In Memoriam: Fr. Richard Poetzel, C.Ss.R.
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November 10, 2021Fr. Richard had many varying interests. Topping that list was researching his family tree, which is usually how he spent his vacations. He would leave Our Lady of Fatima rectory and drive two miles to Highlandtown. There he stayed at Sacred Heart of Jesus. He then researched the Baptismal Records for days finding family connections (He was the original Ancestry.com!). The standard reply to parishioners asking for “Poetz” while he “vacationed” was that “He was on a cruise!”
Another interest important to him was the Liturgical functions of the Church. Among his confreres in the Baltimore Province, Richard was well known for his attachment to his “conical vestments.” On more than one occasion, especially when a fan was in the vicinity, the “flowing” chasuble provided comic relief for an otherwise solemn occasion.
Singing the parts of the Liturgy was always part of his presiding style, and in his younger years he excelled; but in his late 70s, this talent began to fade. As pastor, I instructed our cantor to sing the “Exsultet” in lieu of Fr. Poetzel. The cantor hesitated, “Fr. Richard has always sung it,” was his response. I said it was time for a change.
“Poetz” did not voice his displeasure, but it was obvious he was not pleased. The following Easter Vigil I was asked to preside at a neighboring parish (they had Catechumens, whereas Fatima had no one that year). Of course, Richard jumped at the chance to preside at Fatima’s Vigil, and promptly informed the Cantor he was singing the “Exsultet”!
One of my most embarrassing moments occurred at the end of a Sunday Mass when I was congratulating Fr. Poetzel (birthday or some anniversary). Three times I could not get his name correct! Three times I called him “Fr. Pretzel”! Of course, the parishioners were hysterical, and I believe “Poetz” believed it was “pay back” for me curtailing his singing!
A final thought is how Richard embodied his vocation as a Redemptorist Priest. He was always presiding at baptisms, weddings, and funerals for family and friends, and it seemed that there were endless people who fell into that category.
One funeral comes to mind. It was a 30-year-old women’s lacrosse coach who was pregnant with her second child. She was killed when the team bus crashed. Here was a person that Richard had baptized; presided at her wedding, baptized her first child; and now was presiding at her funeral. It was obviously a large, emotional event, of which Richard handled with the loving compassion and consolation of a simple parish priest.
Go rest high on that mountainSon your work on earth is doneGo to heaven a-shoutin’Love for the Father and the Son.
(Courtesy of Baltimore Beacon.)
