Father Edmund Goldbach, a Conventual Franciscan, had a hearty laugh that spoke volumes about the joy he found in his life and the lives of others, said a priest who knew him well. A friar in residence at St. Bonaventure in Bloomington, Father Goldbach, 82, died March 14 at a hospital in Edina.

Father Edmund Goldbach

“Father Ed was a gentle, simple friar, priest and child of God,” said Father Matthew Malek, who served with Father Goldbach as a friar priest and counselor at St. Bonaventure and described the late priest’s joy. “He truly embraced the idea of the priest as a servant leader, and he endeared himself to those he served.”

A native of Cleveland, Father Goldbach “lived with a quiet, peaceful certainty that God would guide him to where he was needed, where God wanted him to be,” according to his obituary. Among other locations, God guided him to St. Bonaventure, where Father Goldbach was pastor from 1982 to 1991 and where, beginning in 2014, he served as a priest in residence.

On any given day, Father Goldbach had people he was praying for, offering Masses for, as he sought to help those who were struggling or needed his guidance, Father Malek said. “He would always make time for those who needed him.”

Father Goldbach took solemn vows as a Conventual Franciscan friar a few months before he was ordained to the priesthood at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul in 1965. In addition to serving as pastor of St. Bonaventure, Father Goldbach served in parish ministry in Michigan, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Iowa, Ohio and Indiana. He also served in leadership and formation roles within the Province of Our Lady of Consolation. In St. Louis, for example, he served as head of the Franciscan formation team.

In his obituary, one of his sisters, Nancy Engle said, “He was always checking in on us, always supportive. But also, he had friends all over the country. We always said he could travel from coast to coast and have a place to stay. He treated everybody the same, whether it was the president or a pauper.”

Visitation will be 4-7 p.m. March 19 at St. Bonaventure, with a 6:30 p.m. prayer service. Visitation also will be at the church at 10 a.m. March 20, until the 11 a.m. funeral Mass. The Mass will be livestreamed and recorded at St. Bonaventure at http://www.saintbonaventure.org/father-ed.html.

Interment will be March 26 in Mount St. Francis, Indiana.