A priest for more than 60 years, Father Leonard Siebenaler hailed from family of religious vocations

By Joe Ruff

The Catholic Spirit

Father Leonard Siebenaler, a native of New Trier who ministered nearly 64 years as a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, died Jan. 16 in Hastings, where he had been living in retirement. He was 89.

Father Siebenaler hailed from a family of religious vocations, including his brothers, retired Fathers Martin and John Siebenaler of the archdiocese. The brothers grew up on a dairy farm and attended their parish’s school, now closed.

Father Leonard Siebenaler was ordained with his brother, Father Martin, Feb. 22, 1959, by Archbishop William Brady at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. The two brothers, only 14 months apart in age, celebrated the 60th anniversary of their ordination together at a Sunday Mass, Feb. 24, 2019, at the parish where they grew up, St. Mary in New Trier.

“I especially enjoyed parishes that had grade schools,” Father Leonard said at the 60th anniversary gathering. “I enjoyed parish work, but I was especially enlivened by having large schools connected and having children around.”

Father Martin, 90, told The Catholic Spirit it was his “privilege to give holy Communion to Leonard on his death bed,” a fact he planned to include in the homily he had prepared for the Jan. 20 funeral of his brother at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Hastings.

Known as viaticum, it was “bread for the journey home,” the priest said. “I choke up very easily talking about him,” Father Martin said. Interment for his brother was at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Cemetery in Hastings. The two shared their childhoods, their schooling, their priesthoods, their retirements, Father Martin said. They both loved to golf, though “we weren’t great golfers,” he said, and trips together were common to Gulf Shores, Alabama, to hit the links. His brother loved dogs, especially beagles; he had a beautiful singing voice and he played classical music on the guitar, Father Martin said.

Father Leonard’s priestly ministry was remarkable for the dedication he gave to his parishioners, Father Martin said. While he lived a full and long life, he was nearly killed at age 12 when the tractor he was driving tumbled about 6 feet off the barn driveway. He came away from that with “scrapes and two black eyes,” Father Martin said.

“God must have thought, I’m going to need him as one of my priests, for a long time,” he said.

Father Leonard’s ministry included serving as an assistant pastor of St. Anne in Minneapolis from 1959 to 1964, assistant pastor of St. Mary of the Lake in White Bear Lake from 1964 to 1968, and back to St. Anne from 1968 to 1971.

He was named pastor of St. Paul in Zumbrota in 1971 and ministered there until 1974. At the same time, Father Leonard served as parochial administrator of St. Mary in Belvidere. He was parochial administrator of St. Columba in St. Paul from 1974 to 1976, when he was appointed pastor there and served until 1981. He was pastor of Most Holy Trinity in St. Louis Park from 1981 to 1993 and St. Michael in St. Michael from 1993 until his retirement in 2002.

Dave Ferry, business administrator at St. Michael, said he and his wife, Julie, were privileged to have Father Leonard baptize their oldest son, Thomas, at Most Holy Trinity and their youngest son, Jordan, at St. Michael.

“He has a special place in our hearts,” Ferry said. “Pastoral is probably the best word for him.” Strong in his faith and a good leader, Father Siebenaler “had a very steady hand,” he said.

Sri Lankan native Father Savundra remembered for kindness, generosity

By Barb Umberger The Catholic Spirit

When Father Edwin Savundra, 76, died Jan. 13, Peter Falk, a parishioner of Immaculate Conception of Marysburg, north of Madison Lake, said “I probably lost my closest friend.” The priest served his parish from 2001 to 2002 as parochial administrator and from 2005 to 2009 as pastor.

“I got to know him right away and we became good friends,” said Falk, 80. He and his wife, Mary, often invited the priest over for supper. “We spent many Friday evenings with what (Father) called ‘S and S,’ for supper and Scrabble,” Falk said. “He loved to play Scrabble. It was a lot of fun and he had a wonderful sense of humor.” The priest aslo spent time with the couple after he retired. “My home is your home,” Falk told the priest. “And he knew where the key was.”

The funeral Mass for Father Savundra was scheduled for 10 a.m. Jan. 26 at Nativity in Cleveland. A native of Sri Lanka, he was incardinated into the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in July 2005.

His ministry in the archdiocese included teaching at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul from 1998 to 1999, followed by three months as assistant priest at St. Gregory the Great in North Branch in 1999. He was parochial administrator at Nativity in Cleveland, about 70 miles southwest of the Twin Cities, from 2001 to 2005, assigned outside the archdiocese for two months in 2003, served as pastor at Nativity from 2005 to 2009, parochial administrator at Sacred Heart in Rush City from 2010 to

2012, followed by a medical leave starting in 2012 and retirement June 15, 2013.

Father Savundra attended seminary in India, Falk said. He and Father Savundra once took a three-week trip to India and Sri Lanka, Falk said, and he spent a week with the priest in Canada visiting members of Father Savundra’s family.

“He cared about people more than you could believe,” Falk said. When Falk’s sister and her husband planned a trip to Rome, Father Savundra arranged to have a priest in Rome help them the entire trip, including giving them a guided tour, he said. Father Savundra wrote two books, including one about “the dignity of the human spirit,” Falk said.

Father Savundra prioritized “taking care of people,” Falk said. “I was never in want of anything from him as far as his generosity and his kindness and blessings,” he said. When Falk was quite ill with H1N1, he believes the priest saved his life when he gave him “the sacrament of healing” and his condition started to improve. “My doctor said, ‘Oh, I didn’t expect you to live.’ My heart is so full of love for him.”

Martha Weisgram, 68, a lifelong member of Immaculate Conception, said Father Savundra was “very intelligent, well traveled, personable and forthcoming.”

“He loved to see the young people having fun, whether it was playing ping pong, games or getting involved musically within the parish,” she said.