There's a new, yet familiar, face at St. Bernard Catholic Church in Osceola.
The Rev. David Polich is the new priest at the church. In 1998, he served at the church for six months.
“I’ve known the territory a little bit, although there’s been huge changes, of course, in Osceola in the last 15 years,” Polich said.
However, there’s one thing that has stayed the same.
“The only thing that hasn’t changed is that Fred Diehl was the mayor when I left, and he’s the mayor now,” Polich said with a laugh.
About David Polich
Polich was ordained June 25, 1976, and has been a priest for the Des Moines Diocese in southwest Iowa for 37 years.
He has been assigned to parishes in Des Moines, Harlan, Maloy, Mount Ayr, Carlisle, Osceola, Milo, Lacona, Rosemount and Perry.
While taking part in a program at Notre Dame, Polich was approached about the possibility of doing Hispanic ministry. In 2000, he traveled to Bolivia to study Spanish.
“Since then, I’ve been in parishes that have a large Hispanic population,” Polich said.
Back to Osceola
So, what brought Polich back to Osceola? He said, while serving in Perry, he thought it was time for a change.
“I knew that there was a need for a priest who spoke Spanish here,” Polich said. “So, it made sense. I’m 63 now, and I figured I would probably have one other assignment ... it was time for something new.”
Polich is putting his Spanish-speaking skills to good use by delivering masses in Spanish, even though he admits his grasp on the language isn’t as good as it should be.
Currently, Polich serves parishes in Osceola, Grand River and Mount Ayr. He returned to the Osceola area in late July.
“I’m kind of a circuit rider,” Polich said. “It’s a lot of territory.
While there may be a lot of area to cover in south-central Iowa, Polich said it’s been nice reconnecting with familiar faces, as well as meeting new people.
“I think there’s a lot of life to the parish, and, of course, there’s a huge Hispanic population. None of those folks were here 15 years ago,” Polich said.