Fr. Ronald H. Rieder, Capuchin Friar

Ronald Harold Rieder was born July 25, 1935, in St. Cloud, Minnesota, to Edward Rieder and Hildegarde (Mertes) Rieder. He was baptized July 28, 1935, at Holy Angels Church in St. Cloud, and grew up with his brothers Richard and Edward.

Ronald entered the Capuchin Order as a young man, drawn by the desire for a life of service and prayer that had shaped so many friars of his generation. He was invested as a novice at St. Bonaventure Monastery in Detroit on Aug. 31, 1955, receiving the religious name Brother Malachy of St. Cloud, and made his first profession of vows on Sept. 1, 1956. He continued his studies as a cleric at St. Felix Friary in Huntington, Indiana, and made his solemn profession on Sept. 1, 1959, at St. Anthony Friary in Marathon, Wisconsin, signing his Latin oath as "Fr. Malachy a St. Cloud." After teaching religion briefly at St. Mary's in Crown Point, Indiana, and a pastoral year at St. Francis Friary in Milwaukee, he was ordained a priest on April 20, 1963.

During his cleric years and, more decisively, during a return to St. Bonaventure Monastery in Detroit, Ronald came to know Blessed Fr. Solanus Casey, who had been recalled to Detroit as his health declined. Ronald played the organ at the daily Mass, and Casey, his voice damaged since childhood by diphtheria, would stand beside him and sing in a high, whispery tone. "I got to be with him practically every day," Ronald later recalled. "He was so simple and so kind, and very quiet." He often told of being found scrubbing a toilet when Blessed Fr. Casey walked in and said, "Oh, are you ever a lucky young man to be able to clean toilets for your brothers." That year, Ronald said simply: "One of the greatest graces in my life was to live with Blessed Father Solanus Casey."

From 1964 until 1973, Ronald served at St. Bonaventure Monastery in Detroit in a progression of administrative roles, rising from office and library duty to provincial secretary and provincial personnel director. The personnel work took him traveling extensively, and he served in several Detroit city parishes during these years.

In 1973, Ronald moved into parish ministry as co-pastor of St. Patrick's Parish in St. Paul, Minnesota. He returned to St. Bonaventure Monastery in 1975 as Guardian, then in 1977 was named pastor of St. Mary Magdalen Parish in Hazel Park, Michigan, where he remained until 1982. After a year at the front desk of St. Bonaventure Monastery, he was appointed Vicar, preacher, and business manager at Monte Alverno Retreat House in Appleton, Wisconsin, in April 1983.

His superiors asked Ronald three times to take the pastorate of S.S. Peter & Paul Parish in Huntington, Indiana. He declined twice before agreeing, and in August 1984 he was installed as Pastor there, beginning a tenure that would last 33 years. He gave himself to the parish without reservation. "I really like it here very well," he wrote to his provincial in 1989. During his leadership the two Huntington churches consolidated their two schools which is now called Huntington Catholic School. Under Fr. Ron’s watchful care, the finances were strengthened and a wide range of ministries were developed.  He served as Chaplain to the Huntington Police and Fire Departments and was active in numerous civic organizations, especially Parkview Huntington YMCA. He sat on the boards of Pathfinder Services and the Dan Quayle Learning Center and became a close friend and advisor to Catholic author Matthew Kelly, founder of Dynamic Catholic. In 1994, Bishop John M. D'Arcy of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend wrote to praise Ronald's quiet, faithful service.

Ronald's most enduring legacy reached back to the building where he had first known Blessed Father Solanus Casey: St. Felix Friary, sold by the Capuchins in 1978. Around 2009, he gave developer John Tippmann a tour of the property and told him Blessed Fr. Casey's story. "Hey, you got faith," Ronald told him. "That's all it's going to take." Tippmann's foundation purchased and renovated the building, which reopened as the St. Felix Catholic Center, which also became a temporary home for the novices of the Dominican Sisters of Ann Arbor. The renovation of St. Felix Friary insured the preservation of the Blessed Fr. Solanus Casey restored cell which was preserved as a pilgrim shrine.

In 2012 and again in 2015, Ronald spoke with striking clarity about his hopes for his final years: he wished to remain in active ministry in Huntington as long as he was able, then to die there and be buried in the cemetery at the old St. Felix property. He retired in the spring of 2017, after the Diocese of Fort Wayne South Bend praised his "very long tenure" as "a very stable and solid pastor," and moved to St. Fidelis Friary in Appleton, Wisconsin. He admitted candidly that retirement had been difficult for him, and in March 2018 the Diocese of Green Bay granted him faculties to assist in ministry locally.

Ronald died on Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Appleton, WI. He was 90 years old.

Ronald was preceded in death by his parents, Edward and Hildegarde (Mertes) Rieder, and his brothers Richard and Edward. He is survived by a brotherhood of Capuchins with whom he lived, prayed, and ministered for over seven decades.

In lieu of flowers, per Fr. Ron's request, memorials can be sent to the Catholic School Building Endowment Fund, S.S. Peter & Paul Parish Fund and/or St. Mary Parish Fund, or Knights of Columbus Save Our Seminarians Fund in care of McElhaney Funeral Home, 715 N. Jefferson Street, Huntington, IN 46750.

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Funeral arrangements are as follows:

Wednesday, June 24 Saint Fidelis Friary

1100 N. Ballard Road Appleton, WI 54911

Visitation will begin at 10:00 a.m.

Memorial Liturgy (Vigil) will begin at 11:00 a.m.

Sunday, June 28 S.S. Peter & Paul Catholic Church

860 Cherry Street

Huntington, IN 46750

Rosary at 1:30 p.m. followed by visitation until 8 p.m.

Tuesday, June 30 S.S. Peter & Paul Catholic Church

860 Cherry Street

Huntington, IN 46750

Visitation from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

The Mass of Christian Burial will begin at 11:00 a.m. 

Burial at St Felix Capuchin Cemetery, Huntington.

The Mass of Christian Burial will be live streamed on www.thecapuchins.org and  https://www.youtube.com/@sspphuntington9608

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