These seasoned clergymen travel many miles every week to serve small communities
By Lisa Haefs | For On Mission
Retirement doesn’t come easily — or quickly — for many priests in the Diocese of Green Bay.
At a stage of life when many in the secular world enjoy lives of leisure, these men continue to serve far-flung communities, celebrating Mass at parishes that might otherwise be forced to close.
“I knew the day would come when I would have to hang it up officially, but I wanted to continue to serve if I was needed or asked,” Fr. Charles (Charlie) Hoffman, 90, said. “They started calling, and I have been busy ever since.”
“It’s what my whole life has been, service to the church,” Fr. John Hephner, 92, said. “Life is a bit more relaxed now, but I continue to be in touch with the priesthood and the Church itself.”
“I feel an obligation,” Fr. John Cerkas, 85, said. “I ask the Lord to help me be a faithful servant, a good priest and a true friend. And I hope I am continuing to be that. I am glad I can do it.”
For Fr. Cerkas, life as a senior priest is a continuation of a journey he began 50 years ago, when he asked to be assigned to Laona and its mission in Newald.
“I became the priest in a small parish by choice,” Fr. Cerkas said. “Over the years, I was offered other positions, but I always turned them down because I love it up here. I have been blessed to serve here and to continue to do so.”
A Manitowoc native, Fr. Cerkas has served at parishes across the region, including Wabeno, Long Lake, Niagara, Aurora and Suring.
“All my life I’ve had to travel,” he said. “I’ve put on a lot of miles.”
But following his move to senior status in 2010, Fr. Cerkas significantly reduced his travel. With the help of friends, he constructed a tiny chapel just a few steps from his home, christening it “St. Francis of Assisi with Brother Wolf.”
“I did it to have a place to say Mass after I retired,” Fr. Cerkas said. “I have several people who come by every day. It is a great consolation. I talk to Jesus in there.”
Fr. Cerkas continues to celebrate weekly Mass in Newald and occasionally in Laona.
Fr. Hoffmann, a native of Manawa, said he never considered leaving his adopted hometown of Antigo following the move to senior status in 2010.
“I’ve never been in any place longer in my life than here,” he said. “This is where I am comfortable. This is home.”
Unofficially known as the “community’s clergyman,” Fr. Hoffmann continues to officiate the occasional wedding and presides over dozens of funeral Masses each year, often for parishioners he has known for decades.
“If they want me, they call,” he said.
He also makes the 60-mile round trip to celebrate Mass three times a week for the Holy Cross Sisters at Bell Tower Residence in Merrill and leads Saturday evening services in Elcho, 23 miles from his home.
“I’m happy to help out at the parishes,” he said. “The people have been very good to me. I always said I didn’t want to be a grumpy old priest, and I think I have succeeded.”
Fr. John Hephner, 92, assumed senior status in 2003, planning to build a home on 40 acres he owned in Marinette County. The house was built, mainly by him, but retirement did not follow.
“Its appeal is the purity of the lakes and streams, the wild rivers and the wildlife that share my space,” the native of Calumet County said, admitting “it takes a bit of getting used to, being that much alone.”
Throughout his 66 years in the priesthood, Fr. Hephner served a variety of small parishes, including Aniwa and Birnamwood, as well as Armstrong Creek and Goodman, where he continues to celebrate Mass each week.
Traveling in all seasons, over ice-covered roads and under storm-filled skies, presents its own challenges like downed power lines, fallen trees and even the occasional bear.
“That is when you appreciate your guardian angel,” Fr. Hephner said. “You never know what is going to happen.”
When asked how long they plan to continue serving, the senior priests have a standard answer: “As long as I am able,” Fr. Cerkas said. “This is my way to say thank you to God for his blessings.”
They also share a concern about the future of small churches, knowing the vital role these churches play in the spiritual lives of their communities.
“The Newald church is over 100 years old, and I first came up to it when I was 12 years old,” Fr. Cerkas said. “I promised the parishioners to keep it open for them, and so far I have kept that promise.”
“When the younger people graduate from high school and leave communities such as Goodman, they take their faith with them,” Fr. Hephner said. “The faith that we planted in them in those churches is there in them. They can contribute wherever they go.”
Fr. Hoffmann put it simply: “Those churches are the key to their lives.”