BEAUMONT, Texas — Monsignor Bill Manger, pastor of St. Anne in Beaumont, died Monday at the age of 87 after recently going into Hospice care, according to the Catholic Diocese of Beaumont.
Tuesday was a day full of remembrance at St. Anne's Church. Hundreds gathered for a special mass at at the church to celebrate of the life of their beloved pastor, Monsignor Manger.
"The man is a saint," Monsignor Michael Jamail said.
Fellow priest and lifelong friend Jamail lived with father manager for 31 years in the rectory, and joined him over the weekend for one final mass.
"I put a stole, a garment, around his neck, and he was able to concelebrate the eucharist with me," Jamail said.
As he walked out, Jamail knew.
"I sensed that I probably would never see him again alive on this earth,” Jamail said. “And he just kind of looked at me. He was not highly demonstrative, he was reliable, faithful, and available."
Manger received numerous awards for his service throughout his 59 years as a priest.
One of his proudest achievements was co-founding the Southeast Texas Hospice in Orange in 1976.
"A million and a half people a year would not have hospice today if it were not for him. There were only 20 hospices in America when we started out, and now there are over 6,000," said Southeast Texas Hospice Executive Director Mary McKenna.
Parishioners said he was the kind of pastor that always made himself available, and Manger's good friend Jamail seemed to say it best.
"If God is anything like Bill Manger, we're all going to be okay," Jamail said.
The funeral liturgies set for Msgr. Bill Manger are as follows.
Friday, August 6, 2021
- 12:00 pm Reception of Msgr. Bill Manger at St. Anne Church, 2715 Calder, Beaumont
- 4:30 pm Rosary led by the Ladies of St. Anne
- 5:30 pm Wake Service
- 6:30 pm Mass for the Dead
Saturday, August 7, 2021
- 11:00 am Reception of the Body by Bishop David Toups & Bishop Emeritus Curtis Guillory, SVD
- Mass of Christian Burial. St. Anne Church, Bishop David Toups, Celebrant; Concelebrating Priests
- Burial will be at Magnolia Cemetery with a Graveside Liturgy in the afternoon.
Manger was ordained June 2, 1962 at the Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral for the then-Diocese of Galveston-Houston. The diocese says he served many parishes as an assistant, including Holy Name, Houston; St. Mary, Orange; St. James, Port Arthur; and Our Lady of the Assumption, Beaumont.
His first pastorate was in 1978 at St. Mary, Orange, where he served until 1990, when he was assigned to his latest position as pastor of St. Anne in Beaumont.
Manger was pastor of St. Anne until his death.
Through Manger's almost six decades of service ministry, he helped establish many Southeast Texas organizations and received numerous awards for his work, according to the diocese.
Manger was the co-founder of the Southeast Texas Hospice in Orange in 1976 and was elected to serve on the board of directors of the National Hospice Organization in 1978 and in 1989 received its Founder’s Award.
Manger worked to help establish Birthright of Beaumont in 1973 and was honored for his ministry by them in 2003. Manger received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Texas Right to Life of Southeast Texas for his efforts to defend the sanctity of life.
About a decade ago, Manger helped establish The Giving Field, and he received the 2012 Msgr. Richard DeStefano Faithful Steward award for his ministry and his help establishing it.
Manger was named consultor in July 2000 and a prelate of honor by Pope Benedict XVI in September 2009. He served as chairman of the Diocesan Pastoral Council and on the Diocesan Team for Renew.
Mange worked as a resettlement director, where he helped more than 1,000 Vietnamese in Southeast Texas in about a year’s time in the mid-1970s. Although there were many resettlement programs across the country, the Diocese of Beaumont was known as one of the most successful
When the arrangements are complete, we will post them.
The Catholic Diocese of Beaumont asked the community to pray for the repose of his soul and for the consolation of his family and friends.
