By ANN PIERCEALL

Herald-Whig Staff Writer

The Rev. Dan Bergbower, the spiritual leader at St. Peter Catholic Church, stunned parishioners this weekend with the news that he has accepted a full-time position as a Catholic chaplain for the Air National Guard.

Bergbower, or Father Dan as he's known to parishioners, will start his new assignment July 1.

As someone who grew up in a military family and who has spent the last 18 years in the Air National Guard, Bergbower knows the value of providing priests to those in the military. He said the opportunity to serve as a full-time military chaplain is a "lifelong dream" that until now has not been feasible for the Springfield Diocese to help him realize.

"I will fill a void. I may be four months in the country of Qatar. I may be in Iraq for four months. I'll be going different places depending on the need for the next three years," he said.

Bergbower said the troops in the field need their chaplains, a point driven home to him when he served a stint last summer at a military hospital in Germany, where the wounded from Iraq were being treated.

"What our country is asking them to do is unspeakable things. They have to deny their humanity to survive and make it through. When they come to the hospital and I pray with them, their humanity starts to come back," he said. "There just are not hardly any priests in military at all. It would be selfish for me not to put up my hand and volunteer this time."

Bergbower's replacement will be the Rev. John Burnette, a former pastor at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Springfield. Burnette, 58, has been a priest for 23 years. He just finished a six-year tour of duty as a Navy chaplain and asked to be assigned to a parish with a school.

He is a graduate of Quincy College and worked at Gardner-Denver.

Bergbower said he's known Burnette for a long time and said he has a great sense of humor.

"He's got the same hair cut as Father Bauer and I do ... bald."

Bergbower also feels confident Burnette will ably fill his shoes, even with a $4.1 million improvement and expansion project now under way at the church and school. Bergbower and Burnette will spend the next six weeks working on the transition.

The news of Bergbower's move was first announced by e-mail early Saturday to parish leaders, and then to the parish as a whole starting at 5:30 p.m. Mass Saturday. Bergbower will continue to announce his move to parishioners attending all the Masses at St. Peter today.

Parishioner Chris Scholz called Bergbower an "extraordinarily dedicated priest" to his parish and to his military service as chaplain.

"This is probably an opportunity he should not pass up. We know he'll bring a lot of spiritual guidance to our armed forces," Scholz said. "They certainly need it, and he's certainly the man for the job.

"We are very sad to see him leave. He was very, very capable and not only as a pastor. He truly was a good shepherd for our parish because he helped us with a number very important initiatives," Scholz said. "He is able to leave this parish in the hands of his successor in very good condition with a real positive outlook for the future. We only have enjoyed and grown closer to Christ with his leadership to our parish."

Parish Council member Randy Stocker said he was shocked at the announcement.

"Father Bergbower has put the church in very good position for the future. I was surprised he chose not to stay and lead us into that future, but I'm excited he'll be able to help out our military. It's a wonderful, wonderful thing to do. We wish only the best to Father Bergbower," Stocker said.

Bergbower said he can see God's hand in how everything came together to make this dream possible. Burnette was looking for a parish just like Quincy, and the new chief of chaplains for the Air National Guard, the Rev. Bob Marciano, is a priest Bergbower knows and respects.

And while Bergbower hates to leave Quincy, the need for his services is great.

"It's a good thing. It's one of those bittersweet things. I'm excited and sad, too. You're doing what God wants you to do," he said.

-- apierceall@whig.com/(573) 221-5879