Welcome Fr. Bill Kneemiller!

A Passionate Witness for Christ:

Fr. Bill Kneemiller

Father William (Bill) Kneemiller shares that he is "very happy" to be joining us at St. Paul's on a part-time basis as parochial vicar, while remaining the chaplain at the Kahl Home. Father Bill grew up in St. Charles, Missouri where his father still resides. He attended the University of Missouri-Columbia and completed his theology studies at St. Paul Seminary at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. On June 12, 1999, he was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop William Franklin at Sacred Heart Cathedral.

Fr. Bill shares that one of his most powerful experiences of Christ happened in his last year of seminary. He recalls that "I was walking through the TV lounge one weekend evening and an old episode of MASH was on the TV. I saw Fr. Mulcahy wearing his Roman collar with his Army jacket. I had a flash of insight; I want to be a parish priest and an Army Reserve chaplain." One year later he was ordained, and two years later, he started his journey of serving as an Army chaplain. Fr. Bill served as the parochial vicar at St. Paul the Apostle from 1999-2003. Since then he served as a military chaplain in Iowa, Missouri and then Iraq and as well as a pastor in parishes within our Diocese. After his final deployment to the Middle East as a military chaplain in 2015, he returned to the United States and began his assignment as the chaplain at the Kahl Home.

There is no doubt that when you get to know Fr. Bill, you will hear about his passion for the Holy Land Military Rosary and the olive-wood crucifix from Bethlehem that is a part of it. He explains that his experience "with the Family Rosary Program brought him back to Christian meditation and his Catholic roots." He has an incredible enthusiasm to share his excitement for the Rosary with others so that they can experience this wonderful way of connecting with Jesus through Mary. Fr. Bill not only helps military personnel by providing these rosaries, but he has also created part-time employment in Haiti through a partnership with the organization ServeHaiti. He sends materials to Haiti where the rosaries are constructed and the completed rosaries are brought back to Iowa. Then, Catholic Lighthouse Media representatives mail the rosaries to military chaplains around the world.

 Fr. Bill also has a strong passion to share the short version of the Liturgy of the Hours with lay people. He states that "my experience with this book in Jordan was that it was like a "companion", or Jesus as the Word made flesh." Pope Francis' instruction on how to approach Scripture shares a similar sentiment. In the prologue for a youth Bible published in Germany the pope writes, "Dear families, listen to the Word of God, meditate on it together, pray with it, let the Lord fill your lives with mercy...The Bible is not meant to be placed on a shelf, but to be in your hands, to read often – every day, both on your own and together with others.” It is clear that Father Bill is motivated by the same wisdom. Fr. Bill says, "I believe that when Catholics discover the vibrancy of God's Word, it is such a beautiful complement to the Sacraments."

 Jesus tells us that "Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks (Mt. 12:34)." Clearly, Fr. Bill has been touched in ways that excite him to share his encounters with Jesus with others. May his enthusiasm for sharing these experiences be a witness to us to share our stories with the same zeal. For it is by sharing our own stories of the Lord's impact on our lives that we may help others to understand the His mercy and love.

Welcome (back) to St. Paul's, Fr. Bill! We look forward to pursuing our mission for evangelization together!