Father Edward E. Erpelding, a priest of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend for 60 years whose ministry carried him from Fort Wayne classrooms to aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf, died on Monday, June 1, at Parkview Regional Medical Center in Fort Wayne. He was 85. The funeral Mass and visi tation will be held at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Fort Wayne — the same parish where he received his first assignment as a newly ordained priest in 1966. Visitation will be held on Monday, June 8, from 2 to 7 p.m., followed by a vigil service at 7 p.m. On Tuesday, June 9, visitation resumes at 10 a.m., followed by the Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. Burial will follow at Catholic Cemetery in Fort Wayne with full military honors. Arrangements are through Divine Mercy Funeral Home. Father Erpelding was born July 30, 1940, in Fort Wayne to Cornelius B. Erpelding and Silvina V. Moser. He attended St. Andrew Catholic School and Central Catholic High School, earned degrees from Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Norwood, Ohio, and was ordained to the priesthood at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on May 28, 1966, by Bishop Leo Pursley. Before entering the military full-time as a chaplain, he served parishes in Fort Wayne, Huntington and South Bend, taught at Bishop Dwenger High School, served as principal at Huntington Catholic and Marian high schools, and directed the diocesan Families for Prayer Program. His connection to the Navy began in 1968 with an appointment as a lieutenant (junior grade) in the Naval Reserve. He joined the Chaplains’ Corps full-time in 1974 and served 25 years, retiring as a captain in 1996. His assignments took him from Coast Guard cutters on the Pacific Coast to the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower during operations in Haiti, the Persian Gulf and the Adriatic Sea. The Legion of Merit citation commended him for overseeing the integration of women in the Religious Ministries Department aboard the Eisenhower, the first combat vessel to deploy with a female chaplain and Religious Program Specialist. After retiring from the Navy, he returned to parish ministry at St. Martin de Porres in Syracuse, St. Joseph – Hessen Cassel in Fort Wayne and St. Mary of the Assumption in Avilla before being appointed priest chaplain at Parkview Regional Medical Center in 2012. He retired from active ministry on October 1, 2016, months after marking the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination. Mona Penisten of Fort Wayne remembered Father Erpelding as the priest who married her and her husband, John, 53 years ago. They reconnected decades later while serving as Eucharistic ministers at Parkview. When Mona produced her marriage certificate to confirm the memory, telling Father Erpelding that he had married the couple, his response was immediate. “No, you married each other,” he told her. “I only performed the service.” John Penisten, who did not enter the Catholic Church until he was 60, credited Father Erpelding’s intelligent, gentle approach with making the difference. It wasn’t just Father Erpelding’s knowledge and ability to answer questions, John said; “it was his presentation of the Faith that made it better.” For Patty Becker, Father Erpelding was a regular presence at her family’s Sunday gatherings. When her husband, John, faced a bout with cancer, Father Erpelding came to their living room regularly to pray with the family. He also befriended the Beckers’ son, Robert, who joined the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter in 2020 and was ordained a deacon this past March. Father Erpelding, Becker told Today’s Catholic, “expressed joy in having ‘prayed up’ Rob to that point.” Becker often joked that he should write an autobiography. He demurred, citing too much top-secret military information. Becker said Father Erpelding “was faithful to the end, in spite of his sufferings.” Father Erpelding also served the local Catholic community through Redeemer Radio, where he recorded “Readings and Reflections” segments and participated in the station’s fundraising drives. In his personal life, he was an artist whose paintings and drawings documented buildings, scenes and people from across his long ministry. Deacon Jerry Kohrman and his wife, Ginny, recalled a man equally at home in a chaotic household as he was at the altar. “He could be gentle and fierce in his passion, exhibiting both within a few seconds,” they shared with Today’s Catholic. “He expected excellence in his own life and encouraged others to be their best. He was very comfortable visiting our home, especially after retirement. Sometimes he would show up when the house was chaotic with family … but he never seemed to mind. A good cup of coffee and perhaps a cookie or two would quickly turn our conversations toward solving the problems of the world and the Church.” The Kohrmans remembered him as a man with a shepherd’s heart who “would often remind us to always stay focused on Jesus. And we can testify that is exactly how he lived his life.” He is survived by his brother, Joseph (Peg) Erpelding of Craigville and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers John, William and Eugene Erpelding; and sisters Sister Cecelia Marie Erpelding, OSF, and Marilyn McKee. The post Father Ed Erpelding, Priest and Navy Captain, Dies at 85 appeared first on Today's Catholic. ...read more read less