Pastor followed his call to preach fearlessly
December 17, 2023
Monsignor Frank Chiodo was a gift to his family, friends and the people he so faithfully served for 46 years.
He died on Thanksgiving Day.
The Dec. 4 Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at St. Anthony Church in Des Moines, where Msgr. Chiodo was baptized, ordained a deacon, celebrated his first Mass as a priest, and served as pastor for 15 years before retiring.
At Msgr. Chiodo’s first Mass as a priest, he was commissioned “to preach the word of God fearlessly and courageously and without concern,” said Father Carl Sodoro, a friend from their seminary days. “He certainly did that.”
Educated at Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines, Immaculate Conception Seminary in Conception, Missouri, and St. Thomas Theological Seminary in Denver, Msgr. Chiodo was ordained a priest by Bishop Maurice Dingman in 1976.
He served at Christ the King Parish in Des Moines, on the faculty at St. Albert High School in Council Bluffs, and joined team ministry based at St. Brendan Parish in Leon.
Msgr. Chiodo continued in team ministry at Sacred Heart Parish in Chariton, where he first met Rev. Dr. Gregory Nelson Davis, a Lutheran pastor also serving in Chariton.
“He was a great friend,” said Rev. Davis, who joined Msgr. Chiodo for a weekly lunch and two tours of the Holy land.
“He had a good ecumenical heart,” said Rev. Davis.
From team ministry in the southern part of the Diocese, Msgr. Chiodo went to the Basilica of St. John Parish in Des Moines, where he served for 15 years. Through his effort, the church joined the National Historic Registry (1987) and was elevated to the rank of a minor basilica in 1989.
He served four years at St. Thomas More Parish in Omaha and then returned to Des Moines, serving two years at Holy Trinity Parish before going to his home parish of St. Anthony.
While at St. Anthony Parish, the church was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2021.
Msgr. Chiodo was a frontrunner in seeing technology as a means of evangelization. He used this interest at both the Basilica of St. John and St. Anthony Church by installing video equipment.
At St. Anthony, Msgr. Chiodo had Father Guthrie Dolan, who also served at the parish, upgrade video equipment in October of 2019. Five months later, the pandemic prompted the closing of indoor public gatherings. During the pandemic, St. Anthony Parish could offer daily Masses, rosary prayer, and more.
“He would attribute that (upgrade in technology) to the work of the Holy Spirit. We had no idea it would be that necessary for us to update everything at that moment,” said Father Dolan.
Msgr. Chiodo was gifted with languages – fluent in Spanish and Italian – and with the way in which he preached.
When he was a seminarian, Msgr. Chiodo had a part-time job working for the Iowa Department of Revenue. One of the agents there was a part-time Baptist preacher, who brought Msgr. Chiodo along when he would do summertime revivals, said his friend, John Gaffney.
“Monsignor was captivated by the way in which he rolled together fire and brimstone and stories that helped people connect with the gospel much quicker,” said Gaffney.
Msgr. Chiodo liked to watch the preaching styles of Bishop Fulton Sheen and the Rev. Billy Graham, said Father Dolan.
“Msgr. Chiodo’s homilies were among the most compelling I’ve heard during Mass, serving as a source of inspiration and encouraging me to actively embrace and live out my faith,” said Ryan Johnson, of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in West Des Moines.
Msgr. Chiodo had a heart for the poor.
One extremely cold winter, Des Moines faith leaders including Msgr. Chiodo were concerned about the homeless dying. He worked with others to offer shelter in their warm parish halls. This was the birth of what became Churches United, which evolved into Central Iowa Shelter Services.
The pastor connected with people.
“When I was out of college and was going through a faith crisis, he happened to be at St. John’s in Des Moines. He was a sight for sore eyes and a great relief in walking me through it all,” said Father Chris Fontanini.
Bob Hallgren, of St. Pius X Parish in Urbandale, said Msgr. Chiodo was there when he needed him.
In a letter of gratitude to Msgr. Chiodo, Hallgren wrote: “I want you to know that I have received so much through you and that you have inspired my faith, bolstered my faith for more than 25 years now.”
Perhaps his greatest witness to the faith was the way in which Msgr. Chiodo accepted, that God was in charge during his illness, said Father Sodoro.
Father Fontanini said: “He will be sorely missed by all of us, yet we look forward to one day being reunited with him.”