In Venezuela, Father Dempsey remembered for joy, engagement in people’s lives

Father Greg Schaffer recalls Father Dennis Dempsey as a man on wheels.

“During his second stint at the mission, Denny never drove a vehicle. He moved around solely by walking and riding his bike,” Father Schaffer said. “Denny fearlessly maneuvered through the streets where the traffic laws are not followed or enforced, where the colors on the streetlights are just suggestions to follow and everyone seems to drive aggressively and defensively at the same time.”

Father Dempsey tragically died while cycling Oct. 25 after being struck by a motorist. The 73-year-old priest had ministered alongside Father Schaffer in Venezuela during the 1990s, and, in July 2019, he went back for two years to serve the people of Jesucristo Resucitado, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ mission parish in Ciudad Guayana. Although he had formally retired, Father Dempsey returned to the Twin Cities in July to be pastor of Risen Savior.

Before he died, Risen Savior had been planning a special welcome Mass for him that coming weekend. Instead, parishioners prayed at their new pastor’s funeral.

Ordained in 1980, Father Dempsey served as a missionary priest at Jesucristo Resucitado from 1993 to 1998, and then as the parish’s pastor for 18 months in 1998-1999. He also served as associate pastor and pastor to several parishes in the archdiocese during his ministry.

In an email to The Catholic Spirit, Father Schaffer, Jesucristo Resucitado’s current pastor, called Father Dempsey “a man filled with faith that was demonstrated by the closeness to the people.”

“(Father) Denny always accepted people where they are at in the moment and drew them closer to God,” he said. He described Father Dempsey as a promoter of vocations, with priests — especially younger ones — having lunch and spending the afternoon talking with him about the priesthood. Meanwhile, Father Schaffer said, “Father Denny was constantly busy with projects. The back patio was a repair shop for repairing bicycles — for priests, neighborhood kids — all for free.”

Father Jose Antonio Brito, a recently-ordained priest of the Diocese of Ciudad Guayana, said there was no rectory neighbor who did not at some point visit with Father Dempsey. “Father Denny enjoyed talking about faith, God’s love, the difficult food situation, the politics of the country — whatever the people wanted to talk about,” he said by email. “Father Denny loved to visit with people in the street.”

“Father Denny had the capacity to talk about great mysteries of the Catholic faith in a way people could understand and relate to,” Father Brito said. “Father Denny’s teaching of the faith brought many people back to the Church and inspired many to grow in the faith, especially in motivating couples living together to get married in the Church.”

The priest also loved to laugh and bring others to laughter — “sometimes at his own expense,” Father Schaffer said. He was also a talented musician. Father Schaffer recalled how Father Dempsey, in the 1990s, taught Marbella Salazar, then a teenager, how to play guitar. Salazar went on to form, with her younger sisters, a Sunday morning church choir called “Roca Viva,” or “Living Stones.” She studied to become a music teacher and then landed a job with the orchestra in Puerto Ordaz teaching young children how to read music and play the recorder and the cuatro, a four-string guitar.

“Marbella persuaded the people of the orchestra to allow her to offer free music classes to the poorer and disadvantaged children on the other side of the river in San Felix,” Father Schaffer said. “Father Denny raised the money from friends in Minnesota to buy 40 cuatros to help Marbella give free music classes to children in the different barrios of our mission parish of Jesucristo Resucitado. Denny worked hand in hand with Marbella with forming choirs of children in the different barrios of our parish.”

Last year, Salazar died from cancer, leaving behind a husband and two daughters. Father Dempsey wanted to see her work continue, and he “enlisted” the help of Javier Manzano, a young blind cuatro player, to teach children how to play the instrument, Father Schaffer said.

“Today there are over 40 children taking classes from Javier from the project Father Denny set up with the help of his friends from Minnesota,” he said.

Even from Minnesota, Father Dempsey’s heart was with the mission, as he sought benefactors to help support priests of the Diocese of Ciudad Guayana and provide food and medicine.

“Father Denny never rested much. He was always active in something,” Father Brito said. “Without a doubt, we were able to walk with a saint who always trusted in God and His providence and fortitude in the face of adversity. There is no doubt that Father Denny continues to live in God’s heavenly kingdom.”

To learn more about the Jesucristo Resucitado parish Father Dempsey loved, contact the Center for Mission in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis through centerformission.org.