Msgr. Bernard "Ben" Meyer (90) formerly of Effingham

Fr. Bernard A. "Ben" Meyer, 90, formerly of Effingham, passed away Wednesday, April 26, 2023, at his home in Bridgeton, Missouri. 

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 a.m. Thursday, May 4, 2023, at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Effingham with Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, officiating. Interment will follow in St. Anthony Cemetery. A parish prayer service will be held at 4:00 pm, followed by visitation until 7:00 p.m. Wednesday at Bauer Funeral Home in Effingham.

Fr. Ben was born September 29, 1932, in Effingham County, the son of Bernard H. Meyer Jr. and Mayme R. (Koester) Meyer. He graduated from St. John’s Home Missions Seminary and was ordained on May 23, 1959. Fr. Ben was assigned as assistant priest to St. Thomas in Decatur from 1959-1963, Sacred Heart Springfield from 1963-1967, and St. Mary Taylorville from 1967 to 1972.

He was then assigned as co-administrator at St. Mary in Taylorville from 1972 to 1979 and St. Rita in Kincaid from 1976-1979. Fr. Ben then became part of the faculty at Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners, WI from 1979-1981.

In 1981, Fr. Ben became pastor at St. Elizabeth in Marine and St. Gertrude in Grantfork until 1984. He was then assigned as the Director of Pastoral Care at St. Mary Hospital in Galveston, TX until 1995. Fr. Ben later served as chaplain at St. Joseph Hospital in Houston, TX until his retirement in 2002.

Fr. Ben is survived by five Meyer first cousins, five Koester first cousins, and many close friends, especially the Sisters of Loretto.

He was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Ruth C. (Donald) Cyrier.