By Barb Arland-Fye
As he introduced me to parishioners at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Bettendorf last weekend, Father Tim Sheedy noted that we go back a long way!
Now pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes, Fr. Sheedy was pastor of Our Lady of the River Parish in LeClaire when my husband, Steve, myself and our then-4-year-old son Colin joined the parish 21 years ago.
All these years later, Fr. Tim had invited me to Our Lady of Lourdes to promote The Catholic Messenger during our 2013 subscription drive, which is under way. After Saturday night’s talk, Fr. Tim mentioned that he had once worked for The Catholic Messenger, just before entering major seminary. I included that information in my talk at the Sunday Masses, but noted that we don’t go back quite that far!
In the 11 years since becoming editor of The Catholic Messenger I’ve visited many parishes either on reporting assignments or to promote our diocesan newspaper, and have found these visits to be enlightening.
The visit to Our Lady of Lourdes brought back fond memories of the time Fr. Tim had been pastor in LeClaire, particularly with regard to his rapport with children.
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