BEAUMONT, Texas — The Catholic Diocese of Beaumont is going into the Christmas season with heavy hearts and shorter staff, as they mourn the losses of six priests that have died in the last year.
The deaths range from old age to complications from COVID-19 and sudden medical emergencies. The priests who died are:
- Father Delphyn Meeks, retired, died February 10th.
- Msgr. William "Bill" Manger, pastor of St. Anne, Beaumont, died August 2nd.
- Msgr. Ken Grieg, retired, died August 8th.
- Msgr. James Vanderholt, retired, died August 11th.
- Father Duc Duong, parochial vicar of Infant Jesus, Lumberton, and St. Mark the Evangelist, Silsbee, died November 6th.
- Father Luong Tran, pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows, China, and Judicial Vicar for the Diocese of Beaumont, died November 22nd.
The diocese was already stretched thin, but now they're having to reshuffle staff assignments. This means that some priests will be covering multiple churches.
"With the loss of 6 priests, it's been very difficult. And they happened so close together, it's really kind of unbelievable and I haven't quite had time to process it," said Rev. Shane Baxter, Rector of St. Anthony’s Cathedral Basilica
3 of the priests were retired, but 3 were actively in ministry. Their deaths have put a strain on the parishes they left behind.
“We have so many parishes and only so many priests so we're doing our best to take care of all the spiritual needs of our people,” Rev. Baxter said.
Bishop David Toups knows that the reconfiguration of parishes is something that must be done, but it doesn’t always have the best outcome.
“It sometimes has an impact on our worshiping community," he said.
The diocese is small, serving 48 parishes and missions in nine counties. Even before this year, some priests were already pulling double duty. As the diocese reshuffles, the roles grow larger.
"Our priests are so generous with themselves, it's obviously our vocation, our call from God is to give ourselves to our parish communities,” Bishop Toups said.
Father Andrew Moore currently pastors Infant Jesus in Lumberton, St. Mark the Evangelist in Silsbee and now, Holy Mission in Kountze.
His associate, Father Doc Duong died early November.
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Bishop Toups says he has been working diligently to get Father Moore an associate, but in the meantime, he has sequenced the mass times so that he himself can cover all the masses.
Father Ross Waggoner, who serves as pastor of Our Lady of Victory in Sour Lake, will now also pastor Our Lady of Sorrows in China, after Father Luong Tran died late November.
"We have faith that they've gone to a better place but we'd really like them here. that part of me would like them here and miss them," Rev. Baxter said.
Even through all the heartbreak, the diocese remains hopeful.
"The good news is long term, we're working very hard throughout the catholic diocese to recruit, to encourage, young men thinking about priesthood." Bishop Toups said. "I'm also looking at bringing in priests from the outside."
Parishioner David Valdez knows that priests are needed in the area, so he’s hoping this serves as a calling to some.
“I think that is definitely what's going to help the diocese in the long run, it’s a lot of young men stepping up to be priests," Valdez said.
The diocese says they're thankful for the outpouring of support they've received in the wake of these losses and appreciate the patience of parishioners impacted by the reassignments of priests.
“Pray for vocations, support the wonderful priests that we do have and to be understanding of this time, which is challenging,” Bishop Toups said.