Deacon Wiehn To Celebrate 35th Anniversary Of Ordination

Dennis Wiehn wanted to further his faith education.

So, he reached out to a friend.

St. Boniface Catholic Church’s Father Floyd Wessling, who was friends with Wiehn and his family, encouraged his pursuit of religion.

“I was looking for more education in my faith and to the process, and (Father Wessling) asked if I would be interested in looking into the diaconate,” he said. “So, my wife and I decided that maybe we should check it out. And so, I started and this is what it has led to.”

For 35 years, Wiehn has devotedly served as a deacon at St. Boniface Catholic Church.

He was ordained on July 17, 1983, by Bishop Sheen at St. Mary’s Church in Norfolk and was among a class of eight that day.  

Even though Wiehn didn’t know what would happen later down the road, he said that, in the here and now, he felt as though this was God calling him to serve.

“I was just overwhelmed by the experience, feeling the grace of God, you know, come through and to know that I was being called to be a servant to others, not so much to myself, to serve the glory of God,” he said.

According to Wiehn, the process was similar to a priesthood ordination, and he had to spend multiple years studying beforehand.

“There were three and a half years of formation, which was studying necessary stuff that you needed to learn, like theology and scripture,” he said.

In his late 30s, Wiehn started taking formation classes and said that most of them were held in a parish in Pierce, as it was a central area for his group members. The men were from Sioux City, Crofton, Elgin, O’Neill and other towns.

There, Wiehn renewed his education every year for 15-20 years until formation was moved to a different location.

“We went every year,” he said. “We continued to go back to those classes to formation to be a support group that was just like family. And so, we always went to support each other and learn more.”

Before he decided to become a deacon, Wiehn attended a rural country school for six years and attended St. Boniface Elementary School and then Pope John XXIII Central Catholic High School. He did not attend college, but did farm work by Elgin and spent 1964-66 in the service at Arlington Hall Station in Arlington, Virginia.

Since his ordination, Wiehn has remained in Elgin and served at St. Boniface. However, he has been asked to serve as a deacon at different events and places.

“When I’ve been asked to deacon at different events, different places, I was willing to do that,” he said. “And, if it was out of my parish and into another parish or another diocese, I had to get permission from the pastor and the bishop if I wanted to function as a deacon in other areas.”

Wiehn said his favorite part about being a deacon has been helping others serve Christ, regardless of their denomination.

“Maybe we’re on different roads, but still God is our focus of where we want to go and we can share our faith with each other and share God in our lives,” he said. “We never know what the next day is going to lead us to and we just take it as it comes.”

Strengthening his faith has aided him in becoming a better father, husband and Christian, he said.

Wiehn met his wife, Rose, after going to a dance with her.

“We went to a dance at that time in Raeville,” he said. “And then, I took her home and we continued on our relationship.”

Together, they had six children – Gloria, Keith, Denise, Jason, Karen and Jennie. They also now have 20 grandchildren.

According to Wiehn, overwhelming support and affirmation from family and friends have helped to keep him and his wife going.

“Rose and I have been very blessed and I just try to stay humble, and the process has humbled me many times. It’s not only for my glory,” he said.

St. Boniface is honoring his dedication to the church on Sunday, July 15, after the 10 a.m. Mass with a coffee and rolls reception.

Wiehn said his children were present when he was ordained in 1983, and he hopes to see some of them at his 35th anniversary of ordination celebration.

“It will be kind of like an ordinary day, an ordinary Sunday,” he said. “Maybe some of the family will be there and we will just celebrate the event.”

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