By Amy White
The Texas Catholic
On June 3, more than 300 members of the local community gathered at On the Levee in Dallas for the Dinner and a Show with Fr. B event. The occasion marked a triple milestone for Father Stephen Bierschenk, who celebrated his 75th birthday, his 49th anniversary of priesthood, and his upcoming retirement, effective June 30.
The event attracted many of the priest’s former parishioners, who were in attendance to celebrate and offer well-wishes to their beloved shepherd who they said impacted the Diocese of Dallas for the better during his almost half century of priestly service there.
“They knew him when he was at St. Thomas or when he was at St. Monica or even St. Augustine,” Augustine Jalomo, general manager of St. Jude Chapel, said. “People are going to miss him.”
‘A people’s priest’
In the 49 years since his ordination to the priesthood at St. Pius X Catholic Church on May 1, 1976, Father Bierschenk has found himself pulled into faith families across the diocese: St. Monica, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Elizabeth in Bonham, St. Augustine, St. Michael the Archangel in McKinney, the then-Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and finally St. Jude Chapel, where he has served as chaplain since 2021.
“I always tell people that Jesus has this parable about the man who went into his garden, and the fig tree didn’t have any figs on it; so he told the gardener to throw it out. He said, ‘Well, no. Let me dig around it and spread some manure,” Father Bierschenk said, joking, “Well, I’m the manure: I get spread around.”
During his tenure at the various parishes he served, Father Bierschenk often led his church communities through major projects — including the construction of a new church building at St. Michael the Archangel, the addition of meeting rooms and community spaces at St. Thomas Aquinas, and the extensive renovation of the church at St. Monica. Father Bierschenk was successful in moving each of these projects forward, to the enduring benefit of the parishes; but, he said, what he treasured most from the time he spent in those communities were not the largescale projects he oversaw but the relationships he formed.
“The things that really I value and I hold onto,” he said, “are those moments when you get to know people better. You become involved in their important moments, like when they have a wedding for their children, or helping them as they bury a parent or child… It’s the people that are most important.”
This people-focused approach has been a hallmark of the priest’s longtime vocation, and a source of comfort and joy for the many parishioners who have experienced it.
“He’s a people’s priest,” St. Jude Chapel parishioner Cyril Fernandes said. “You can approach him about anything, and he will make the time and listen to you.”
Carmen Miranda — who has followed the priest from parish to parish since — said Father Bierschenk has been a precious part of many of her family’s faith milestones over the decades. When her father passed away, she shared, he was the one person she wanted to be there to celebrate his funeral service.
“He’s just so special,” she said of the priest.
Like Miranda, many of Father Bierschenk’s former parishioners could recall precise memories of the ways that the priest had touched their lives through his friendship and faithful witness.
Amy Gavigan, who met Father Bierschenk while he was serving as a pastor at St. Thomas Aquinas, recalled being moved when the priest washed feet during a Christ Renews His Parish retreat. Elisa Kuntz, who also met the priest at St. Thomas Aquinas, remembered how helpful he was as she went through the process of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults years ago, saying he was “instrumental” to her faith.
“He just made it so easy,” she recalled. “I just cannot say enough good things about him. He’s just so down to earth and real and funny. I mean, he’s just an amazing person.”
“You can feel connected to him,” Peter Vahala, a St. Jude Chapel parishioner said of the chaplain, “not just as a holy man but as a genuine person.”
Looking back on his decades of service to the local Church as a diocesan priest, Father Bierschenk expressed gratitude for the many relationships he formed along the way.
“When I was a little kid growing up in Weatherford, I decided I wanted to be a priest. I had no idea what the future (would be),” he said. “In the end, my service to the people and my relationship with the Lord came to be what I think is still the most important thing.”
Cutline for featured image: Father Stephen Bierschenk, right, smiles during a conversation with attendees of the Dinner and a Show with Fr. B event hosted at On the Levee in Dallas on June 3. The event was an opportunity for family, friends, and former parishioners to gather in honor of the longtime Diocese of Dallas priest. (AMY WHITE/The Texas Catholic)
