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Community of
Blessed Sacrament
Catholic Church
650 Stephan Ave.
Waterloo, Iowa 50701
Church
 

 

 

 

 

Fr. Ray Herman
January 1, 1930 -- October 20, 1975


Then Jesus, beholding him, loved him and said unto him, "One thing thou lackest; go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me...It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." --Mark 10:21 & 25

Ray Herman passed through
the needle's eye, and beyond.

In the words of St. Paul, he displayed "no greater love" and laid down his life...not for his friends, not even for his fellow countrymen, but for oppressed people of a different country, language, culture, and existence, thousands of miles from the Buchanan County farm where he was raised.

Contemporaries recall Herman as a soft-spoken, cigar-puffing missionary whose dry wit and few words spoke volumes, and whose ministry shines brightly a generation beyond his lifetime. He was martyred 25 years ago last month, murdered in his bed on the very day he had dedicated a new hospital for his congregation in Bolivia.

Fathers Story  |  More of Fathers Story


Copyright © Monday, 08-Sep-2008 13:34:14 CDT Blessed Sacrament