Father Dall will find joy in ministry, bishop says By Fabvienen Taylor
JACKSON — One piece of advice Bishop Joseph Latino offers new priests is to be patient with themselves in their first assignment to a parish.
“I would encourage them to take time in learning the pace of the parish,” he said. “They are going in not knowing all of the programs and activities in the parish. They are not expected to know them. They need to be receptive to what the parish is doing, how the parish is doing things. They will learn the routines.”
Come June 18, as the newest priest in the Diocese of Jackson, Father Lincoln Dall will begin learning the routines, people and practices at St. Richard Parish, where he will serve as associate pastor.
Bishop Latino said Father Dall is “genuinely holy. And he’s genuinely an humble man. With those two qualities he’s going to find ministry not a task, but a joy.”
Father Dall was ordained by Bishop Latino on Saturday, May 31, in the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle. He is a graduate of Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners, Wis.
“It’s overwhelming,” said Father Dall during the reception in the Cathedral Center following the ceremony. “I feel very joyous, very emotional. It is humbling knowing I’m going to be serving here in the Jackson diocese.”
“Humble” was how people who know Father Dall, 45, over and over described him.
“His humility and his spirit is like a magnet, people are drawn to him without him even knowing it. That’s the beauty of God within him,” said Trish Jackson, who traveled from Winnepeg, Ontario, for the ordination.
They met while working together in a foodbank there.
Longtime-friend Anne Belcher of Indianapolis has known Father Dall and his family for over 25 years. “He’s very passionate about his concern and care for others, especially the poor. I would characterize him as a servant leader, someone who is very humble and doesn’t want to be recognized for the things he does. He is a very compassionate, giving person.”
Growing up, Dall’s sister Kimberley Nellenann, 42, said he was the older brother she turned to for advice.
“He’s always been a very giving person. He was also very guiding in terms of academics and education. When I had questions about college, about what I wanted to do, he would always help me out as far as what to major in, what I wanted to do.”
Nellenann, her husband Mark, Dall’s brother Cameron, and friends from near and far filled over a dozen pews in the cathedral. Another sister was unable to attend.
Cameron Dall, 44, said his brother has always been nurturing, has always wanted to help people.
A large group of Greenville Sacred Heart parishioners traveled to Jackson for the ordination. A parishioner there before entering the seminary, Father Dall taught religious education with Lavon Kemp. They met as teachers at Washington High School.
“We are here to wish our dear Lincoln the best of everything,” said Kemp. “We are just so honored to have him go into the ministry. We need more priests and we were just fortunate he came from us. He’s part of us and we came down to celebrate his ordination.”
A native of Chicago, Father Dall became Catholic in 1990. He had graduated from Wake Forest University and for several years worked as a certified public accountant (CPA).
Later he served in the Peace Corps in West Africa and then worked as a lay volunteer missionary in Ecuador.
Fluent in Spanish, he became a member of the Mississippi Teacher Corps in 2000.
Father Dall said all the paths he traveled working with the poor led him to become a priest in the Jackson diocese.
He first considered the priesthood in 1994 and spent a year in discernment with a religious order in Canada.
Afterwards he decided to continue working with the poor with the goal of eventually becoming a priest.
“I was still discerning and looking when I was in Greenville. The parish there really encouraged me to look at it again, which I did,” he said.
On Sunday, June 1, Father Dall celebrated his first Mass at Sacred Heart Parish, his home parish. Since his ordination he has been visiting with friends and family until he reports to St. Richard.
The Jackson diocese is blessed to have Father Dall as a priest, according to Sheila Jolivette and Nancy Sowa, friends of his from the Peace Corps.
“He has so many talents and abilities, so many gifts. He is such an inspiration,” said Jolivette.
