Honoring retired priests

Veronica Tupy, a kindergarten student at Holy Cross Catholic School in Webster, gives a card to Father George Welzbacher, who is living at the Leo C. Byrne Residence for retired priests in St. Paul, during a gathering March 28. The card was from her parents, Rachel and Jake, who had Father Welzbacher as one of the celebrants for their wedding in 2009. Tupy’s teacher, Shari Eischens, organized the Byrne Residence event. About 10 retired priests spent two hours with the teacher and 19 Holy Cross kindergarten students. In 2020, Eischens came up with the idea of having her students write letters to retired priests. It was a hit, with priests at the Byrne Residence writing back. This year, she scheduled an in-person visit. Each priest was presented a hand-addressed brown envelope containing a drawing and note from a student. “This is why our kids need to be in Catholic school, to know the importance of the priests that are currently serving and the ones that served in the past — bringing us all together,” Eischens said. “If you want to talk about vocation shortage, this is how we get kids back into the vocations: coming here.”