St. Jude pastor celebrates 60 years in pulpit

ELYRIA — The Rev. Richard Gonser's path was chosen on the cusp of manhood. Gonser, the longtime senior pastor in residence at St. Jude Catholic Church, discerned his call to the priesthood as a young teen, entering the seminary — as was common in his day — while still in high school. "Back then, that was a very popular way to go, to start seminary as a freshman in high school. There were 55 of us starting as freshmen seminary students in 1950 from all over Ohio and there is only one of us left," Gonser said. Gonser was ordained in 1962. The 60th anniversary of his ordination was May 19, but St. Jude parishioners will mark the event today at a special Mass at 4:30 p.m., celebrated by Gonser. "The fact that I'm still above ground and not below it, and that I can still help people is a good thing and I am thankful," said Gonser, 85. After graduating from college, Gonser served at Catholic churches in Barberton, Cleveland, Bedford and Brecksville before the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland sent him to the wilderness: "10 acres of trees and swamp" in North Ridgeville in 1978. Gonser was 42, tasked with building a church from the ground up in a tiny, 3-square-mile territory. By the time he left St. Julie Billiart Catholic Church, retiring in 2012 after 34 years, the congregation held more than 700 families, he said. Gonser retired to the St. Jude Parish, thinking retirement would be a slower pace of life. Soon he found himself replacing a priest whose medical leave lasted months longer than expected. Then he wrote four books. He traveled around the world, even sometimes as a chaplain on river cruises in Europe. He stays busy golfing and walking, praying as he gets in his steps, and serving Mass at four churches around the county and at various nursing homes. He has taken trips to Rome, including one memorable sabbatical there when he and other priests in the area were invited to distribute communion with Pope John Paul II during Holy Week. "I was 10 feet away from him," he said. It's not as though they had a chat, but he did receive a rosary from the pope's private secretary and a handshake from the pope after they were introduced. "I didn't shake that hand for a week," he said, laughing. He's visited every state except Louisiana, and has a special fondness for Oglebay Resort in West Virginia. One of his books was about the post-retirement life of priests. "Most people don't know what happens to priests in retirement. They think they go up in a fiery chariot like Elijah," he said. "I still get to pray and be present and still listen to people and comfort people. That is my pleasure and joy and God willing, one day I will hear 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. Enter the joy of your master,'" he said. "That is what I am praying for." Contact Rini Jeffers at rinijeffers@gmail.com.