Rev. Rick Walling

I was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio. My parents were Richard and Marianna (Riepenhoff) Walling. I am the oldest of their six children; I have two sisters and three brothers (one of whom is deceased). I grew up in Corpus Christi Parish in Dayton, and attended the parish school there from first through eighth grade. It was the experience of serving at Mass that first got me thinking that maybe God was calling me to be a priest. At first I considered the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, but eventually contacted the Vocation office for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. I did my first two years of high school at Chaminade (now Chaminade-Julienne) in Dayton, and then entered Saint Gregory Seminary in Cincinnati as a junior in high school in 1968. I spent six years at Saint Greg’s, two in high school, and four in college. From 1974 to 1979, I was both a seminarian at the Pontifical North American College in Rome where I received formation for ordination and a student at the Pontifical Gregorian University where I did my theological studies. I was ordained a priest on July 30th, 1978, at my home parish in Dayton by Archbishop Bernardin. Saint Joseph, Hamilton native Father Lawrence J. Mick was the homilist at my first Mass of Thanksgiving. From 1979 to 1981, I was on the faculty at Carroll High School in Dayton and helped out at the Church of the Incarnation, Centerville. From 1981 to 1984, I lived in Washington D.C. and did graduate studies in theology at the Catholic University of America where I received my Doctor of Sacred Theology degree in 1989. From 1984 to 1995, I was on the faculty of the Athenaeum of Ohio, Mount Saint Mary Seminary, and also taught in the Lay Pastoral Ministry Program and helped with Sunday Masses at Saint Columbkille Parish, Wilmington. From 1995 to 2007, I was pastor of Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus Parish, Springfield. From 2007 to now, I have been pastor of three parishes in Mercer County: Holy Trinity, Coldwater; Saint Mary, Philothea; and Saint Anthony in Saint Anthony. My hobbies include reading, playing golf, watching golf, following the Reds, Bengals, Buckeyes and now the Badin Rams, and napping (not all at the same time.) I enjoy being a priest. I love celebrating the Sacraments and sharing our wonderful Catholic faith. I look forward to meeting you and serving as your pastor.