The Owensboro Times

Owensboro priest says faith and providence led to meeting with Pope Leo XIV

By Ryan Richardson

–

June 12, 2026 | 12:15 am

The Rev. Jamie Dennis traveled from Owensboro to the Vatican this month to meet Pope Leo XIV, a moment he had spent years hoping might one day happen. For Dennis, pastor of St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church, the meeting carried extra significance. Dennis is nearly blind and had long wondered whether a trip to Rome would be worthwhile if the closest he could get to the pope was hearing his voice through a loudspeaker.