Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • May 26, 2023 21 Redemptorist Father Steve Wilson dies after battling cancer Father Steven Wilson, C.Ss.R., who died while in hospice care in Kirkland, WA, on May 17. An exceptional pastor who inspired and mentored many Redemptorist stu- dents, he was a highly skilled CPA who served in the financial offices of the Denver Province as well as the General Government for a substantial part of his 22 years of Redemptorist ministry. Steven Neel Wilson was born on June 30, 1953, in Seattle, WA. After graduat- ing from Seattle University with an Accounting degree in 1975, he opened his own CPA firm, Steve N. Wilson & Co., in the Fremont District. While he was in his mid-30s he converted to the Catholic faith, and soon was serving as a Eucharistic Minister at St. Alphonsus Parish in Seattle. Although he had built a very successful company, he felt a per- sistent call to the priesthood. He considered several religious orders, but the Icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help at his home parish led him to the Redemptorists. He entered the formation program in 1994 at the age of 41. While he studied at Catholic Theological Union inChicago, heministered to theHispanics and African Americans at Blessed Sacrament Parish and the homeless in the heart of the inner city of Chicago. He found that meeting their spiritual needs was the most challenging -- and most fulfilling -- experience of his life. He professed tempo- rary vows on August 2, 1997, and perpetual vows on October 15, 2000. He was ordained to the priesthood on July 27, 2001. Father Steve returned to Blessed Sacrament Parish to continue working with the poor as a Son of Alphonsus until 2005, when he was assigned as pastor of Our Mother of Sorrows Parish in Biloxi. He also was responsible for two smaller parishes, St. John and St. Louis. Nothing could have pre- pared him for his arrival in Biloxi only two days after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast. He immediately responded to parishioners and gathered them for outdoor Masses on the steps of the churches. He worked nonstop to identify all available ser- vices and Our Mother of Sorrows Parish quickly became an information hub for the East Biloxi area. During the nine years he served in Biloxi, Father Steve coordinated the merger of St. John and St. Louis into Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos Parish. He was a friend and mentor to the youth, as well as the Redemptorist students he wel- comed for summer ministry. Father Steve became so well known in all circles that even former Bishop Roger Morin of Biloxi referred to him as the “King of East Biloxi,” and Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway declared June 29, 2014, “Father Steve Wilson Day.” During this time, Fr. Steve also began serving as an internal auditor for the General Government. He traveled the world and made regular visits to the Father Ray Foundation in Thailand. The ministry had such a profound impact on him that he established Redemptorist Apostolic Works to provide financial support to his confreres, as well as other worthy organizations serving the less fortunate in Thailand, Laos and Africa. Father Steve was appointed Co-Director of the Pre-Novitiate Formation House in the Bronz, NY, in 2014, but only a year later he was assigned Treasurer/Secretary of the Denver Province. He successfully managed the Finance Office until 2018, when he was appointed Vice Econome of the General Government in Rome. When he was diag- nosed with cancer he returned to Seattle for treatment, and was serving as administrator of Sacred Heart Parish until a few weeks before his death. A funeral Mass was celebrated on May 22 at Sacred Heart Parish in Seattle, WA. Burial at the Redemptorist Cemetery in Liguori took place on May 25. Redemptorist Father Steve Wilson blesses palms on Palm Sunday 2022 at Our Mother of Sorrows Church in Biloxi. Father Wilson, who became pastor of Our Mother of Sorrows and Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos Parishes in Biloxi shortly after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, died of cancer on May 17. A feature story on Father Steve Wilson’s impact on East Biloxi will run in the June 9 edition of the Gulf Pine Catholic .