I am a Catholic children’s writer whose second vocation is to intercede for priests. Of all those I have ever prayed for, this priest was very different… 

The weight of his suffering pressed on my heart. Aware of his slow suffocation due to throat cancer, my prayer was ardent and intense.  It was as if I was sharing in his cross by just being aware of his agony. That fateful Sunday, as my pastor, Fr. Michael Sartori, raised the chalice at the 8:00 am Mass in Newport, New Hampshire, the consecration bells rang out. The wine was transformed. There in my pastor’s hands was the chalice of the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. At that moment, I mystically placed this suffering priest — Fr. Ferdinand Boehme of the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska — into that chalice. My Jesus, mercy!  I bowed my head and united Fr. Ferd’s passion to the Passion of Jesus, praying fervently for Father Ferd’s intentions, his relief, and his victory. There are no words sometimes, just the outpouring of one’s heart to the Heart of Jesus Crucified. 

The Final Diagnosis: Terminal Throat Cancer

Two weeks earlier, I had received a phone call from a priest friend of my family. “Fr. Ferdinand Boehme has terminal throat cancer. He is dying and purposely refusing pain medication. Please pray for him,” he said of his Mount St. Mary’s Seminary classmate. That would have been a commonplace, prayer-worthy request, drawing from my heart a commitment to prayer. But the details that followed brought with them a hushed reverence and a take-off-your-shoes-because-you-are-on-holy-ground kind of awe that those who stood near the cross of the Lord would have experienced. Indeed, it was the foot of the cross of Christ, because of the decisions that Fr. Ferd had put in motion as he quietly arranged his own preparations for death. 

When Fr. Ferd received the final diagnosis of terminal throat cancer, according to a close priest friend of his, he was at first a bit angry and frustrated. Death was coming fast. But once the spiritual gravity of the situation took full hold of his soul, the priestly heart took over. Immediately, he gave away his important possessions and tossed the rest hastily in the dumpster, divesting himself of everything he ever owned. He fully embraced the redemptive power of the Cross –turning his suffering into pure grace for others. Fr. Ferd squared off with death as a heroic Catholic priest would, as generations of valiant priests had done before him, intentionally battling to the last breath for the sake of souls, for the sake of the Church, but most importantly, for the sake of The Beloved Christ in the Tabernacle to Whom he was utterly devoted. 

The Life of Fr. Ferd

Early in college, Fr. Ferd had encountered the transforming love of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament at the Newman Center at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. That encounter pierced his heart and initiated the absolute transformation of his inner life. He would never be the same. After graduation, he became an engineer who inspected dams, an endless source of jokes for his future priest brothers. With his dry wit and shy demeanor, no one would have expected him to become one of the most public figures a man can become by God’s grace: a diocesan priest. 

He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ on May 24, 1997. Father Ferd faithfully observed an obligation made of the seminarians and priests of the Diocese of Lincoln, namely, to make a daily holy hour before the Eucharistic Lord. Bishop Bruskewitz was inspired to do this by the Venerable Bishop Sheen. That beloved bishop attributed the power and fruitfulness of his own vocation to the holy hour he made daily in the radiant presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Fr. Ferd embraced this wholeheartedly.

After ordination, he set out in simple obedience to serve parishes all around the Nebraska countryside: Hays Center, McCook, Wellfleet, Barneston, Superior, and Nelson. He was a gentle shepherd, loved by his people. One of his favorite pastimes with his friends was to aid the ranchers in his region by shooting prairie dogs wreaking havoc on their fields. He was a faithful friend to so many people and well-loved by his brother priests. But for all his ordinariness, it was said of Father Ferd, if you can’t find him in the rectory, you will find him at the tabernacle in the church. That was a glimpse of the true man. There was nothing ordinary about that!

It was Fr. Ferd’s last request that unveiled the depth of his interior life and heroic intentions to embrace his own priestly death. A priest brother, Fr. Joe Steele, had called him after finding out Fr. Ferd’s severe diagnosis. Fr. Joe worked as the hospital chaplain at Madonna Hospital in Lincoln, Nebraska, where terminally ill priests are offered hospice care. Fr. Ferd made a very specific request – that he would be able to die in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament and that a priest would be available to him for sacraments. The only way that Fr. Joe could make that request happen was to have a hospital bed installed in the guest room of his own residence, near the hospital, which opened to his private chapel. Hospice nurses could tend to Fr. Ferd increasingly as his death drew nearer. 

The Final Days

After some quick arrangements, Father Ferd’s 24-day journey to Life began in earnest. It was to be the final and lasting Eucharistic encounter between Fr. Ferd and Jesus in the Tabernacle.

