The priest who mysteriously appeared at the scene of a serious accident in Missouri a few weeks ago was not an apparition after all – but was a priest who was visiting the area from a neighboring parish.
Fox News is reporting that the priest who anointed and prayed with 19 year-old Katie Lentz just minutes after she was involved in a serious car accident on a highway near Center Missouri on August 4, has been identified as Father Patrick Dowling.
Apparently, Dowling identified himself in a comment that was posted on an article about the crash that appeared on the National Catholic Register website.
“I had Mass in Ewing MO as the regular priest was sick,” he wrote. “As I was returning, I arrived at the scene. The authorities were redirecting traffic. I waited till it was possible to drive up closer. I parked behind a large vehicle about 150 yards from the scene. I asked the Sheriff’s permission and approached the scene of the accident.
“I absolved and anointed Katie, and, at her request, prayed that her leg would not hurt. Then I stepped aside to where some rescue personnel and the (rescue helicopter) pilot were waiting, and prayed the rosary silently.
“I left when the helicopter was about to take off, and before I got to my car…”
According to a press release from the Diocese of Jefferson City, Fr. Dowling is a native of Ireland who was ordained a priest in the diocese in 1982, and has been serving as a priest in several Missouri towns. He is currently serving in parish ministry to Spanish-speaking Catholics, and in prison ministry.
The press release said that on the day of the crash, which was a Sunday morning, Dowling had been traveling on Highway 19 between Mass assignments when he came upon the accident scene. The quiet way in which he came upon the car, and then left afterward, coupled with the fact that he appeared in none of the 80+ photos taken at the scene of the crash, led to widespread speculation that the “mystery priest” was an angel sent from on high.
To Katie Lentz and her family, however, Fr. Dowling will always be the “angel” of mercy sent by God to comfort her in what must have been one of the most terrifying moments of her life.
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