MINNESOTA
Star Tribune
By Kim Palmer Star Tribune JULY 10, 2016
“Fearless.” “A rare bird.” And a burr under the saddle of authority. The Rev. Mike Tegeder was all those things, according to those who knew him. Tegeder, 67, who died Saturday after battling lung cancer, was never afraid to speak up or get his hands dirty on behalf of others, whether that meant bucking the Catholic hierarchy or showing up with a trailer to help someone move.
“Mike was one of the most hands-on priests I ever worked with,” said former priest Ed Flahavan, who first met Tegeder in the 1980s when he was a seminarian and volunteer bus driver, transporting special-needs people to and from their group home to parish dances.
Tegeder embodied Pope Francis’ urging that priests must be “shepherds living with the smell of the sheep,” said Flahavan. “He wanted the priests to get close to people, to be with the people in their pain and suffering. Mike smelled like the sheep in a very special way.”
Tegeder made headlines in recent years as a vocal critic of former Archbishop John Nienstedt and the church’s attempts to block gay marriage, opposition that threatened Tegeder’s status as priest at his two Minneapolis churches, St. Frances Cabrini and Gichitwaa Kateri. He kept his bus driver’s license up to date in case he was dismissed from the priesthood.
“He used to get under the skin of power people,” said Flahavan. “He was an especially gutsy guy when it came to church reform issues.”
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