Father Eugene F. Bendel, a retired educator and parish pastor, died May 18 at age 89.
Born in Fornfelt, Missouri, he attended Cathedral Latin School, St. Louis Preparatory Seminary and Kenrick Seminary. He was ordained in 1957 by Cardinal Joseph E. Ritter at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis.
Father Bendel’s first assignment was as assistant pastor at Assumption Parish in Mattese. He served there until 1961, when he became assistant pastor at Assumption Parish in O’Fallon, serving there until 1967. He then served briefly at St. Pius X in Glasgow Village, before becoming associate pastor at St. Liborius Parish in St. Louis and then at St. Aloysius Gonzaga Parish in St. Louis. From 1957 to 1967 Father Bendel also served at Bishop DuBourg High School in St. Louis and Assumption High School in O’Fallon, which became St. Dominic High School, where he continued to serve.
Father Bendel was named pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Elsberry in 1975, St. Theodore in Flint Hill in 1979, St. Mary in Hawk Point in 1990 and St. Patrick Parish in University City in 1995. When St. Patrick Parish closed in 2001, he returned to Assumption Parish in O’Fallon as senior associate pastor until retiring in 2008.
Father Bendel died due to complications associated with the COVID-19 virus. There will be a private service for the immediate family subject to the restrictions imposed as a result of the COVID-19 guidelines, with a memorial Mass at a later date.
