Many are grateful for Bishop Izen’s parish, school ministries

By Barb Umberger The Catholic Spirit

Those who have served with Bishop Michael Izen at the parishes and schools he has ministered to as a priest recall his attentiveness to people’s needs and the love of Christ he strove to bring into every situation.

Pastor of the Churches of St. Michael and St. Mary in Stillwater the past seven years, as well as parochial administrator of St. Charles in Bayport and canonical administrator of St. Croix Catholic School, the bishop served at three other parishes since his priestly ordination in 2005.

Divine Mercy has had its share of role models over the years, and Bishop Izen is one of them, said Regina Ashley, who joined Divine Mercy School as a teacher 34 years ago and accepted the post of principal 11 years ago. The list of role models includes Bishop Andrew Cozzens of the Diocese of Crookston, who was a parochial vicar at the parish, as was Bishop Joseph Williams, now auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Bishop Donald DeGrood of the Diocese of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, grew up on a farm outside Faribault and “came all the way through our school system,” Ashley said. “I really do feel we’ve been blessed in a lot of ways.”

During his ministry as parochial vicar at Divine Mercy, Bishop Izen had an impact on her grade school students. He has “lots of energy,” and a friendly and outgoing nature that showed itself in many ways, Ashley said, such as playing kickball and other outdoor games with students on the playground. He will bring many gifts to his new role, including listening and relating to people, she said.

“He certainly understands the importance of Catholic education and how that plays into our Church as a whole,” Ashley said. As someone who has dedicated decades of her own life to that work, “that’s important to me,” she said.

Bob Donnett, 50, has been a member of St. Timothy since 2004 and a member of the school board for the past 15 years. He and his wife have 10 children, and the Donnett clan attends St. Timothy School.

Donnett recalled Bishop Izen as pastor being “over and above supportive of the parish school.” When he arrived, the school served children in grades K-6. “He helped broker and get things in place to add on seventh and eighth grades to the school, which has been highly successful,” Donnett said. “He’s a big believer in strong, authentic Catholic education, which is awesome,” Donnett said. “As a parent, it’s just refreshing.”

The bishop took his priestly duties seriously, but he did so with “such a joy” that left an impression on children and parents, Donnett said. “They see that, and you have the ability to make an immediate connection with that gift.”

Bishop Izen has “plenty of intellectual horsepower” and took matters of faith seriously, he said. But he immediately pointed toward the happiness that faith can bring “and put the teachings in light of that.”

Loyal to the magisterium, Bishop Izen explained things clearly, but it was always joyful, Donnett said. “God loves you, God wants you to be happy,” he said. “God wants you to be happy just like a father wants his kids to be happy. And sometimes he has to tell what you can do, but don’t treat it like a bunch of rules. Treat it like, ‘here’s a guideline to be happy,’” he said.

A conversation with Bishop Izen left people “feeling better about the Church, where you’re at and how much God loved you,” Donnett said. “And I think that was a pretty cool way to be a pastor.”

Another gift Donnett appreciates is the way Bishop Izen handles confession, as a “remarkably gentle and patient man.”

“He always had insight and was encouraging in such a way that (said), ‘don’t give up, keep going, God loves you, don’t give up (the) good fight,’”

PLEASE TURN TO PARISH, SCHOOL MINISTRIES ON NEXT PAGE

AND I WILL GIVE YOU SHEPHERDS AFTER MY OWN HEART, WHO WILL FEED YOU WITH KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING. JEREMIAH 3:15

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

Donnett said. That’s an important message for the faithful to hear, he said.

As with many people who know Bishop Izen, Donnett recalled the bishop’s gift with remembering names. He does so because it says, “I care about you as an individual,” Donnett said.

Peggy Marquette said she has taught first grade for 25 years at St. Timothy, which has about 160 students in preschool through eighth grade. Marquette recalled how much the children enjoyed interacting with Bishop Izen, whether at lunch, recess or the occasional field trip. For example, he traveled to an environmental camp for sixth graders each year to preside at Mass.

Bishop Izen started a program at the school that involved students writing letters to seminarians, Marquette said. “That’s something we continue today,” she said. The bishop spoke to the children in classrooms and asked that the children pray for the seminarians and write letters throughout the year. One of those seminarians today is Marquette’s son, Alex (see page 10A).

When Bishop Izen was assigned to St. Raphael in Crystal he followed the ministry and sudden death in June 2011 of Father Richard Hogan, the pastor, a loss that left parishioners reeling.

“We were a parish that had lost its way a little bit,” said Dave Johnson, who has taught physical education, science and health during his 46 years at the parish school. When Bishop Izen arrived, Johnson was teaching physical education and serving as athletic director.

“Father Izen got us back on our feet” with all eyes on the Lord, Johnson said. He recalled Bishop Izen’s Masses as “so prayerful” that “you felt you were right up on the altar with him.” His homilies were “powerful, profound and impactful,” giving content “that you could work on all week,” he said.

“Every Mass he celebrated, it just felt like his first Mass,” Johnson said. He recalled teachers taking notes during his homilies so they could bring his thoughts and words back to the classroom.

At school, Bishop Izen moved from table to table in the lunchroom, each filled with about 20 children, Johnson said. “He was alive and fully present, just like with our Lord, when the crowds would come and just wanted to be with him, around him and listen to him,” he said. After school, the bishop attended students’ games because he wanted them to know he loved all parts of their lives, not just when they were in church, Johnson said.

It was difficult when Bishop Izen was reassigned, Johnson said, called by the archdiocese to serve the

Stillwater-area parishes. “When Father Izen was here, he touched hearts, he changed lives and then he would move on,” Johnson said. “We saw him as our pastor, as the light of the Lord, the light of Christ. His light shined into others’ hearts by saying people’s names,” he said.

“We were blessed to have Bishop Izen assigned to the parish of St. Mary’s and St. Michael’s in Stillwater,” said Fran Ramportl, a parishioner of St. Michael and second grade teacher at St. Croix Catholic School. She said the bishop is “a great spiritual leader who you can confide in” and someone to share a joke with.

“He is generous with his time to be with families in their homes and with all the activities at church and school,” Ramportl said. “His leadership and personal connections will be missed.”

Bishop Izen presided at two funeral masses with Pamela Berry’s family the past year. “All who attended were impressed with his homily and ability to bring comfort to the mourning families,” said Berry, kindergarten teacher at St. Croix Catholic School and a St. Michael parishioner.

“He visited with each of us afterward, which brought great comfort at such a difficult time in our life,” Berry said. “When my mom heard he was becoming auxiliary bishop, she was so excited. I wish him many blessings in this next journey in spreading the goodness of Jesus Christ.”

At St. Charles in Bayport, Tom Thuesen, the parish bulletin editor and a member the Finance Council and St. Michael’s Cemetery Committee, said he found Bishop Izen to have “an exceptional ability to listen attentively, show support and offer guidance — all at the same time.”

“While he’s listening carefully to others and being completely honest in his responses, he fairly radiates a sense of kindness,” Thuesen said. “I’m glad that so many more people will experience his presence as our newest bishop.”