Longtime Peru pastor ‘loved the people he served’

He was a big man who loved to sing, welcome newcomers and help the poor – though he might not have readily answered the door when the Cubs were on TV.

The Rev. Harold Datzman, O.S.B., longtime pastor of St. Joseph Church in Peru, died Saturday in OSF St. Francis Medical Center, Peoria, following years of declining health. He was 85.

Datzman was, in his early years as a Benedictine, the religion and Latin teacher at St. Bede Academy, though former Abbot Philip Davey recalled that Datzman’s pleasant and agreeable nature didn’t lend to order in his classroom.

“He was a gentle soul and his discipline was not very good,” Davey said. “In those days, punishment was more physical and that wasn’t his cup of tea. At the same time, he loved the kids and he loved playing sports with them.

“He loved the people he served and he even loved the teenagers who drove him crazy. And if he did get mad, it would go away pretty quickly.”

Mike Brown, of Utica, is a St. Bede alumnus who remembers students testing Datzman’s limits, though everyone loved him for his gentle nature.

“This is a big personal loss for our family,” Brown said. “I had him for religion class at St. Bede, as did both of my brothers. When my dad died in 1984 from a massive heart attack, he was the priest who gave dad last rites in the emergency room.”

“He was a very devoted pastor. He prided himself on knowing the names and families of everyone in the parish.”

—  Tom Jagiella, of Peru

The Benedictines eventually discerned that Datzman was better suited to be a pastor than a teacher and phased him out of the classroom and into nearby churches. There, Datzman shined. He was remembered especially fondly for his 12 years’ service as pastor in Peru, ending with his retirement in 2017.

Tom Jagiella, of Peru, would eventually become a deacon and credited Datzman for encouraging him to pursue his vocation.

“He was a very devoted pastor,” Jagiella said. “He prided himself on knowing the names and families of everyone in the parish.”

Datzman also had a joyful disposition and this showed in his music. He wasn’t partial to spoken Masses and would lead off the liturgy with a cappella hymns when accompanists were not available.

The Rev. Dominic Garramone, O.S.B., remembered how “very much concerned” Datzman was with the needs of his flock. Datzman was known for ministering to people off-site, such as at retreats and in prisons.

“He really reached out to people where they were,” Garramone said. “Pastoral outreach was important to him.”

Garramone also remembered that where other monks cultivated hobbies in the arts and sciences, Datzman was a Chicago sports nut who would be found glued his seat in the abbey TV room cheering on the Cubs. Datzman reveled in the “awesome” 2016 championship.

Datzman celebrated his 50th anniversary to the Benedictine order in 2016 and soon returned to the abbey. Though still passionate about his flock, Datzman suffered from diabetes and his mobility had diminished to where he could no longer serve the parish.

“He was very devoted to the parish and St. Bede, but he was in a lot of pain,” recalled Jagiella, who also worried about Datzman’s balance. “It was a blessing when he went back to the abbey, because we were so afraid something was going to happen.”

Davey harbored the same fears and was unsurprised when Datzman fell one time too many at St. Joseph’s Nursing Home in Lacon. Though Datzman charmed the attendant nuns, he disregarded their cautions in hopes of returning to life in the abbey.

“He wouldn’t try to follow directions and he’d fall,” Davey said. “It was his recent fall that was kind of the last straw.”

Funeral arrangements are pending.