Community gathers to remember south metro priest killed in hit-and-run

Hundreds celebrated the life of a south metro priest on Saturday after he was hit and killed by a driver on Monday in Rosemount.

Minnesotans packed the Church of the Risen Savior to lay Father Dennis Dempsey to rest.

“Caring man. He’s very funny and just brought a lot of joy,” Andrew Johnson, who attended the funeral, said.

Johnson met Father Dempsey when he was a child. He was baptized at St. Francis St. James Church in St. Paul.

“I remember the whole time my parents were talking to him and there were beaming smiles on their faces,” Johnson said.

Johnson said Father Dempsey’s kind spirit and positive energy made a big impact on his family. But now, there’s a void.

On Monday, the priest was riding his bike in Rosemount when he was hit and killed by a driver.

“He was really loved by our Hispanic community,” Viri Dominquez, who attended the funeral, said.

Dempsey was ordained 41 years ago, serving as a bilingual parish priest in St. Paul and Northfield.

Then, he traveled to Venezuela serving as a missionary for seven years.

In July, he started his new role at Church of the Risen Savior.

“It’s kind of hard to find a priest that also speaks Spanish. He really impacted and changed a lot of people’s lives,” Dominquez said.

“I love him very much because he was always such a beautiful and nice person. He didn’t care about religion or race. To him we were all equal,” Maria Murillo-Vasquez said in an interview in Spanish.

In Dempsey’s 72 years of life, he broke barriers, bridged gaps and touched hearts while bringing communities together.

“He was an amazing man and touched the lives of so many people,” Johnson said.

Father Dempsey is buried at the Resurrection Cemetery in Mendota Heights.