Father Sylvester Bauer

REVEREND SYLVESTER WILLIAM BAUER
January 29, 1916 - August 30, 2013

Father Syl Bauer, a Roman Catholic priest of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, died on Friday, August 30, 2013, in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Father Bauer was born on January 29, 1916, in Freeburg, Missouri, the son of George Henry Bauer and Mary Theresa Redel Bauer. He attended Conception Seminary College in Conception, Missouri, and Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis. On December 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 to Immaculate Conception Parish in the Diocese of Jefferson City, and St. George Parish in Gardenville in the Diocese of St. Louis.

During his priestly ministry in the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Father Bauer served in the following parishes: St. Joseph, White Church, Missouri; St. Mary, West Plains, Missouri; St. Mary, Joplin, Missouri; Immaculate Conception, New Madrid, Missouri; St. Agnes Cathedral, Springfield, Missouri; Sacred Heart, Thayer, Missouri; Holy Trinity, Marshfield, Missouri; and St. Francis de Sales, Lebanon, Missouri. Father Bauer retired on August 19, 1986, and resided in Freeburg, Missouri 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 Holy Family Catholic Church in Freeburg, Missouri, 104 Oliver Street, on Wednesday, September 4, 2013, at 11:00 a.m.