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Father Dempsey dies after being struck while riding bicycle

In this file photo from 2018, Father Dennis Dempsey delivers the homily during a Mass at St. Dominic in Northfield in which Latino parishioners made their first Communion. DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Father Dennis Dempsey, who served in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis for 41 years, died Oct. 25 after being struck by a motorist in Rosemount while riding his bicycle. He was 73. According to a story in the Star Tribune, the motorist had been convicted 10 times for driving with a revoked license and may be charged in this incident. 

“He loved kayaking, he loved biking … . He loved the outdoors,” said Mara Mangan, director of faith formation at St. Dominic in Northfield. Mangan was hired by Father Dempsey in 2004 and worked closely with him all 14 years he was the parish’s pastor. 

She called his death “a tragic loss for us,” made more painful by the fact that “he loved people right where they were at, and he was a wonderful listener.” 

Father Dempsey, who grew up in Minneapolis and was ordained a priest for the archdiocese in 1980, also was very good with tools and paintbrushes. He was known for being handy around the parish and school, plus he put his skills to work making a wood tabernacle for the church. He also painted a likeness of the Shroud of Turin that is on display outside the church. His skills helped earn him the nickname “Renaissance Man,” Mangan noted. 

Just months after Father Dempsey became pastor of St. Dominic in 2004, Mangan was asked to apply for the faith formation position by the person who had held it previously. She was nervous and didn’t know if she “had what it takes,” but Father Dempsey said she could “try it on for size” for a year as interim director, then see if she wanted to stay. 

“So, here I am,” she said, noting that next month will be her 17th anniversary as a staff member. 

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Father Dempsey had a way of connecting with everyone in the parish, both English speakers and the increasing number of Latinos who have found a home at St. Dominic, she said. He celebrated Masses in both English and Spanish, and also celebrated bilingual Masses. 

Yet, he still found time to duck away to enjoy kayaking on the nearby Cannon River. Mangan and another staff member, Nancy Ludescher, the parish nurse, would go kayaking with him on Fridays during the summer. They would eat lunch afterward, with Father Dempsey sometimes building a campfire and roasting hot dogs. 

In July 2019, Father Dempsey left St. Dominic to serve for the second time at the archdiocesan mission in Venezuela, where he was until June when he returned to the Twin Cities. He assisted at the parish Jesucristo Resucitado in San Felix, where he helped the pastor, Father Greg Schaffer, who was Father Dempsey’s assistant when Father Dempsey was the pastor there in the late 1990s. 

At a Mass Oct. 2 at St. Pascal Baylon in St. Paul celebrating the 50th anniversary of the mission in Venezuela, Father Dempsey gave the homily. He described the “excellent team” of priests, religious men and women and laypeople who served the mission over the years, and noted his struggles to learn Spanish while serving there from 1993-1999. He was named the first pastor of Jesucristo Resucitado in 1997, eventually handing over that role to Father Schaffer, who has held it ever since. 

“I believe we have received a blessing that money cannot buy,” Father Dempsey said in his homily, of those who served in the impoverished country. “A blessing of a different way of looking at life, of what’s valuable, what’s important — a lesson about faith, a lesson about generosity.” 

He took those lessons into the parishes he served in the archdiocese. After returning from Venezuela the first time, he served as pastor of St. Francis de Sales and St. James in St. Paul from 1999 to 2004. From there, he went to St. Dominic in Northfield, serving as pastor from 2004-2019. Other parishes where he ministered include St. Pius X in White Bear Lake (1980-1984), St. Wenceslaus in New Prague (1984-1988), St. Michael in St. Michael (1988-1993) and Annunciation in Hazelwood (2014-2019). In July, he was assigned as pastor of Risen Savior in Burnsville, where he served until his death. 

“He very much relied on the providence of God,” said Mangan, who stayed in touch with Father Dempsey, even during his second time of service in Venezuela. “There’s so many stories of Father Denny living the providence of God. However God allowed things to play out, he just trusted God. … He trusted God in everything. That’s what he taught us, really, is to just allow God to work in our lives and to trust God.” 

Visitation is 4-8 p.m. Oct. 29 at St. Dominic in Northfield, with a vigil service at 7. Funeral Mass is 10:30 a.m. Oct. 30 at Risen Savior in Burnsville, with visitation from 9-10:30 a.m. The funeral will be livestreamed on Risen Savior’s YouTube channel. Interment will be at Resurrection Cemetery in Mendota Heights.

 


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