Despite leg amputation, Father Muckerman maintains towering presence

Published: 2006-02-09

LIGUORI, Mo. (CNS) -- Blood poisoning may have knocked Redemptorist Father Norman Muckerman off his feet, but don't expect to find him down for the count. Doctors amputated his left leg above the knee this past fall. Though the ordeal has taken its toll, he maintains a towering presence. The priest is well-known in the St. Louis Archdiocese and beyond for his pastoral and missionary work and 12-year stint as the editor of Liguorian, a Redemptorist national monthly publication. He is a former president of the Catholic Press Association. Father Muckerman, who physically is a big man, admittedly hasn't yet gotten used to sitting in a wheelchair. But the St. Louis native keeps rolling along as best he can. He penned his latest article for Liguorian magazine in November and is hard at work on his next piece. In his room at St. Clement Health Care Center in Liguori, Father Muckerman talked recently with the St. Louis Review, archdiocesan newspaper, about his life as a priest. "I've had a wonderful ride," said the 88-year-old. "It's been a wonderful life. I'm grateful to God for what he gave me."

Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .