Monsignor William Scheyd passed from this life on Wednesday, May 28 with his family and Bishop Caggiano present. As pastor of Saint Aloysius for 15 years, Monsignor Scheyd was a joyful preacher of the Gospel, a generous servant, and a priest you could count on to walk with you through the most challenging of life’s moments. Father Scheyd (as he preferred to be called, and which was the greeting he used for years on his voicemail message), loved being a priest and a pastor and worked hard at both. From his nascent days in Bridgeport to his journey to the seminary and his many parish assignments in our diocese, Father Scheyd spent time with his parishioners – getting to know them, encouraging them to trust in God, and drawing them closer to Christ through the Word, Sacrament, and the gift of one another. In his service to the Diocese of Bridgeport as a long-time vicar general, Monsignor Scheyd carried out his duties with great loyalty to the three bishops he served and with fairness and an abiding pastoral sensitivity. He was a true son of the Church and never tired of doing what needed to be done, whether it was navigating a complex ecclesiastical matter or shoveling the snow to create a path for church goers before the plow crew arrived.
Monsignor loved his family with a great love, and those of us who have known him for more than a few years, heard the many stories of family gatherings in Rhode Island, the gift of great-nieces and nephews, the college graduations, the career choices, the marriages and all the other adventures. The love that Father’s family had for him was so especially evident in his last weeks and days when they surrounded him daily with love and prayer.
I met Monsignor Scheyd in 1988 when I was hired by him to be the music director at Saint Augustine Cathedral where he was the pastor. He was a terrific boss and a splendid pastor who led with a wisdom informed by experience and with a genuine love of God and God’s people. I eventually moved on from the cathedral and returned to my higher education career only to reunite with Monsignor when he was my priest-interviewer in the seminarian admission process. That meeting was so life-giving and inspiring, and it ended with a trip to Penny’s Diner which is down the street from St. Thomas the Apostle Parish where he was the pastor at the time. (In case you didn’t know it, Monsignor loved food and facilitated great fraternity among priests and others at the table.)
He supported me, encouraged me, and even admitted that he prayed that I would become the pastor at St. Aloysius one day. When I arrived at my new office at St. Aloysius, I found a note on the desk penned by Monsignor Scheyd. I read the note and started to well up with tears. In the note he spoke of the joy of priesthood, the great love he had for his many years in New Canaan at St. Aloysius, and his promise of support for me. That support was unwavering, and I will miss our weekly talks, but I take great consolation – as all of us should – in Monsignor’s last piece of advice to me. When he told me about his cancer diagnosis, Monsignor Scheyd said: “Rob, we spend our priesthood encouraging people to trust in God, and when the news like I just heard hits home, we must practice what we preach. I trust in God and what he has in store for me. We must always trust in God!”
Amen to that. And Amen to a life of priesthood rooted firmly in Christ and in the Church. Well done, Father/Monsignor Scheyd! We love you and pray that you will soon receive the reward promised to all good and faithful servants.
