Salina — Ask Bishop-elect Edward Joseph Weisenburger what has been most significant in his 25 years of priesthood, and he will tell you it has been everything that he wanted but nothing that he expected.

“I have learned that it’s never what you expect. I believe the only priests who are most happy and most productive are those who are able to adapt to what the Church was asking them to do at the time,” he said.

“My priesthood has not resembled what I anticipated. Of course, the Sacraments are integral, and sacramental life is unchanging. But the celebration of the Sacraments are only one small part, even though they may be the apex or most significant. But it’s what you do during the day that augments and adds to that. The rest of that priest’s life changes according to the time and local needs and his abilities,” he explained.

To say, then, that being named a bishop midway into his priesthood was unexpected is an understatement. But he views the upcoming changes with the same upbeat and open philosophy.

“Twenty-five years from now, when I retire and you ask me that same question, I would say it wasn’t like anything I expected, but it was filled with blessings,” he said.

• • •

Ask his two sisters, and they say the path to their brother becoming a priest began during the two separate years the Weisenburger family lived in Hays.

Their father, Edward John, first came to Hays as a U.S. Army recruiter. He met Asella “Sally” Walters of Catharine, and they married at St. Joseph Church in Hays.

Several years later, when he was an Army helicopter pilot serving two different tours of duty in the Vietnam War, he moved his wife and children back to Ellis County, where he knew relatives would keep a close watch on them.

“When you’re in the military you really have no ‘home,’ but that was Mother’s home, and it became home for all of us,” said Mary Jung of Yukon, Okla., Bishop-elect Weisenburger’s older sister. “It’s still in my head: That’s home. I’ve lived in Oklahoma 40-some years, but I still say Hays is where I’m from.”

Their second stay in Hays included a year with their maternal grandmother, Mathilda Walters. By that point, their grandfather Ferdinand Walters was deceased, and their grandmother had been living with a daughter in Missouri.

“She came back to live with us that year so she could be with friends,” Jung, the oldest of the four children, recalled.

“She was a tremendous influence on Ed. He was 8 or 9. Grandma had a very, very deep and spiritual prayer life. Ed was very fond of her. He probably spent the most time of any of us with her. She had her own suite in the back of the house, and Ed spent a lot of time there. She prayed the Rosary a lot. I think she was a real, powerful influence in his life. That was one of the nice things that grew out of Hays,” she said.

April 19, 2012 - Yesterday, Father Allen Scheer was charged with a misdemeanor for inappropriate sexual conduct with an adult in Salina. The Diocese will fully cooperate with the investigation conducted by local law enforcement, and Father Allen Scheer has been placed on administrative leave. Father Randall Weber has been appointed as Parochial Administrator of Sacred Heart Cathedral.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On March 4, I left Oklahoma City and headed for Rome for the ad limina visit. The words ad limina are Latin, and they translate basically “to the threshold.” It is an ancient phrase referring to the custom of the world’s bishops being called to Rome about every five years.

The purpose of the trip is two-fold. First, bishops are called to pray at the tombs of the saints in the four great Roman Basilicas — St. Peter’s, St. Mary Major, St. John Lateran and St. Paul Outside the Walls. At these centers of prayer and pilgrimage, the bishops are called to pray for the individual dioceses entrusted to them as well as to pray for wisdom, mercy, and holiness for themselves. The second purpose of the ad limina visit is to meet with the Holy Father, as well as several of the offices of the Vatican, known as congregations or pontifical councils. There we discuss issues that pertain to our dioceses as well as the universal Church.

You may recall my personal surprise at being appointed your bishop. Perhaps you will understand my even greater surprise to discover that I was invited to represent you along with the bishops of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa for the ad limina. I really didn’t know what to expect and went into the task with some anxiety. I am humbled and pleased to note that the anxiety was entirely unfounded and that the experience proved a tremendous blessing for me.

The time for prayer and liturgy was deeply meaningful. As is true of all great liturgy, I found the time spent in the basilicas renewing and refreshing. The meetings at the various Vatican offices also were insightful. Each of the visits proved to be a true dialogue as the head of each department, usually a cardinal, wanted to know the impressions of the bishops on the state of our local dioceses. They also had a wealth of information to share with us concerning the feedback they receive from the rest of the bishops of our nation as well as the universal Church.