Rev. Michael Wagner was appointed Priest Administrator of Holy Rosary and Visitation on July 1, 2017.
Later that month, the Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fatima visited Tacoma. It was carried in procession from Saint Joseph church to Holy Rosary.
In Advent, for the first time in more than fifty years, a Rorate Mass was celebrated at Holy Rosary by Rev. Kyle Mangloña, with Father Wagner in choro.
On April 10 2018, Father Wagner collapsed during the celebration of the holy Mass.
He was admitted to hospital with an irreversible brain hemorrhage. The doctors advised his family and the archdiocese that he was unlikely to survive. The parish plea for prayers went viral on social media, with more than 250,000 people reached. Prayers and well wishes poured in from all over the world, with every continent (except Antarctica!) represented. Masses were said for Father throughout the United States and throughout Poland.
Early in the morning of May 2, 2018, Father Michael Wagner passed to God. A vigil was held at Visitation on May 9, followed by the funeral at Holy Rosary on May 10. The church was filled beyond capacity, and a video feed was provided to the overflow crowd in the School Hall. He is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Seattle.
℣. Requiem æternam dona ei, Domine
℟. Et lux perpetua luceat ei:
℣. Requiescat in pace.
℟. Amen.
℣. Eternal rest, grant unto him, O LORD,
℟. And let perpetual light shine upon him.
℣. May he rest in peace.
℟. Amen.
The 2017 Rorate Mass
During Father Wagner's illness and following his death, a number of priests served at the parish, including the Seattle Redemptorists.
From the Vigil of Pentecost until June 30, our communities were served by Rev. Francis Xavier Kikomeko of Uganda.