RICHMOND — Fr. Francis Weingartz was known to parishioners and family as the “singing priest.” He loved being outdoors and building solid friendships wherever he went.
The former pastor of St. Dorothy Parish in Center Line and St. Mary Parish in Port Huron would often sing most of the parts of the Mass and had a knack for building lifelong friendships with parishioners.
Sharon Smith, one of Fr. Weingartz’s nieces, said her “uncle-father” was a loving, patient, caring, humble person who graced her family with a priestly presence whenever he visited her family’s home.
“At least once a week, maybe twice a week, we’d see him because he’d come to our house on a regular basis,” Smith told Detroit Catholic. “He was there every day off on Wednesday, and most Sundays after Mass we’d see him.”
“It was nice to have a priest in the family,” added Susanne McGuire, Smith’s sister. “He was a smart man who would talk to you about anything and help you out at any time. He was ‘uncle-father’ to us. He married us all, baptized our children, and prayed our parents’ funeral. He was a big icon, a big important part of our lives. Him, Mom and Dad would travel around, like the Three Musketeers.”
Fr. Weingartz died Oct. 2 at the age of 96. Ordained for 70 years, he was one of the longest-serving priests in the Archdiocese of Detroit.
Francis A. Weingartz was born to Christopher and Agnes (Robinet) Weingartz in Center Line on July 15, 1928. He grew up at St. Clement Parish in Center Line before the family moved to St. Augustine Parish in Richmond, where the family had a farm.
Fr. Weingartz felt called to the priesthood from a young age; he left home after finishing the eighth grade at age 14 to attend Sacred Heart Seminary High School in Detroit.
Upon completing his seminary studies, Fr. Weingartz was ordained by Detroit Cardinal Edward A. Mooney on June 5, 1954. He would go on to serve as parochial vicar of the parishes of St. Mary of Redford in Detroit (1954-59), St. Bartholomew in Detroit (1959-64) and St. Gerard in Detroit (1966-69).
Fr. Weingartz was given his first pastoral assignment at St. Daniel Parish in Clarkston (1969-77) before moving on to become pastor of Patronage of St. Joseph Parish in Detroit (1977-78), St. Mary Parish in Port Huron (1979-88) and St. Dorothy Parish in Center Line (1988-99).
Parishioners from all his pastoral assignments were present at his funeral Oct. 10 at St. Augustine Parish in Richmond, where they shared memories of his priestly ministry with Fr. Weingartz’s family.
“There was this one girl from St. Mary’s in Port Huron, where he was for 10 years, who said she came from St. Clair and showed us a picture of Father and her, with her making her first Communion,” McGuire said. “This was from back in the '80s, so 40 years ago, and she was saying, ‘I had this picture, and I found it.’ She spoke of how much Father meant to her, and she wanted to share this moment.”
Fr. Weingartz was granted senior priest status on July 1, 1998, but in testament to his priestly devotion to serving the Church, he was willing to take on various administrative assignments throughout the Archdiocese of Detroit even in retirement, serving as administrator of All Saints Parish in Memphis (1998-99), Sacred Heart Mission in Brown City (2000-01), St. Mary Burnside Parish in North Branch (2000-01), St. Alfred Parish in Taylor (2002), St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in St. Clair Shores (2002-03), St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Newport (2003) and St. Rita Parish in Holly (2003-04).
Fr. Weingartz also had parochial vicar assignments at St. Isidore Parish in Macomb Township (1999-2000) and St. Lawrence Parish in Utica (2001).
Late in life, Fr. Weingartz would occasionally celebrate Mass at Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish in Grosse Pointe Woods while living at a nearby nursing home.
Wherever he went, Fr. Weingartz always took a keen interest in the lives of his parishioners and was always big on getting parishioners to sing at Mass, Smith said.
“I hope people remember his love for God,” Smith said. “He really loved God and praised Him all the time. Father was always concerned about the state of the Church and the need for more vocations, especially as he got older. He wanted the Church to thrive.”
Outside of priestly ministry, Fr. Weingartz was an avid outdoorsman. He spent his vacations camping in northern Michigan with his sister and brother-in-law, Anne and Benjamin Schweihofer, or going on hiking and biking trips throughout the state.
“He and his friend, Fr. Edward Mitchell, they would get on the bicycles and camp on vacation,” Smith said. “They would bicycle all over Michigan and would camp and hike. They didn’t take trips like most priests would take. They got on their bicycles with camping gear and would walk in the woods.”
Fr. Weingartz was interred at St. Michael’s Cemetery in Richmond.
He was predeceased by his parents; his brothers, Anthony Weingartz, Leo Weingartz, Vincent (Laura) Weingartz, Thomas (Agnes) Weingartz, Clement (Catherine) Weingartz; sister and brother-in-law Anne (Benjamin) Schweihofer.
Fr. Weingartz is survived by his sister, Rita (Patrick) Franckowiak, and sisters-in-law, Marion (Anthony) Weingartz and Mary (Leo) Weingartz and many nieces and nephews.
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