Fr. Joe Schoettle greets parishioners after the Evening Vespers on June 7, 2024, at Our Lady of Lourdes in Owensboro, celebrating his 50th anniversary of ordination. RACHEL HALL WKC
Write straight with crooked lines, says Fr. Schoettle
BY RACHEL HALL, THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC
On June 7th, 2024, Fr. Joe Schoettle, parochial vicar at Our Lady of Lourdes in Owensboro, celebrated 50 years since his ordination. The second oldest of 15 children, Fr. Schoettle had several family members in attendance from Indiana. Pastor Fr. Pat Reynolds hosted the celebration with evening vespers, followed by a dinner reception in the parish hall.
Reflecting on the evening, Fr. Schoettle embraced the centuries-old aphorism, “Write straight with crooked lines.” He shared how life’s twists and turns, under God’s guidance, can lead one exactly where they are meant to be.
Fr. Schoettle graduated from the Latin School of Indianapolis in 1966, Saint Meinrad College in 1970, and Saint Meinrad School of Theology in 1974. He was ordained a priest in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis in 1974. In his speech, Fr. Schoettle said, “I always felt a calling to be a priest.” Since joining the Diocese of Owensboro in 2018, he added, “Lourdes feels like home.”
After Vespers, Fr. Schoettle greeted parishioners, and as his sister hugged him, she said, “This is your path, Joe. You really are where you are meant to be.”
Fr. Joe Schoettle poses with his family after the Evening Vespers on June 7, 2024, at Our Lady of Lourdes in Owensboro, celebrating his 50th anniversary of ordination. RACHEL HALL | WKC
Originally printed in the August 2024 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.
