By The Message staff
As we were preparing to send this issue to our printer, we received word that Rev. Joseph L. Ziliak, 85, senior priest of the Diocese of Evansville who served as the first editor of The Message, died Feb. 8 in Evansville. Father Joe was known and loved across the diocese and the region because of his media and pastoral ministries, and his work as leader of pilgrimages and tours across the world.
Father Joe was ordained a priest April 7, 1962, by Bishop Paul Rusch of Innsbruck, Austria. After attending St. Meinrad College in St. Meinrad, he attended Collegium Canisianum Seminary and University in Innsbruck. He served the Diocese of Evansville in a variety of capacities, including as first editor of The Message and as pastor of Nativity Parish in Evansville and St. John the Baptist Parish in Newburgh.
We will have much more on Father Joe in the Feb. 18 issue of The Message. Eternal rest grant unto him oh Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him.