By Ricky Rieckert
Dear readers,
This week I will continue with St. Mary’s Parish, and an Aurora affiliation at Blessed Sacrament Parish in North Aurora.
Monsignor Edward S. Wright served as the assistant pastor at St. Mary’s Parish, from May of 1954 to August of 1959.
I didn’t realize until meeting him at clergy night at Blessed Sacrament, in the late 1990s, that he was at St. Mary’s the year I was born and baptized. He said, “Ricky check your baptismal certificate.”
I went to St. Mary’s Parish office to get a copy, and sure enough, his signature was at the bottom, as assistant pastor. I had the office worker make me another copy for him.
Upon giving it to him, the now monsignor said, “Now I have you in my sights.” We each had a good laugh.
Monsignor Wright was named the founding pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in North Aurora on September 1, in 1970, and served faithfully until his retirement July 1, 2004.
Monsignor Wright was named the dean of the Aurora Deanery and served in that office from June 8, 1990 to June 8, 1996 and then was reappointed dean from June of 1996 to July 1, 2004.
Wright was named a Prelate of Honor to his Holiness by Pope John Paul II January 3, 1996.
Monsignor Edward S. Wright passed away Wednesday, March 7, 2007. It was an honor to have met the man who baptized me into this world, and be able to hang out with him, in my adult life.
He was a very intelligent and spiritual man with a great sense of humor. He was a die-hard Chicago White Sox fan, and as a season ticket holder, I always tried to get him to a Sox game, but Sister Rose Weber, always intercepted my phone calls, and I never got him to a game.
Sister Rose was in charge of Monsignor Wright’s schedule, and when I called the parish to talk to him, I prayed he would answer, just one time, so I could ask him to a White Sox game. But Sister Rose would say, “Thanks Ricky, but monsignor has a busy schedule.”
Sister Rose Marie Weber OSF arrived at Blessed Sacrament Parish in 1971, where she held many Pastoral, Religious Education and Business Management responsibilities until her retirement in 2015.
Sister Rose was born in Aurora, along with five brothers and three sisters. I knew a few of her brothers through the years.
One of her brothers, was a Catholic priest
Her brother Elmer, whom, I had met for the first time at the Knights of Columbus #736 on E. Galena Boulevard and Lincoln Avenue, was a retired Aurora Policeman. More about him later.
Sister Rose was something else. She was like the nun in the Broadway Musical; “Late Night Catechism”. I’m glad I didn’t have her in grade school. She was incredibly intelligent, educated, and hard core.
She knew everything going on around her and was tough as nails and she told you like it was.
It was sister Rose’s idea, to open up a school at Blessed Sacrament. Monsignor Wright was against it, but sister Rose won in the end.
The sad thing was, that when they started building the School, Holy Cross Parish, originally in downtown Batavia, was building a school on Main Street, west of Randall Road, that opened-up before Blessed Sacrament, and took the future students from the North Aurora area.
So now, they have a nice school with a basement carpeted and fixed up for religious education, meetings, and functions, but no grade school. Timing is of essence.
I will finish-up both parishes next week.
Quote by Mark Twain to end my piece reminiscing on the past: “Do not complain about growing old. It is a privilege denied to many.”
Have a great week!