Rev. Sylvester Bauer

The Rev. Sylvester William Bauer, 97, a Roman Catholic priest of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, died Friday, Aug. 30, 2013, in Jefferson City, Mo.

Father Bauer was born Jan. 29, 1916, in Freeburg, Mo., son of George Henry Bauer and Mary Theresa Redel Bauer. He attended Conception Seminary College in Conception, Mo., and Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis. On Dec. 19, 1942, Father Bauer was ordained a priest by His Eminence John Joseph Cardinal Glennon for the Archdiocese of St. Louis. 

After his ordination, Father Bauer was assigned at two parishes in the Diocese of Jefferson City, Immaculate Conception in Jefferson City and St. George Parish in Gardenville, Mo.

During his priestly ministry in the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Father Bauer served in the following parishes: St. Joseph in White Church, Mo.; St. Mary in West Plains, Mo; St. Mary in Joplin, Mo.; Immaculate Conception in New Madrid, Mo.; St. Agnes Cathedral in Springfield, Mo.; Sacred Heart in Thayer, Mo.; Holy Trinity in Marshfield, Mo.; and St. Francis de Sales in Lebanon, Mo. Father Bauer retired Aug. 19, 1986, and resided in Freeburg, where he was a member of Holy Family Catholic Church.

Throughout his 70 years of priesthood, Father Bauer was a devoted and fierce advocate for rural life and prison ministry. He was a representative in the Social Concerns Department of the Missouri Catholic Conference and served on the Prison Reform Task Force and the Catholic Rural Life Task Force.

He is survived by his brother, Tony Bauer, and several nieces and nephews.

Father Bauer requested that his body be donated to medical science. A Memorial Mass of Life will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Holy Family Catholic Church, 104 Oliver St. in Freeburg.