Born and raised in Bloomington, Fr. Doug’s last pastoral assignment was his childhood parish, Holy Trinity Catholic Church from 2004 until his retirement in 2013. “People were very generous with me,” he commented on his return. Fr. Doug attended Holy Trinity Grade School and High School (now Central Catholic High) and began serving at Mass during the fourth grade. He enjoyed sports, especially baseball, playing Little League baseball for the American Legion and for Holy Trinity, along with basketball. He was accepted as a seminarian for the Diocese of Peoria and completed his education at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. Fr. Doug was sent to study theology at the Gregorian University in Rome in 1960.
Over 50 years, Fr. Doug served parishes at St. Patrick’s and St. Martin’s in Peoria, St. Patrick’s in Urbana and St. Paul’s in Danville, before coming back home to Bloomington to serve at Holy Trinity in 2004. He formed tight bonds with his parishioners at each church. The 1960s-1970s ferment of civil rights and the Vietnam War saw him speaking up for human rights and equality, a passion he carried into his 2013 retirement, becoming active in immigrant rights and other causes. “God’s Word tells us every person without exception has inherent human dignity and is worthy of respect,” Fr. Doug said.
