Man Vowed to Become Priest if Wife’s Suffering Stopped : Ordination at 80 Fulfilled Pledge to God

Bill Schumacher knew his wife was dying.

Genevieve, the first woman he ever kissed, the mother of his six children, his wife of 52 years, was in a coma. Only a respirator sustained what life remained in her frail body.

So Schumacher made his pact with God. He prayed that Genevieve would go quickly. And, in return, Schumacher made a promise--he would become a priest.

On that day in 1984, Bill Schumacher was 75 years old.

‘I Am Ready Now’

God kept his end of the bargain. Genevieve died four days later in a Chicago hospital. And Schumacher recalls thinking then: “Lord, I am ready now.”

Thus began an odyssey of religious commitment that would eventually lead to Schumacher’s ordination into the priesthood last year, only a few days shy of his 80th birthday. It would lead him to St. Patrick’s Church in Dallas, where a bishop believed Schumacher could make a contribution despite advancing years. It would, in fact, bring him a certain amount of fame, for only one man has been ordained in the United States at a more advanced age.

At the start, though, his quest had the look of failure. Not many seminaries are eager to take a man who is at the outer edge of the actuarial charts.

Told He Was Too Old

Schumacher sent out dozens of letters to seminaries asking for admission. Some didn’t bother to reply. Others wrote but said he was far too old. Some wrote back asking for donations. Finally, Schumacher found Holy Apostle Seminary near Hartford, Conn., one of the few places that admit older men.

Being older was one thing and being Schumacher’s age was quite another. The seminary said that it would accept Schumacher, but only if he found a bishop to sponsor him, to guarantee, in effect, that there was a job waiting for the aging aspirant.

The search began anew. Schumacher wrote letters to 39 dioceses and got back 32 replies, most of them negative. But one man called him. It was Bishop Thomas Tschoepe of Dallas, who agreed to sponsor him.

“He looked like a good prospect, so we took him,” the bishop said.

The deal was done. Schumacher called a meeting of all his children to tell them he planned to enter the seminary. They only smiled, having long since figured out what their father was up to.

The study for the priesthood began in earnest. Schumacher’s dorm room was the worst in the seminary, one directly under the stairwell, and he was often awakened by footsteps in the late night.

Schumacher tacked a portrait of Jesus to his door, as well as a sign that said: “Old age ain’t for sissies.” Each day, he walked 102 steps up a hill from classroom to dorm room.

Three years of this, and his studies were complete. Schumacher chose his home parish in Chicago for the ordination. Bishop Tschoepe performed the ceremony.

Television Cameras Roll

The television cameras rolled on that day, for word had gotten around that Schumacher was the oldest man ever to be ordained in the United States. (Subsequently, a priest was found in rural North Carolina who had been ordained shortly after his 80th birthday.)

Friends on vacation in the Soviet Union saw the ordination on the evening news in Leningrad.

“I have reached my goal,” a tearful Schumacher said that day.

Father Schumacher’s new chalice was adorned with the ring he gave Genevieve on their 50th wedding anniversary.

Son Presents Plaque

His son, Richard, presented him with a plaque that said: “You’re never too old to start something,” words of advice the father had given the son years earlier.

Now Schumacher says Mass daily at St. Patrick’s. He visits the sick and the aged and hears the confessions of parishioners.

“He has added a new dimension to the parish,” said Msgr. Richard Johnson, St. Patrick’s pastor.

Schumacher has baptized his great-grandson and performed the wedding ceremony for one of his 12 grandchildren. He has adjusted well to the priestly life.

“I feel great that the opportunity has been given to me to serve other people,” Schumacher said in his office the other day. “I’ve got a useful life ahead of me.”