Tuesday, January 5, 2010

A Mass of Christian Burial for Father Mark Schmieder was celebrated on Jan. 2 at St. Francis Seraph Church in Over-the-Rhine. Father William Stockelman served as celebrant and homilist. Father Schmieder, 69, died Dec. 24 in Richland, Wash, where he was being treated for pancreatic cancer.

Father Mark Schmieder (CT file photo)

A native of Lima, Father Schmieder did his preparatory studies at St. Gregory Seminary and studied theology at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary of the West in Norwood. He was ordained in 1966 by Archbishop Karl J. Alter. Father Schmieder later received a master’s degree in religious education from Loyola University.

Father Schmieder began his first assignment as assistant pastor of Resurrection Parish in Dayton and as a teacher at Alter High School. In 1969 he was assigned as assistant pastor at St. Raphael Parish, to the faculty at Catholic Central High School, to Newman ministry at Wittenberg College and the Community Center, all in Springfield.

In 1970 he was named assistant pastor at St. Teresa Parish in Springfield, while continuing at Catholic Central and Wittenberg. In 1973 Father Schmieder was appointed associate pastor of St. Saviour Parish in Cincinnati, followed by an assignment to St. Margaret Mary Parish and the faculty of St. Ursula Academy.

In 1978 he became associate pastor at St. Joseph Parish in Cincinnati.

From 1980 to 2002 Father Schmieder served as chaplain of Lebanon Correctional Institution and was responsible for initiating the Kairos prison ministry in Ohio.

In 1996 he was appointed associate pastor of our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Monroe. He was appointed chaplain of the Hamilton County Justice Center in 2002 and served in that capacity until his death.

Father Schiemder was also the co-founder of the St. Francis/St. Joseph Catholic Worker House, a homeless shelter for men, along with serving as its board chairperson. He was the former president of the American Catholic Correctional Chaplains Association. Father Schmieder received the Priest of Integrity award from Voice of the Faithful, which recognized his courage and compassion in ministry.

Father Schmieder is survived by his sisters, Darlene Dieringer and Lisa Kostuch, and brothers, Carl, Luke and LeRoy. Burial will take place in Minster at a later date.