In the first 2 weeks, Fr. Ferd was able to stand at the altar and say his Mass. Fr. Joe related that sometimes there were quiet moments when Fr. Ferd would reveal the depth of his faith in the Eucharist. He said, “Our Faith is so real. I have encountered Jesus so many times in the Eucharist, where I have had really profound encounters with Him.”

 It was his deep faith and these Eucharistic experiences over the years of priesthood that were the driving force for him to offer himself as a victim to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. He wanted to die in the presence of the tabernacle, fully conscious and in custody of his thoughts and senses, without morphine or any pain medication that would muddle his thinking; he wanted to possess his will in order to give himself in totality, all the while being alert and in possession of his own thoughts. His suffering grew day by day.  During the last 2 weeks, he began leaning on the altar as he said the Mass, then sitting in a chair, softly praying the words of the Mass with Fr. Joe as he concelebrated with him and gave him the Eucharist. Finally, in the last week, Fr. Ferd took to his bed and remained there in view of the tabernacle. His pain never overcame his desire to go out and meet the Lord in possession of his mind and will in the earnest, victimal self-giving surrender of his life to Jesus. 

During this entire time, visitors and friends kept coming to him to request his prayers for all their troubles and intentions. With serenity and great charity, he promised his prayers, never losing his patience.

On Sunday, June 23, 2024, the last morning, Fr. Joe celebrated Mass early. Fr. Ferd had taken a downturn before dawn. During communion, Fr. Joe brought the Precious Blood to Fr. Ferd on a little spoon and touched it to his tongue. This was Calvary, and soon the crucified would breathe his last. Angels would have recognized exactly who was dying on that bed of pain. Alter Christus!  This is my body, given up for you…Fr. Ferd’s final mass.

After praying the Anima Christi aloud for Fr. Ferd, Fr. Joe then intoned the rosary. At the announcement of the mystery of the Resurrection, Fr. Ferdinand Boehme breathed his last. Jesus in him, Jesus before him, God All Encompassing! What sweetness did this martyrdom of love produce for the soul of this priest as he passed, receiving every sacrament and grace that the Church had to give? With the blessing of his brother priest, he was lifted into the Arms of the Beloved. 

Back in New Hampshire, my phone flashed during Mass, thank goodness the ringer was off! After Mass, I read the message: Fr. Ferd had passed 5 minutes after my Mass had begun, so when I was placing his soul in the chalice, he had already died.

I knelt and rejoiced!  I had my first direct conversation with Fr. Ferd, who met me unfettered by pain and could hear me for the first time!

“Fr. Ferd! You’re not suffering anymore! You are with the Beloved!!!” I was ecstatic with joy at his victory. When Calvary passes, the resurrection power, the glory, the joy, and the love NEVER ENDS!

And that’s when the miracles started happening! 

“Fr. Ferd,” I prayed, “I need your help! I am working on a children’s book about the True Presence of Jesus in the Tabernacle – This Little Light of Thine. I know how important that is to you!  I want this book to go throughout the whole world! I don’t have money to pay the artist, but you can handle that now! I need several thousand dollars to get this book illustrated! You must help me help the children to find Him in the tabernacle! The children! The children! Father Ferd, this is your spirit!” I prayed.  On and on I raved and begged. And when I was satisfied that he heard me, I went home with joy and hope. 

That afternoon, my pastor invited me to come to the house of a parishioner friend, and to bring all the books that I have published. Huh? I had no idea what was going on, but there would be dinner, so who needs to ask any more questions?

I arrived, and my pastor introduced me to all. At table, he asked me to show my books to everyone. As I did, I explained that I write books to evangelize families, and to fund the illustration of the next book. While I was still speaking, the patriarch of the gathering requested his checkbook. He asked me how many thousands I needed for the next book, and I told him. Without hesitation, he wrote the check and handed it to me. No one knew how ardently I had prayed to Fr. Ferd Boehme for that exact money. He answered my prayer within 4 hours. 

Sophia Institute Press, my favorite publisher, had already refused my book twice. I prayed again to Fr. Ferd and approached Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska, through Fr. Joe, who relayed the story of Fr. Ferd’s intervention for This Little Light of Thine. I sent a preliminary draft in full color to Bishop Conley, and I requested his endorsement of the book.  To get This Little Light of Thine into the hands of Sophia Institute Press before the Christmas season, he would have to submit his endorsement more quickly than would have been polite to ask. That humble bishop prepared it without delay, Father Ferd’s second miracle.  I pitched it again to Sophia and Miracle three. They accepted it for immediate publication. Fr. Ferd moved like lightning! All of this was remarkable! This Little Light of Thine became the fruit of priestly love, suffering, and blessing in the form of a book. 

In the spirit of the Church, everyone, please pray for the repose of the souls of Fr. Ferdinand Boehme. And when you have faithfully done that…ask for an increase in love for the Eucharist, and wait for the miracles to begin!