Date of death: 4/12/2013
Saint Meinrad Class: SS 2000
It is my sad duty to inform you of the passing of Father Andrew Metzger, OSB. He died shortly before 7am this morning, April 12, 2013 at the Hospice in Dade City. He had been suffering from lung cancer for the past few years and in the past few months, the pain greatly increased and his breathing became very labored. Father Andrew was a quiet man who bore his infirmities and any sorrows he may have dealt with in his life privately and was not one to bare his soul to anyone but God. He was a quiet man but one of considerable intellect and was a ôthinkerö who was willing to share his abundance of common sense and wisdom with his Benedictine brothers and he had no hesitation to disagree if he thought you would benefit from it. He was firm in his convictions and through logic and common sense was quick to teach us how to think and resist the temptation to jump to conclusions. In the late 1940Æs, his monastic superiors saw his potential to study for the priesthood, he did not want to be a priest and expressed to his abbot that he wished to remain a brother. The opportunity to use his considerable intellect and other God given gifts and the fact that at that time brothers were not considered for advance academic studies convinced him that the priesthood would be best for him. Fr. Andrew was a good Preacher and dedicated to his faith and to the Benedictine order. I talked with Fr. Andrew just a few days ago and he said; Fr. Abbot, I am ready to go, there is nothing here for me, that is the kind of man he was, full of spirit and faith in his Lord and Savior, no fear and ready to ôgo homeö. Fr. Andrew was a man of few words, so for those who knew him, in a few words; May he rest in the Lord.Fr. Metzger was a member of St. Leo Abbey in St. Leo, FL.