Ed Nieberding, the brother of the late Fr. Rick Nieberding, C.PP.S., shared this story about the reach of the Missionaries’ global ministry.
By Ed Nieberding
Several years ago, I took a trip with my brother, Fr. Rick Nieberding, C.PP.S., to Richmond, Va., for a family event. We flew on Saturday, attended the gathering, and had a Sunday afternoon flight home.
We wanted to do some sightseeing in downtown Richmond prior to our return, and looked around for a church for Sunday Mass. We decided to go the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart.
The cathedral is the seat of the Richmond Diocese and a large, beautiful church. That Sunday, a young priest with a heavy eastern European accent presided at Mass.
As he began his homily, he said that once a year, his small parish was invited to Richmond to speak at all the Masses. He added with a laugh that he would continue speaking until he had received a commitment of $500 from those attending.
He continued to talk about his small parish and the financial difficulties it faced. Rick poked me in the ribs and said, “Let us help him get over the top, we have a plane to catch.”
The young priest thanked everyone for their help. He then said, “The greatest thanks I can give, and no one is here to receive it, is to the members of the Precious Blood Society. Their work for so many years kept our parish and its members alive and growing. So to them, thank you so very much.”
What a surprise he got when Rick approached him after Mass to accept his thanks on behalf of the Society. What a small but wonderful world.