Rev. Edwin Wehner

The Reverend Edwin P. Wehner, 73, passed away on June 11, 2016, at CHI St. Alexius Health, Bismarck. Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 15, at the Church of Saint Anne in Bismarck, with the Most Reverend David D. Kagan, Bishop of Bismarck, officiating. The priests of the Diocese of Bismarck will concelebrate. Burial will follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Bismarck. A luncheon will be served after the burial at Saint Anne’s. Visitation will be Tuesday, June 14, from 4:00 – 9:00 with a vigil service at 7:00 p.m. at the Church of Saint Anne. Visitation will also be held one hour prior to Mass. Father Wehner was born May 4, 1943, in New England, North Dakota, the son of Frank and Catherine (Simon) Wehner. Father Wehner was raised in New England where he attended country school and St. Mary’s Grade and High School. He received his seminary education from Holy Cross Seminary, LaCrosse, Wisconsin, from 1961-1965, and obtained his theological education from St. Thomas Seminary in Denver, Colorado from 1965-1969. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Bismarck, at the Church of St. Mary, New England, on May 31, 1969, by the Most Reverend Hilary B. Hacker. Father Wehner’s first assignment in the Diocese of Bismarck was assistant pastor of the Church of St. Joseph in Dickinson until June 28, 1972. For the next four years he served as assistant pastor at Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Bismarck. In June, 1976 he became chaplain and director of religious life and religious education at St. Mary’s Central High School in Bismarck. At the same time, he became administrator of St. Vincent de Paul in Crown Butte. In July, 1984, he was appointed administrator of the Churches of St. Philomena, Selfridge and Sacred Heart, Solen, for one year. Father Wehner then became pastor of the Churches of St. Theresa, Carson, St. John the Baptist, New Leipzig, St. Lawrence, Flasher, and St. Gertrude, Raleigh. From 1987 to 1991 he served as the director of continuing education for clergy and director of the division of ministry formation for the Diocese of Bismarck. He also served as priest liaison at St. Mary’s Central High School for the 1992-1993 school year. Father Wehner’s last assignment began on June 30, 1990, as pastor of the Church of Saint Anne in Bismarck. On July 1, 2013, he retired to the Emmaus Place in Bismarck. Along with parish duties, he was also involved in various diocesan works such as advocate and judge for the Marriage Tribunal, was a member of the Vocations Commission and Diocesan Pastoral Council, and chaplain for the Knights of Columbus in Flasher. He served as the Section 8 Ecclesial Priest in leadership for Marriage Encounter for North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota. He also served as a presenting team priest on Marriage Encounter weekends as well as for the Pre-Marriage Seminars for engaged couples. He currently was the chaplain for the 4th Degree Bismarck Knights of Columbus. Father Wehner is survived by his brothers Robert (Ruth) Lincoln, CA; Harvey (Anita) San Jose, CA; Arvin (Mary) Brookings, OR; Reverend Eugene Wehner, Kiserian, Kenya, East Africa, sister-in-law Roxann Wehner, Whitehall, MT, and several nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father and mother, Frank and Catherine Wehner, and his brother, Kenneth. Memorials may be given to the Diocese of Bismarck – Priest Benefit Association.