Wednesday, July 21, 1999
Parish touched by priest's love prays God touches, cures him
BY TOM McCANN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Rev. Jim Willig
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READING — In only two years as pastor, the Rev. Jim Willig has earned the love and changed the lives of almost everyone in his parish. But now that his life is threatened, parishioners are coming by the hundreds to help him.
Inside the yellowed stone walls of SS. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, they sat in silent prayer all night Monday and into Tuesday afternoon. They took turns praying until doctors removed a football-sized tumor from near Father Willig's right kidney. Although the surgery was successful, he still has a cancerous growth on his right lung.
Father Willig, 48, went for a checkup two weeks ago complaining of a pain in his stomach when he found out he was in the late stages of renal cell cancer. Doctors told him he had a 60 percent chance of living for another five years.
Ever since he broke the news to parishioners at Mass, they have been in constant prayer for him, saying nightly rosaries. And Monday night, almost 1,500 people attended an outdoor Mass for him. Such an outpouring of love, they say, is fitting for a man who devoted every minute to them.
“He spends so much time talking to people and getting into their lives after Mass that he almost misses the next Mass,” said Rose Lindeman, president of the parish council. “He hugs you and calls you by name, and he tells you that he loves you. At first, people thought that this man can't be for real, but now they know it, and they've accepted him as a brother.”
Ms. Lindeman and several other people have changed parishes along with Father Willig because they have grown emotionally attached to him. Ms. Lindeman was so inspired by him that she quit her job to volunteer at the church.
“He inspired me to deepen my faith, and he was always there pointing the way. Every leader in this world should follow his lead,” said parishioner Mary Wethington. “For all he's done for us, I'm glad he's not alone today.”
When Father Willig became pastor of SS. Peter and Paul, he turned a quiet, sleepy par ish on its head.
“A lot of us at the time were convenient Catholics. We punched our time clocks every Sunday and were satisfied,” said lifelong parishioner Steve Koutter. “Then, in a snap, he changed all our lives. We've never had a father like him.”
“His Gospels put us on the edges of our seats, he pushed us to become better people, he tried to touch each of us personally,” Mr. Koutter said. “Now I can't imagine this church without him.”
Before Father Willig came to his parish, Mr. Koutter was not happy with being a Catholic. He had a host of family problems including a daughter who was diabetic, and he was having trouble coping.
“The first time I heard him speak, I heard God speaking to me. His words and his kindness helped me through a lot of hard times,” Mr. Koutter said.
Before he met Father Willig, he had never opened the Bible. Now he is in the middle of reading it a second time.
“He was there for me; now it's my turn,” Mr. Koutter said. “Everyone here would do anything to take the cancer out of him. But all we can really do is pray.”
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