blaeser-donald-ofm-bw.jpgEDWARDSVILLE - St. Mary Church, 1802 Madison Ave. in Edwardsville, will host a parish mission preached by Franciscan priests beginning Sunday, Feb. 15 and continuing through Wednesday, Feb. 18. The preaching will take place from 7 to 8 p.m. each evening, followed by informal socializing with refreshments. Child care will be provided.

The theme of the mission is "Awakening our faith in challenging times" and homilies will be given by Father Donald Blaeser, OFM, and Father Dennis Koopman, OFM, from St. Gratian Friary in Countryside. The themes of the evening will be: Feb. 15: "Living in the embrace of God's love"; Feb. 16: "Forgiveness as a path for peace"; Feb. 17:  "Healing the human heart"; and Feb. 18: "Called to be witnesses of the good news in our times."

Father Dennis was born and reared in northeastern Iowa, and graduated from Loras College in Dubuque. In 1965, he was professed as a Franciscan of the Sacred Heart Province, St. Louis. After studies at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, he was ordained to the priesthood in 1970.

While Father Dennis was a professor for 20 years at Quincy University, he was active in and held leadership positions in Worldwide Marriage Encounter and Engaged Encounter. He organized marriage preparation programs in the Springfield diocese. He attended the Vatican II Institute for Theological Renewal for priests and in 1994 began his full-time ministry of preaching parish missions. He is a member of the Franciscan Ministry of the Word team and holds a certificate in preaching from the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis.

koopman-dennis-ofm-bw.jpgBorn and raised in Chicago, Father Don entered the Franciscan Order, Sacred Heart Province in June 1962, professed his final vows in 1966 and was ordained a priest in 1970. After completing his undergraduate studies at the Franciscans' seminaries, he earned his master's of divinity in theology at Catholic Theological Union and a bachelor's in music education at Manhattanville College.

Father Don served as chaplain at Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital in Wheaton, was a confessor at St. Peter's in Chicago's Loop, and a pastor of Sacred Heart Church in St. Paul, Minn. He was co-director of novices at the inter-provincial novitiate of the Franciscans in Cedar Lake, Ind., from 1993 to 2000. He holds a certificate in preaching from the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis and has been serving on the Ministry of the Word team since 2000.

For more information on the mission, call (618) 656-4857.