Father William Baer, 60, pastor of Transfiguration in Oakdale, died early Jan. 14.
The parish made the announcement on its Facebook page that afternoon, and people began posting condolences thereafter.
“I can’t describe how much Father Baer meant to my family,” posted Chad Parent. “He has done so much for us, and we will be eternally grateful.”
In her post, Jane Johnston referred to Father Baer as a “walking Bible.”
“Other than our guide in Jerusalem who is a ‘walking Bible,’ the only other person I’ve known is Father Baer, who was also a walking Bible,” she wrote. “I often thought while listening to him how one person can hold so much knowledge. We were his parishioners, and we all were so blessed to have had him as our shepherd. What a[n] honor to have known such a person. May we never forget his wit and his never-ending desire to teach us the way to Jesus.”
Father Baer was born May 25, 1957, in Baltimore and ordained a priest May 25, 1996, at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. He has served as Transfiguration’s pastor since 2011. He was the former rector of St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul, and had served as assistant pastor and parochial administrator at Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul, chaplain of the archdiocesan Office of Marriage, Family and Life, and chaplain at Hill-Murray School in Maplewood.
A funeral Mass will be 10 a.m. Jan. 23 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. Visitation will be 4-8 p.m. Jan. 22, followed by an all-night vigil until 7 a.m. Jan. 23 at Transfiguration. Burial will take place in Baltimore. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to Transfiguration or Little Sisters of the Poor, Baltimore.
