoy many more years of your priesthood! God Bless!!

  4. y2kscotty says:

    My late father often referred to Fr. Eisemann as “Freddy Eisemann”. SS Peter and Paul was our ancestral parish. My father, aunts and uncles all attended SS Peter and Paul School, and they remembered religious instruction in German. And, yes, “Freddy” still gives strong sermons.
    Holy Cross has been fortunate to have had and still has very good priests.

  5. Choir says:

    y2k – WOW – that’s something that they had religious instruction in German. I remember hearing about that when I was a kid. SSPP was our family’s parish too. I did not, however, have instruction in German. Someday I hope you get to see the inside of the church. The Coptics have restored most of it from the horrible wreckovations that Diocese of Rochester did to the church. Let me know if you’d like to get into see the church. A good friend is caretaker there.

  6. y2kscotty says:

    Choir, I have a copy of my aunt’s 4th grade book, “Biblische Geschichte fuer katholischen Volkschulen” (Bible History for Catholic Schools). She has a notation that “Sr. M. Philip” is the teacher. The date is 1905. This would explain how my aunt was fluent in German and interpreted for an aunt and uncle when they went to Germany to visit relatives in 1947 after the war.
    I haven’t been in the church since the Copts bought it. But, someday I’ll have to see it, maybe attend a liturgy to see how the Copts “do it”.

  7. Choir says:

    y2k- what a treasure you have with that book in your possession. Keep it safe. The Coptic liturgy can last almost 4 hours but I”m told they don’t mind if you get up and walk outside and then come back in. Let me know how you make it after you go. Oremus pro invicem!

Leave a Reply


Log in | Register

You must be logged in to post a comment.


-Return to main page-