Catholic Priest Rescued from Well in Missouri! 

Fr. Simon Vroidnik, a Catholic Priest of St. Andrew’s Byzantine Catholic Church in Goodsprings, MI, was giving a house blessing for a young family in northern Missouri when he fell down a dried up artisan well.  The couple with their two year old daughter said that Fr. Simon had stopped by the well to bless it when he slipped and fell 20 feet to the bottom of the hole. “One second he was holding his book and saying a prayer, the next he’s at the bottom of the well!” Mrs. Franklin told one of our reporters after the fact.

            After many attempted rescues by Mr. Franklin with anything from ladders to ropes, the couple called 911 and reported the incident to the authorities. The rescuers worked quickly and Fr. Simon was out in no time after spending a little over two hours in the well.

            He was taken to the hospital and is resting comfortably with only a dislocated elbow and some minor scrapes and bruises. Fr. Simon is expected to be released from the hospital in the next few days where he will resume his normal prayer service schedule. But if there’s one thing that has been learned it’s that a priest should anoint the sick and leave the well alone.