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Happening ... in the Local Church
 Father
Joseph Redinbo, OFM, in an undated photo (Photo provided) |
By Kevin Cullen
The
Catholic Moment
LAFAYETTE — On June 13, 1959, Joseph Francis Redinbo was among nine young men ordained to the priesthood in a Franciscan seminary chapel in Dayton, Ohio. The next morning, he celebrated his first Mass at his home parish, St. Lawrence Church on the north side of Lafayette.
Later that day, an old friend from grade school stopped by the family home, found Father Redinbo on the porch, and said, “I just want to shake hands with the meanest kid on the block who became a priest!”
Father Redinbo, or “Father Joe” as he is known, has spent most of the last 50 years in Mexico and the Southwest, serving Hispanics and Native Americans hungry for food, shelter, catechesis and the Gospel.
To mark his golden jubilee, a Mass of Thanksgiving will be celebrated at 11:15 a.m. July 19 at St. Lawrence Church, 1916 Meharry St. All are invited to it, and to a reception afterward.
“I look back with gratitude that I have had the experiences I have had, and the opportunity to minister in this way, helping people help themselves,” he said from Pina Blanca, N.M., which lies adjacent to a Pueblo Indian reservation. “Even though they might not know as much about their faith as we know, or think we know, I think that maybe even if they don’t get to Mass every Sunday they might live it a little better with the people around them than the rest of us do.”
He was one of six children and grew up a half-block from St. Lawrence Church. The Redinbos were active members of the parish, where Franciscans staffed the church and school. One of his aunts was Sister Theresita, a Franciscan nun.
He graduated from St. Lawrence School in 1946 and at age 13 entered St. Francis Preparatory Seminary, Cincinnati. Studying for the priesthood seemed to be the natural thing to do, he said.
“I think just going to Catholic school and having Mass every morning, and serving Mass (were influences),” he said. “Instead of just serving, I wanted to celebrate the Mass.”
His vocation “was sort of always there,” he said. “I just wanted to be a priest. I didn’t really know any diocesan priests … I just asked to be a priest and the Franciscan priest that I talked to sent me there (to the Franciscan seminary).”
He earned a bachelor of arts degree from Duns Scotus College in Detroit in 1955, and made his solemn vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. He was ordained after four years of theological training at Holy Family Monastery in Oldenburg, Ind., and at St. Leonard’s College in Dayton. Another year of theological training followed.
“Joe left home when I was 6 years old,” said his sister, Ann Redinbo Witham, of Lafayette.
The prospect of having a priest in the family always was a source of pride, she said.
“He’d come home in the summer during high school, and I used to get in trouble because I’d pester him to death,” Witham recalled. “Mother used to say, ‘Leave Joe alone!’ but I missed him.”
She is still inspired by his life of service, she said. She recounted stories of him living in a trailer and being stricken with hepatitis while serving impoverished people.
“We’re very proud of him,” Witham said. “He is just wonderful.”
Inspired by a talk given by a Franciscan missionary, Father Redinbo asked to be sent to China, then the Philippines. He was sent instead to the American Southwest.
He spent 31 years serving Indians and Hispanics in Texas, Arizona and New Mexico.
“I was glad to come to the Southwest, rather than teaching in Cincinnati or something,” he said.
It was exciting and educational to experience the culture of Native Americans. They farmed, made jewelry and sold pottery, but “they didn’t have a lot of cash,” he said.
After taking Spanish classes, he served 10 years in a rural diocese 50 miles north of Mexico City.
To celebrate Mass, he would walk for miles or ride a horse to isolated country missions.
“It was interesting, never knowing what you would be doing or where you would be going,” he said. “It was just subsistence living, farming and handcrafts.”
Religious instruction was a high priority. Before babies could be baptized, parents and sponsors had to attend classes.
Later, he taught catechetics and ran a food cooperative for the poor in Cuauhtemoc, a city 60 miles west of Cuidad Chihuahua in northern Mexico.
He spent two years in Juarez, across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas.
“They (the native people) just love him,” said another sister, Kay Redinbo Myers, of Indianapolis. “I’ve been in three different places that he served when he was in New Mexico and Arizona. He just has a way with them.”
People living in poverty “teach you to live with a different perspective and to be thankful for what you do have,” Father Redinbo said. “It almost becomes a privilege to be able to help them meet their own needs. They are such terrific people.”