Date of death: 9/28/2011
Saint Meinrad Class: O 1982
Fr. Severin Messick, OSB, a monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey, St. Meinrad, IN, died on Wednesday, September 28, 2011, in Greenfield, IN. He was 57.Fr. Severin was born in Indianapolis, IN, on July 12, 1954, to Henry and Anna (McGuire) Messick, and was given the name Mark Stephen at his baptism. He is survived by his mother.After completing his elementary education at Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Indianapolis, he attended Chatard High School in that city. He is a 1977 graduate of Saint Meinrad College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in the classics. He was invested as a novice in 1977, and professed his simple vows on August 6, 1978. Fr. Severin was ordained to the priesthood on May 2, 1982. After his ordination, Fr. Severin completed a year of graduate studies in classics at The Catholic University in Washington, D.C. Following this, in the late summer of 1983, he was assigned to teach at Trinity High School in Whitesville, KY, and was named associate pastor of St. Mary-of-the-Woods Parish in Whitesville.In 1985, he became associate pastor of St. Ann Parish, Morganfield, KY. The following year, he was assigned to St. Mary Parish, Huntingburg, IN, for six years. He returned to his former parish of St. Ann in 1992, where he exercised his first pastorship.In 1996, he became co-pastor of a three-parish cluster in southern Indiana, composed of St. Paul’s (Tell City), St. Michael’s (Cannelton), and St. Pius V (Troy). The following year, he was named administrator of St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower) in Indianapolis.In 1998, he began his longest pastoral assignment, pastor of St. Michael’s in Greenfield, where he served until his death. He also served as judge of the Metropolitan Tribunal for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis for nearly seven years.In Greenfield, there will be visitation and a wake service at St. Michael’s Parish from 1 to 7 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday, October 2.The Office of the Dead will be prayed at 7 p.m. on Monday, October 3, in the Archabbey Church, followed by visitation until 9 p.m. Visitation on Tuesday will be from 8 to 9:45 a.m. in the Archabbey Church, followed by the funeral Mass at 10 a.m. in the Archabbey Church. Burial will follow in the Archabbey Cemetery. Saint Meinrad is on Central Daylight Time.