June 27, 2008

Father Bernard to retire after serving diocese for 58 years

Theresa Laurence, Tennessee Register

Father Bernard Niedergeses would prefer to slip into retirement quietly, without a party or a public goodbye. If the Tennessee Register didn’t print this article, celebrating his 58 years of service to the Diocese of Nashville, he might feel relieved rather than slighted.

But the parishioners of St. Pius X and Assumption churches, where Father Bernard has served for 38 years, might be up in arms if their beloved pastor were to retire without notice.

Come July 1, they will certainly notice his absence from the parishes where he has been pastor for the majority of his priestly ministry. Parish life without Father Bernard “will be a hard change,” said founding St. Pius parishioner Margaret Catignani. “But I’m willing to accept it.”

Catignani, whose husband helped build St. Pius Church 50 years ago, raised 14 children who all attended St. Pius X School. Whether joining her large family for their annual ravioli dinner or visiting her son in the hospital, Father Bernard “is just right there,” Catignani said. “He’s the greatest priest and we love him dearly.” 

Assured of his vocation

Father Bernard Niedergeses hails from Lawrenceburg, that unlikely stronghold of Catholicism in rural Tennessee, near the Alabama border. The youngest of six children, he was surrounded by a devoutly faithful family. Many of his cousins, including Bishop James Niedergeses and Father John Baltz, would become priests. He was certain of his own vocation by the eighth grade.

After graduating from Sacred Heart School and attending Lawrence County High School for three years, Father Bernard transferred to Father Ryan High School to complete his Latin requirements necessary to gain admittance to the seminary.

From Nashville, Father Bernard headed to Baltimore, where he attended St. Charles College and St. Mary’s Seminary. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 3, 1950, at the Cathedral of the Incarnation by Bishop William Adrian.

Father Bernard spent his first few years after ordination serving parishes in Memphis, and then was assigned to East Tennessee mission territory. He helped organize and build St. Patrick Parish in Morristown, Tenn.

In 1966, in the wake of the Second Vatican Council, Father Bernard was appointed the Diocesan Director of Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. During that time of such uncertainty in the church, he said, “it was very important to have a good religious education office.” He helped put together an audio/visual program to help explain the Council, and did that work full-time for two years.

In the late 1960s, Father Bernard briefly served St. John Vianney in Gallatin and St. Rose of Lima in Murfreesboro. In January of 1970 he received the dual assignment to St. Pius X Parish in Bordeaux and Assumption Parish in Germantown, where he would remain for the next 38 years. “I’ve loved these two parishes,” he said.

Faith runs deep

And the two parishes do indeed love him in return. An almost incomprehensibly humble man, Father Bernard leads with a quiet and deep spirituality. “You know his faith runs all the way through him,” said Assumption parishioner Jennifer Cheij. “It’s in every cell of his body.”

Cheij was struck by his devotion to the Catholic faith during the Stations of the Cross several years ago. Nearly 80 years old at the time, Father Bernard “knelt down at the Stations, and there were no kneelers,” she said. “He’s so very reverent.”

Father Bernard “fights to hold onto the old traditions,” said Rose Mary Snyder, a St. Pius parishioner who was raised in Assumption parish. Whether in the beautiful, historic Assumption church or in the more modest and modern St. Pius church, Father Bernard always uses bells and candles during Mass. He honors Mary with May crownings and still celebrates the sacrament of reconciliation in the old wooden confessionals.

While Father Bernard is very much of the “old school” of priests, according to Snyder, 76, he doesn’t feel that the laity are beneath him. When there were repairs to be done on the church or school buildings, Father Bernard, an expert woodworker, was “there with a hammer in his hand like everybody else,” she said. 

“He’s one in a million,” Snyder added.

Champion of Catholic education

One of the causes dearest to Father Bernard’s heart is Catholic education. It frustrates and saddens him that today “you have to be wealthy to send your children to Catholic schools.”

Father Bernard recalls that during the Depression, his parents paid $1.50 a month for him to attend Sacred Heart School in Lawrenceburg. Of course he doesn’t expect Catholic education to be that much of a bargain today, but for many families, it remains out of reach.

Father Bernard is proud of St. Pius X Classical Academy, which re-formatted its curriculum several years ago. The children attend daily Mass, and religion is “woven into every aspect,” he said. Even though tuition is reasonable, the school has established an endowed scholarship fund in Father Bernard’s name to reach even more students. “During my years as pastor, I’ve never turned away a Catholic child from the area who couldn’t afford tuition,” Father Bernard said.

Many large families who attend Assumption Parish homeschool their children or send them to other diocesan schools. Just being in the church, with its intricate stained glass windows and lifelike statues and paintings throughout, “is a school experience,” Father Bernard said. The church, he said, “has an atmosphere of devotion and is conducive to prayer.”

Cheij, a mother of six children, said her children prefer to attend Assumption over St. Henry, where they go to school, because of the sacred atmosphere. Father Bernard is welcoming of children and encourages their participation in Mass. “It’s the noisest church,” she said, “but it’s never an issue.”

Saying goodbye to parish families

When Father Bernard took over Assumption Parish in 1970, the church was in disrepair and membership was waning. He guided the church through extensive renovations and it is now one of the finest in the diocese. Recently, the parish added an extra Sunday Mass to accommodate the overflow crowds.

Twenty-nine years ago, Father Bernard helped launch Oktoberfest, which has grown into the city’s largest annual cultural street festival. The German Homecoming Mass, always celebrated on Oktoberfest morning, welcomes old parishioners and visitors alike.

Among those visitors are some who had never been in a Catholic church before, who returned later and ultimately decided to join the church, Father Bernard said. “We’ve had a number of converts through the years.”

Starting next month, Assumption, St. Pius and Oktoberfest will go on without Father Bernard. And while he doesn’t want to interfere with the new pastor’s work, “I will try to help when I can,” he said.

Father Bernard is looking forward to some much needed rest and relaxation during his retirement. “It’s been a happy life, but I’m tired,” said the 82-year-old priest. He plans to split his time between Nashville and Lawrenceburg, to help care for his only living sibling, his 97-year-old sister. He will also continue to hear confessions at the Dominican Motherhouse once a week. If he’s feeling up for it, a little traveling, perhaps to hike in the Smoky Mountains, may be in order, Father Bernard said.

Leaving behind the parish he has served for 38 years will not be easy, he said. “It’s my family and it’s sad to leave them. But it’s time.”

File photo by Rick Musacchio

Father Bernard Niedergeses, pictured in Assumption Church where he has served for 38 years, will retire at the end of the month. During his time as pastor of Assumption and St. Pius X parishes, he has overseen extensive renovations of the historic Assumption church, founded Oktoberfest, and guided St. Pius Classical Academy through a curriculum redevelopment.