Fr. Henry Frantz, C.PP.S.
February 3, 1928– April 13, 2015
Fr. Henry L. Frantz, C.PP.S., died at 8:59 a.m. Monday, April 13, 2015, at Lima Memorial Hospital, where he had undergone surgery last week. Fr. Frantz, who was 87, had lived at St. Charles Center, Carthagena, Ohio.
He was born on February 3, 1928, in Cleveland, Ohio, to John and Rose (Gedeon) Frantz. He entered the Missionaries of the Precious Blood in 1948 and was ordained on May 15, 1954 at St. Charles.
Fr. Frantz was in parish ministry for much of his life as a priest. He served as an associate pastor at St. Francis Xavier Church in St. Joseph, Mo. (1954-57); Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, Cleveland (1957-61); Corpus Christi Church in Dayton (1961-67); and St. Andrew Parish in Orlando (1967-75). St. Boniface Church in New Riegel, Ohio (1975-85), was his first assignment as pastor; he was also pastor of St. Agnes Church in Uniontown, Ky. (1985-94). In 1994, he returned to Florida as the associate pastor at the Church of the Nativity in Longwood, where he served until his retirement to St. Charles Center in 2007.
He is survived by his identical twin brother, Br. Gregory Frantz, C.PP.S. The two went to high school together in Cleveland, and to college in Kentucky before they decided to follow their vocational call to become Missionaries of the Precious Blood. They entered the Congregation at what was then St. Charles Seminary. “People couldn’t tell us apart, but that was their problem,” Br. Greg said. “After a while, they got us straightened out.”
Fr. Frantz felt called to ordination as a priest, while Br. Greg was called to life as a religious brother and remained at St. Charles to serve the Community there. They remained close and enjoyed time together throughout their lives as blood brothers and brothers in the Precious Blood, slipping away for a round of golf whenever they could through all those years. It was especially good to be reunited in their retirement at St. Charles, where they lived in apartments next to each other, Br. Greg said.
Fr. Frantz was a gentle, genial soul who truly loved his ministry as a pastor and the people who whom he ministered. He was much loved at the Church of the Nativity, where many people still remember him fondly. He was always ready to listen to anyone who needed to talk, and he was quick with a joke for those who needed a smile.
While there, he also served as the sponsor of the group of C.PP.S. lay associates, called Companions, and continued to keep in touch with them via Skype after he moved to St. Charles.
A Mass of Christian burial was celebrated on Thursday, April 16, 2015, at St. Charles Center, with Fr. Tony Fortman, C.PP.S., officiating. Fr. James Seibert, C.PP.S., was the homilist. Burial followed in the Community cemetery.
Memorial donations may be made to the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, Cincinnati Province.