BELLEVILLE (IL)
Belleville News-Democrat
March 7, 2020
By Teri Maddox
Bishop Edward K. Braxton of the Catholic Diocese of Belleville has sent a letter to priests and deacons, asking them to pray for a former Mascoutah priest who died Friday while serving a prison sentence for child pornography and methamphetamine.
“From the perspective of the Christian faith, his death is a call to each of us to pray for him in the hope that God in his love and mercy will give him a share in the eternal life that is promised to those who strive to be faithful followers of Jesus Christ,” Braxton wrote.
The bishop noted that he had visited the former priest, Gerald R. Hechenberger, when he was in St. Clair County Jail, and that Braxton had serious concerns about his well-being due to health problems.
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