Bishop Gettelfinger: For The People
Msgr. Gerald A. Gettelfinger entered the Diocese of Evansville like a wonderful gale force wind — full of energy and ideas.
Back in March of 1989, he was serving as the vicar general in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis when his name was announced as the Fourth Bishop of the Diocese of Evansville. Many diocesan priests had studied with him at St. Meinrad Seminary, but probably few lay people here were familiar with him.
Deanna Ruston, Bishop Francis R. Shea’s secretary at the time, still remembers meeting her new boss. He walked into her office at the Catholic Center, took a look at her telephone, and asked, “Is this the only telephone you have?”
“Yes,” she answered, adding, “It’s hello and good-bye.”
They shared a laugh, and then he explained that he wanted a fax machine with “all the bells and whistles.”
“I thought, ‘My, my, my. I’m in for a whole new world with this man.”
The monsignor was named bishop on March 11 of that year, and he immediately asked the diocese to prepare for his ordination and installation on April 11. That was the date that Archbishop Pio Laghi, apostolic pro-nuncio, was available. It was also exactly one year and one day after the death of his beloved mother, Mary.
Phyllis Bussing, the associate director of the diocesan Office of Catholic Education at the time, remembers being involved in the almost-Herculean task. “The preparation time was short, but everyone jumped into full gear and made it happen.”
Over 1,100 attended the grand ceremony at St. Benedict Church in Evansville, including 21 archbishops and bishops, two archabbots and an abbot.
At the conclusion of the ceremony the bishop told the people of his new diocese “I would like to conclude my remarks with this — acknowledging the presence of this ring on my finger, the wedding band. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.”
And so his tenure as bishop began.
Ruston says she was often astounded by his energy level. “I remember saying, ‘We need to put Vaseline on the doorknobs to slow him down because he moves so fast.’”
Of her boss, she says, “He was a wonderful person to work for. He certainly enriched my life.”
Her husband, Chuck, became very ill in the early 1990s. “In 1990, I was gone for 47 days in Houston, and I still had a job. In 1991, I was gone for 45 days in Houston, and I still had a job.” She paused to remember those difficult times, and then added, “That shows his humanness.” As she grew to know him, she realized that her boss was “sensitive to the pain that people felt in a crisis.”
Of their working days together, she said, “He never raised his voice. Even though he was bishop, and he was in charge, if he asked you a question, he respected your opinion. He was a good listener.
“I always said to myself about him, ‘He talked to his God a lot for guidance.’”
He was born into a farm family in south central Indiana, the fourth of eight children. Over the years, Ruston watched as he received continuous love and support from his family, noting “that connectedness helped him grow as a bishop.”
He served the diocese from 1989 until June 29, 2011, when Bishop Charles C. Thompson was installed as its fifth bishop. He then became bishop-emeritus.
During all those years, Ruston said, “he truly had the diocese in his whole self. He really was the bishop of the Diocese of Evansville. He was truly a leader, and his enthusiasm energized you. He was a good man. I think he loved our diocese and admired our people.”
When she thinks of those years, these words come to mind: he was “for the people.”
“That’s exactly who he was.”
Most Rev. Gerald A. Gettelfinger, Bishop Emeritus of Evansville, will celebrate Mass at 10 a.m. on April 11 – the 25th anniversary of his ordination as the fourth Bishop of Evansville.
The Mass will be at St. Benedict Cathedral. April 11 also marks the 15th anniversary of the dedication of St. Benedict as the diocesan cathedral.
Concelebrants will include Bishop Charles C. Thompson and priests of the Diocese of Evansville.
The Mass is open to the public. All are invited to attend.
