Fr. Robert and Fr. Richard Gielow, C.M., were born in 1943 in the small town of LaSalle, IL. The fraternal twins belonged to a parish staffed by Vincentian priests and the Daughters of Charity. As their eighth-grade graduation neared, Bob and Dick made a surprising discovery. Unbeknownst to each other, both planned to attend St. Vincent de Paul High School in nearby Lemont — a seminary run by the Congregation of the Mission.
On September 26 of this year, the two will celebrate their 50th anniversary as ordained Vincentian priests (though Fr. Dick crossed that threshold in 2020 and could not celebrate because of the pandemic lockdown). They are the only known ordained twins in the Congregation’s 400-year history.
Early Ministry Years …
Fr. Dick began his Vincentian priestly ministry by serving as director of vocations for the Western Province. He was then assigned to the faculty of
St. John’s High School Seminary in Kansas City, MO, a position he held for six years. Fr. Bob began his priestly ministry at Regina Cleri Seminary
in Tucson, AZ, then served at DePaul University in Chicago as an instructor, director of campus ministry, and, eventually, the university’s director
of athletics.
Since 1987 …
Since 1987 the brothers have directed the Vincentian Parish Mission apostolate, headquartered in Independence, MO, and, more recently, in Leawood, KS. Parish or “popular” missions were, in the mind of St. Vincent, the first and originating work of the Vincentians. Vincentians are called to go out beyond urban centers and preach the gospel to people in rural areas.
Along with Fr. Bill Rhinehart, C.M., the Gielow brothers have given thousands of parish missions. They have traveled to preach at parishes across the United States and Canada, imitating the spirit of St. Vincent, who sent his followers to “go out” and proclaim the gospel with joy.
That the parish mission team is popular is an understatement. Although the Covid-19 pandemic brought in-person missions to a standstill for much of the last year, a robust schedule of parish missions is currently booked with a nearly two-year waiting list.
Learn more and enjoy the mission team’s spiritual reflections posted at vpmc.org.