Father Paul Witthauer, remembered for pastoral presence, dies at 87

Laurie Catalfo credits a conversation Father Paul G. Witthauer had with her father in the 1990s for forever changing her family for the good.

Alfred Barr was recovering from triple bypass surgery in the 1990s when his parish priest at Our Lady of Hope in Dundalk visited him in the hospital. As Catalfo remembers it, her now-deceased father had been a nominal Catholic who only occasionally attended Mass.

In a gentle and encouraging way, Father Witthauer suggested he come back to the church. He also asked Barr, who had never told his four children he loved them, to consider expressing his feelings more openly.

“From then on, my father went to church and started telling us how much he loved us,” Catalfo remembered, “and he also made sure that all of us told one another and our kids, ‘I love you.’ That really made a big difference for our family. Now, we say it all the time.”

Father Witthauer, who had been associate pastor of Our Lady of Hope from 1989 until his retirement in 2001, died March 4 after years of declining health. He was 87 and had suffered a variety of ailments over his life, including cancer and, in his later years, problems with his memory.

Those who knew him said the priest was devoted to his parishioners and had a gift for being present for them. He had continued assisting at Our Lady of Hope well into his retirement.

“I think Father Paul just wanted to give people the priesthood,” said Father T. Austin Murphy Jr., a former pastor of Our Lady of Hope and St. Luke in Edgemere who now serves as pastor of Christ the King in Glen Burnie.

Father Murphy, who will deliver the homily at Father Witthauer’s March 10 funeral Mass at Our Lady of Hope, got to know his friend in the priest’s later years. He said Father Witthauer was beloved at the southeast Baltimore County parish.

Father Witthauer first arrived at Our Lady of Hope after serving as the founding pastor of St. Timothy in Walkersville beginning in 1983. He had worked for three years prior to that as the resident priest for the Catholic Community of Walkersville, the community he would help shape into St. Timothy’s Parish.

While he loved the people he served in Frederick County, Father Witthauer had struggled with the administrative duties of being a pastor. He spoke publicly about how coming to Our Lady of Hope had been the salvation of his priesthood.

“It was humbling for him to realize his limitations,” Father Murphy said. “But when he came to Our Lady of Hope, he was just embraced by the people. They didn’t care about his lack of administrative skills or anything like that. They just wanted to be loved. And he was happy to do that.”

Father Murphy recalled that Father Witthauer returned to Our Lady of Hope several years ago to celebrate a milestone ordination anniversary. Father Murphy remembered picking him up on a summer day and seeing the tall priest wearing an old-school black biretta and carrying white vestments, even though the correct liturgical color of the season was green.

“He said, ‘It’s my anniversary and I’m happy, so I’m going to wear white,’” Father Murphy said with a laugh.

Father Murphy said some parishioners affectionately referred to Father Witthauer as the “Good Humor Man” because of his penchant for wearing white suits.

Father Andrew Aaron, pastor of Holy Family in Davidsonville, knew Father Witthauer when Father Aaron was a young associate pastor at Our Lady of Hope. Father Aaron later became pastor of St. Timothy and learned more about Father Witthauer’s role establishing the new parish there.

“He really got everything going,” said Father Aaron, noting that Father Witthauer purchased the rectory for the new parish. “It was all about building relationships. He got the community started from scratch.”

Father Aaron remembered that Father Witthauer heard confessions all through the day during Holy Week at Our Lady of Hope. It was something he looked forward to each year, Father Aaron said.

“He would just camp out at the church,” he said.

Father Witthauer was raised in Baltimore and attended St. Thomas Aquinas School in Hampden through fifth grade before moving to Philadelphia for grades six and seven. He completed eighth grade at Shrine of the Little Flower School in East Baltimore.

Knowing from a young age that he wanted to be a priest, Father Witthauer attended St. Charles Seminary High School in Catonsville, St. Mary’s Seminary on Paca Street and St. Mary’s Seminary in Roland Park. He had previously worked at Bethlehem Steel Company in Sparrows Point and spent four summers in the legal department of the Superior Court for Baltimore City.

Archbishop Francis P. Keough ordained Father Witthauer to the priesthood in 1960 at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen.

Father Witthauer served as associate pastor of St. Lawrence in Jessup for three weeks in the summer of 1960 and as associate pastor at St. Bernardine in Baltimore from 1960 to 1967. He then was named associate pastor of St. Mary in Hagerstown. Other duties involved serving as a part-time auditor for the Metropolitan Tribunal.

Father Witthauer was named associate pastor of St. Pius X in Rodgers Forge in 1973 before becoming pastor of St. Peter in Hancock in 1974. He was pastor of St. Peter until beginning his work in Walkersville in 1980.

Will Wilkins, a 27-year-old parishioner of Our Lady of Hope, knew Father Witthauer from the time his father, Deacon Herman Wilkins, was assigned to Our Lady of Hope in 2002. Will Wilkins, who is discerning a call to the priesthood, said Father Witthauer was a model of pastoral service and one of the priests he hopes to emulate should he ever be ordained.

“He made everyone feel welcome,” said Wilkins, who teaches confirmation classes at Our Lady of Hope-St. Luke and Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Edgewater, where his father is now assigned. “He was very encouraging and very personable. He would take the time to get to know you.”

Wilkins said one of Father Witthauer’s favorite liturgical feasts was the Epiphany. The priest brought in gold, frankincense and myrrh and discussed their use in the liturgy, Wilkins said.

“He loved to use incense,” Wilkins said. “He liked the ‘high Mass.’”

Wilkins said one of his favorite memories of working with Father Witthauer as an altar server and sacristan was gathering around a crucifix before Mass began, where Father Witthauer would lead liturgical ministers in prayer.

Father Witthauer was committed to the pro-life cause and always added a prayer to the general intercessions for those who were considering abortion.

“I don’t know what other word to use to describe him other than ‘holy,’” said Catalfo, a former cantor at Our Lady of Hope who now lives in Pennsylvania. “You just knew he was a man of God.”

Father Witthauer will lie in repose at Our Lady of Hope March 9 from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m., when a vigil service will be held. The funeral Mass will be offered March 10 at Our Lady of Hope at 11 a.m. Bishop Adam Parker, who lived at the Our Lady of Hope rectory and ministered with Father Witthauer for one summer when Bishop Parker was a seminarian, will celebrate the funeral Mass.

Memorials may be made to St. Peter Catholic Church, 16 E. High St., Hancock, MD 21750 or to St. Timothy Catholic Church, 8651 Biggs Ford Road, Walkersville, MD 21793.

Listen to Father Murphy’s March 10 homily at Father Witthauer’s funeral here.

Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org

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