Msgr. William Buchler was a “wonderful, wonderful” man whose two loves were “the priesthood and the Diocese of Camden,” according to former colleague, Sister Cynthia Ludwick, SSJ.
Msgr. Buchler served 30 years in the Diocese of Camden, before his death on Oct. 1, 1992, at the age of 59, while pastor at Our Lady of Lourdes in Glassboro. This upcoming May would have marked his 50th jubilee as a priest.
On May 19, 1962, he was ordained, and his first assignment was as associate pastor at Our Lady Star of the Sea, Cape May. In September 1963, he joined the faculty of Camden Catholic High School in Cherry Hill, and after three years, brought his teaching abilities, albeit briefly, to Gloucester Catholic High School, before returning as associate pastor to Our Lady Star of the Sea in 1967.
Three years later, Msgr. Buchler became executive secretary of the Priest Personnel Board. At this same time, he became the visiting chaplain at the Little Servant Sisters of the Immaculate Conception novitiate in Cherry Hill.
In 1977, he was named director of the St. Pius X Retreat House in Blackwood, a position he held for 11 years, until becoming pastor at Our Lady of Lourdes.
Sister Cynthia, who was on the retreat house staff with Msgr. Buchler, remembered a “compassionate man, good to work with” who “was kind and understanding” to all.
Msgr. Buchler was State Chaplain for the Catholic Daughters of the Americas; executive secretary of the Priest Personnel Board; and a member of the Advisory Board for the Permanent Diaconate, when it was first established in 1974.
Researched by Peter G. Sánchez and James A. McBride
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