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father dennis voss retires in july

Story by LIZ QUIRIN
Messenger editor

Father Dennis Voss will change his address from St. Libory to Belleville in July when his retirement becomes official.

Pastor of St. Liborius and St. Anthony in Lively Grove, Father Voss will move to the Hincke-Sense Residence for retired priests.

At 72, he is looking forward to retirement in part because of some health issues that have surfaced in the last year. Father Voss said he will take some time to consider his options.

Ordained May 16, 1964 in Germantown by Bishop Albert Zuroweste, the young Father Voss was assigned as an associate to St. Peter’s Cathedral for two years and then to St. Albert the Great Parish in Fairview Heights.
His first pastorate was at SS. Cyril and Methodius in East St. Louis.

“The day I arrived, I was asked to show the school building to the East St. Louis School Board because the diocese was considering closing the school and selling the building.

Thinking about the people he met at his first parish, he said: “Those were some of the greatest people I ever met. I thoroughly enjoyed being there.”

Two years later, the diocese decided to close the parish, and Father Voss was sent to St. Mary’s in Centralia.
“I wasn’t ready” for that parish, he said. “The people were nice, but there was too much going on. I got depressed.”

Father Voss then went to St. Stephen’s in Flora and from there, he took a leave of absence.

Unsure of his vocation, he described this as a time of “searching.” He received support from then Bishop William Cosgrove who encouraged him to go to a retreat center in Pevely, Mo., where he met Benedictine Father Maur Buhrbach who became his spiritual director.

After thinking and praying and receiving great help from Father Buhrbach, he decided to remain a priest and returned to the diocese. It was at this time he was asked to be the chaplain at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Belleville where he remained for 18 years.

“I became involved in health care ministry,” he said. Not only was he chairman of the ethics committee for the hospital he was also the health care coordinator for the diocese. He also served on a bi-state regional ethics committee.

When he left hospital ministry, he became pastor at St. Liborius and St. Anthony’s.

During his priesthood, Father Voss said he found his greatest joy in “being able to see people touched by God.”
He said he loved both hospital and parish ministry.

Father Voss said he received three job offers in 10 minutes on a recent visit to St. Elizabeth’s.
His background on the ethics committee makes him aware of the difficult decisions that employees and families must sometimes make.

Sometimes, he said, making good, ethical choices depends on the clarity of the communications between the hospital and the family. “It’s a matter of explaining clearly what the options are,” he said.

Father Voss also ministered to people experiencing grief and helped people work through the grieving process.
“I have a grief group at Mt. Carmel Cemetery” in Belleville, he said. “You can really help people in their grief; it’s a matter of listening and not trying to fix everything. You have to listen to their feelings.”

Right now, Father Voss hasn’t said “yes” to anything specific. He wants to take some time to consider where he can minister and think about how his journey of faith and priesthood will continue in coming days and years.