Fr. Beacom celebrates 97th birthday, continued joy in saying Mass

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
July 24, 2008

The oldest priest of the Diocese of Sioux City is a year closer to the century mark. Father Vincent Beacom just turned 97 on July 14.

He still enjoys being able to say Mass with the aid of a device that magnifies the readings and the Gospel to a size that he is able to read.

"It really is a blessing to me," said Father Beacom, who resides at Holy Spirit Retirement Home in Sioux City. "Through the priesthood, I have grown closer to God through the sacraments. The greatest thing about the priesthood surely would be the awesome privilege of offering Mass - the ability to change water and wine and have Christ come on my altar. The nourishment is there for the soul and the body."

He said that God gave him the gift of priesthood and the sacraments.

The priest was born July 14, 1911, in Jackson, Neb., to Louis and Anna (Kramper) Beacom. He attended Brushy Bend School and St. Catherine Academy in Nebraska.

"It was a wonderful education with the sisters and the pastors at St. Patrick's (in Jackson)," said Father Beacom. "My family life was very religious. We went to confession regularly."

He and his siblings led the decades when his family prayed the rosary.

The priest smiled as he recalled stories from his youth. He remembered riding in a Model T Ford to church on Sunday. When his family got home from Mass, he acted as the priest with his brothers and sisters as the congregation.

Father Beacom graduated from Trinity College in Sioux City and St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, Minn. He told the story of how he came to be a priest in the Diocese of Sioux City. He was acquainted with Father Dominic Lavin of the Archdiocese of Omaha and Msgr. Newman Flanagan of the Diocese of Sioux City.

"One day he (Father Flanagan) said to me, 'What are you going to do?'" said Father Beacom. "I was unable to make a complete decision. All of my classmates, who became priests - Father Edward Carpenter (a distant relative and native of Jackson, Neb.), Father James Fandel, Father Ed Hoffmann and Father Gerald Kelly - were going to be for the diocese here."

Msgr. Flanagan suggested that Father Beacom transfer to the Diocese of Sioux City.

"With my brother (a chaplain for the United States Army) away, I said, 'I don't know how,'" he recalled. "Msgr. Flanagan picked up the phone and called the chancellor of the Omaha Diocese. He came back and said, 'It is all fixed up. You are in this diocese.'"

Father Beacom said he continued to be friends with Msgr. Flanagan and played tennis with him on occasion. Tennis was something he liked to do with his brother priests.

He was ordained a priest April 23, 1944, at Cathedral of the Epiphany in Sioux City and has been a priest for 64 years.

He was in the business world during the depression before becoming a priest. He said the "Holy Ghost kept rapping on me" to become a priest. He also felt the influence of the sisters and priests in his parish in Jackson, Neb.

His brother, Father John Beacom, was ordained a priest in 1937 and is the oldest priest in the Archdiocese of Omaha. His other relatives who are priests include Father James Kramper and his nephew, Father Paul Albenesius, the current pastor at St. Patrick Church in Jackson, Neb.

Father Beacom served at many parishes in the diocese including Corpus Christi Parish, Fort Dodge; Sacred Heart Parish, Pocahontas; St. Patrick Parish, Sheldon; St. Mary Parish, Remsen; Sacred Heart Parish, Alvord (while attending Doon); St. Mary Parish, Spirit Lake; St. Joseph Parish, Lohrville; Holy Family Parish, Lidderdale; and Immaculate Conception Parish, Graettinger. He retired in 1984.

He enjoyed working and making connections with people in the various parishes that he served at. He mentioned that he still receives birthday cards from a number of former parishioners.

Over the years, he said he has seen tremendous changes in the Catholic Church. He remembered the changes in the 1960s with Vatican II.

"One big improvement is the church using modern technology - EWTN - to get the Gospel out," said Father Beacom.

He also mentioned that he enjoys listening to KFHC - 88.1, the Catholic radio in Sioux City. He liked the review of theology and traditions of the church that were presented when the station first started.

Father Beacom will continue to say Mass and enjoy being a priest in the diocese.