Redemptorist and Chicago, IL Native Father Ed Wilhelm Dies at 89

DENVER, CO, May 19, 2010... Fr. Edward P. Wilhelm, C.Ss.R., a Chicago, IL native, died Tuesday evening, May 18, at St. Anthony’s Hospital in St. Louis, MO. He was currently assigned to the St. Clement Health Care Center, in Liguori, MO. Fr. Ed was 89 years old.

Born in Chicago on October 21, 1920, Fr. Ed was one of thirteen children, five of whom died in infancy. He was baptized at St. Michael’s in Chicago and grew up in the parochial school and parish of the Redemptorists. He studied for six years at St. Joseph’s College in Kirkwood, MO and another six years at the Immaculate Conception Seminary in Oconomowoc, WI, with a year at the novitiate in DeSoto, MO.

Upon being ordained a Redemptorist priest, on January 12, 1947, Fr. Ed was assigned to Brazil to work in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas. He taught 12 years in the seminary and then spent the next six years traveling up and down the Amazon River, ministering to people living in small villages along the river’s edge, often living on a houseboat for months at a time. While in Brazil, Fr. Ed also served as vicar general to Bishop William Murphy, C.Ss.R. in Juazeiro. His last 12 years in Brazil were spent as a pastor in the state of Bahia.

Fr. Ed returned to the states in 1978. He was assigned to the retreat house in Fargo, ND, where he served as retreat master and also as hospital chaplain at St. Luke’s. Ten years later he was back in his beloved parish of St. Michael’s in Chicago, where he has been ever since, serving in a variety of positions involving parish ministry. In January of 2007, Fr. Ed celebrated his 60th anniversary as a Redemptorist priest.

Please remember Fr. Ed, his family, and his Redemptorist community at St. Clement’s in your prayers, and may he rest in the fullness of the Redeemer’s Peace.

If you would like to make a donation in Fr. Wilhelm’s memory, to help support the work of the Redemptorists, please make your check payable to Redemptorists/Denver Province and mail it to:

Redemptorists/Denver Province
Mission Advancement Ministry
1230 South Parker Road
Denver, CO 80231