An unlikely chain of events made
him not only a national celebrity but a stand-in for every priest who
has ever ministered to the faithful in an emergency.
But Father Patrick Dowling -- who was dubbed a "mystery priest" and a
"guardian angel" after praying with a woman trapped in a wrecked car in
northeastern Missouri -- hopes all the hype surrounding his simple deed
won't overshadow the real message.
"God loves us, he is here close to us, and when we're in trouble, he's there," said Father Dowling.
That, he believes, is why God gave him, a priest of the Jefferson City
Diocese, a chance Aug. 4 to minister to 19-year-old Katie Lentz while
first-responders worked to free her from her mangled car on Highway 19
near Center.
"I try to be a priest, not a hero," he stated. "And I did what a priest
does. And every priest that I know, if they would pass by an accident,
they would stop and do what I did."
Father Dowling encountered a line of stopped cars and flashing lights while traveling between Sunday Mass assignments.
He asked a local sheriff's deputy for permission to approach the car and
pray with its occupant. The deputy at first said no, thinking the sight
of a priest would scare Lentz. But after asking her, he told Father
Dowling to go ahead.
"The rescue workers are people of faith and prayer," Father Dowling told
The Catholic Missourian, the diocesan newspaper. "They were all
praying. I have no doubt that the Most High heard their prayers, and I
was part of his answer ... but only one part."
The priest approached the young woman, who was looking out from the
mangled vehicle that had been struck head-on with such force that it was
tipped up on its side.
Father Dowling anointed her, gave her absolution and prayed with her
while she and the rescue personnel waited for stronger equipment to
arrive so they could free her from the sturdily built automobile.
He then stood out of the way, praying the rosary silently for about an
hour while she was being extricated from the car and moved to a medical
helicopter.
"I did the priest part, but gosh, how that rescue proceeded from that
time on was amazing," he said. "They're all people of faith and love.
I'm convinced that the Most High Himself took care of them -- you know,
blessed their work."
Once he was confident that the woman would be OK, he shook the deputy's hand, walked to his car and drove away.
A few days later, KHQA-TV in Quincy, Ill., aired a segment about the
incident, noting the priest seemed to come from nowhere and that his
image had not been captured in any of about 70 photos taken at the
scene.
The story spread from there to numerous media outlets and branched out
all over social media, fueling rampant speculation about the "mystery
priest's" possible identity.
Several people interviewed noted that Lentz's prospects for survival
seemed to turn while the priest was ministering to her. Some wondered
aloud if he could have been a guardian angel or even if his arrival had
been miraculous.
Father Dowling, who does not watch TV, mentioned anointing the woman to a
fellow priest, who told him, "The media is looking for you!"
By then, the story had been reported all over the world.
Father Dowling contacted the family and later went to Quincy to visit Lentz in Blessing Hospital's intensive care unit.
When Lentz saw him, she reached out, shook his hand and cried.
Media learned Father Dowling's identity when, in clarifying some points
in an article about the incident on the National Catholic Register
website, he included his name in the readers' comments section.
Dozens of TV, radio, print and Internet outlets all over the country
inundated Deacon Dan Joyce, diocesan communication director, with
requests to interview the priest. The requests keep coming and Father
Dowling's telephone has been ringing about 200 times a day.
A native of Kilkenny, Ireland, he was ordained a priest of the Jefferson
City Diocese in 1982. He currently serves in prison ministry and in
parish ministry to Spanish-speaking Catholics.
Highlights of the media attention include interviews on ABC's "Good
Morning America," EWTN's "The World Over" with Raymond Arroyo, and
Telemundo, a Spanish-language cable network; and in the St. Louis
Post-Dispatch, USA Today, a national newspaper in Ireland, and the
priest's hometown paper in Kilkenny.
He has been quick to point out that God's grace is at the heart of every
priest's ministry, and that moments such are these are part of why God
called each of them to the priesthood.
Having received the sacrament of anointing of the sick himself, Father
Dowling is abundantly aware of its power to give hope and healing.
"The sacramental anointing ... it means hope," he said. "You can very
easily fall into despair when you're in trouble. And it restores hope."