SHAWANO, WI- In April, Bishop David Ricken appointed Fr. Edward Looney as the next pastor of Sacred Heart Parish. For the past six years, he has served as pastor for three rural communities in Southern Door and Kewaunee Counties. Father Scott Valentyn served as Administrator of Sacred Heart Parish for the past several years. He recently moved on from Shawano to Washington D.C. to complete canon law studies for the Diocese of Green Bay and Fr. Robert Mitchell was serving in the interim as a temporary administrator through June.
Fr. Looney grew up in Oconto and remembers visiting Shawano in his youth for the weekly flea market and in 2008 he adopted his family dog from the Shawano Humane Society. That dog, Shadow, recently passed away in June 2023 after 15 years of adoption and spanning three generations of his family.
Looney attended Conception Seminary College and Mundelein Seminary. He was ordained a priest in 2015 and served as a parochial vicar at St. Raphael the Archangel Parish in Oshkosh before his 2017 appointment to Brussels, Lincoln, and Rosiere. In 2023, he completed his studies for an advanced degree in theology, a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (or S.T.L.). His academic research and thesis focused on Mariology or the study of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He is a long-time member of the Mariological Society of America and currently serves as president of the society until May 2024. Looney has authored seven devotional books with various publishers, and three self-published children’s stories.
This won’t be Fr. Looney’s first time serving at Sacred Heart Parish in Shawano. When he was ordained a deacon in 2014, he spent three months during the summer assisting Fr. Luke Ferris. Fr. Looney says, “I look forward to returning to Sacred Heart Parish and seeing familiar faces. I also am excited to be spending more time than just a few months serving the people.”
When Fr. Looney arrived in Brussels, Lincoln, and Rosiere, he immediately invested himself in the local community and culture. He hopes to do the same in Shawano. “A faith custom where I recently served was roadside chapels. People built chapels on their property and anyone passing by could stop, look, and pray at them. I wanted to make them more popular and accomplished that through the creation of a Facebook page and daily video tours of the chapels. That led to directing, hosting, and filming a professional documentary that has aired internationally on television and competed at film festivals worldwide.” You can search for the documentary on YouTube, “Faith Along the Road: The Belgian Roadside Chapels of Northeastern Wisconsin.” Looney commented, “One of the things I’m looking forward to is learning about the history of Shawano, not only the parish, but the city. I plan to visit the Shawano Historical Society in the first month and learn more about the area from the Shawano County Visitor Center.”
When asked what he hopes to bring to his time in Shawano, Fr. Looney said that he wants to be present to the parishioners and Sacred Heart School. “While I write books and speak at parishes and conferences, those are secondary to my work as pastor of the parish I serve.”
Fr. Looney begins his ministry in Shawano on July 1 and you will begin seeing him at the ambo preaching and the altar celebrating Mass. Sacred Heart parish and school staff and families are excited to welcome him, and look forward to his leadership. You can plan to meet Fr. Looney at Sacred Heart’s Church Picnic on Sunday, August 13.
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