September 16, 2024
Wheeling University Mourns the Loss of Alumnus/Board Member
It is with a heavy heart that we share news of the passing of Monsignor Joseph Peterson, class of 1971, a devoted priest in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston and a member of the Wheeling University Board of Trustees. Msgr. Peterson passed away Thursday, September 12th.
Monsignor was a devoted servant to our university as a member on our Board. May each of us hold Msgr. Peterson and his family in our thoughts and prayers.
Below are Msgr. Peterson’s obituary and details about his viewing and funeral. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace.
Msgr. Joseph L. Peterson, V.G., died at the age of 75 on the morning of Sept. 12, 2024. He was born on May 1, 1949, in Steubenville, Ohio, to the late John and Eleanore Peterson of Weirton, W.Va., and was the oldest of their six children. He was baptized at St. Paul Parish and attended Sacred Heart of Mary School, both in Weirton. He attended St. Joseph Seminary in Vienna, W.Va., from 1963 to 1967 and went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts from Wheeling College in 1971. He obtained a Master of Theology from Moreau Seminary, University of Notre Dame, in 1974 and was ordained to the priesthood on April 19, 1975, by Bishop Joseph H. Hodges in Wheeling, W.Va.
Msgr. Peterson served as vicar general of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston from April 2023 to the time of his passing and would have celebrated his 50th anniversary of priesthood on April 19, 2025. He served as chairman of the diocese’s Building and Renovation Commission and served on the Clergy Personnel Committee, Board of Directors and the Trustees of the Priests’ Health and Retirement Association, Presbyteral Council, Diocesan Consultors, Diocesan Finance Council, the Bishop’s Executive Staff, and the Executive Committee of the Presbyteral Council.
Throughout the years, Monsignor served all over West Virginia, beginning at Sacred Heart Parish in Bluefield as a deacon from 1974 to 1975. Following his ordination to priesthood, he was associate pastor of Corpus Christi Parish in Wheeling from 1975 to 1978 and St. Peter Parish in Fairmont from 1978 to 1979. He served as rector of the Wheeling Seminary House of Studies from 1979 to 1984, as director of the diocese’s Office of Vocation Ministries in Wheeling from 1980 to 1984, and promoter of justice for the Diocesan Tribunal in 1981. He was pastor of Wheeling’s St. Mary and St. Ladislaus parishes from 1984 to 1990. He then headed to the southern region of the diocese to serve as pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Huntington from 1990 to 2004. During this time, he was also dean of the Huntington Deanery. In 2004, he was appointed pastor of St. Margaret Mary Parish in Parkersburg and vicar forane of the Parkersburg Vicariate. From 2006 to 2007, he was temporary administrator of St. John Parish in St. Marys and Christ our Hope Parish in Harrisville. In 2008, he served as temporary administrator of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Parkersburg and St. Monica Mission in Lubeck.
In 2011, Pope Benedict XVI named him a Chaplain to His Holiness, entitling him to be addressed as monsignor. The next year, he was reappointed vicar forane of the Parkersburg Vicariate serving until 2016. He was pastor of St. Michael Parish in Wheeling from 2016 to 2018 and was then appointed rector of the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Wheeling in 2019. He also served as vicar forane of the Wheeling Vicariate from 2018 to 2021. He retired from active ministry in 2020 and was appointed as vicar general of the diocese in 2023.
Msgr. Peterson was an avid gardener and ham radio operator. He loved his family and loved spending time with them. He loved celebrating holidays with family, especially Christmas.
He was preceded in death by his parents John and Eleanore Peterson. He is survived by his siblings, Marianne Peterson (Les); Charles A. Peterson; John Peterson (Rhinda); Richard Peterson; and Christine Nesbitt (Jack); as well as eight nieces, five nephews, one great niece, and three great nephews.
Reception of the Body will be at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 16, at Sacred Heart of Mary Church in Weirton. Visitation will be held at the church from 2 to 8 p.m. A vigil will be celebrated by Very Rev. Donald X. Higgs, Assoc. V.E., V.F., at 7 p.m. at the church.
On Tuesday, Sept. 17, visitation will be held at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Wheeling, from 9 to 10:45 a.m. The Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11 a.m. at the cathedral with Most Rev. Mark Brennan, bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling- Charleston, as celebrant. Interment will be at 2:30 p.m. in New Cumberland Cemetery in New Cumberland, W.Va. The Mass of Christian Burial will be live-streamed at dwc.org and on the Diocesan Social Media pages.