“I practiced patience for two full days,” said Tom, 82, a retiree from International Harvester who enjoys gardening, including regularly trimming bushes on the St. The real test was the 48-hour wait between discovering they had won on Saturday morning and finally reaching The Catholic Post’s office by phone when it opened the following Monday. Pius X Parish in Rock Island for more than five decades, persevered through what must qualify as the world’s longest-ever Bingo game - 475 days and the drawing of 35 numbers, one in each biweekly issue of the diocesan newspaper since cards were included in the April 15, 2018, issue of the diocesan newspaper - is only part of the story. ROCK ISLAND - The virtue of patience is paying off for Tom and Jan DeSmet, the apparent sole winners of The Catholic Post’s diocese-wide Bingo game and its grand prize of a $5,000 furniture shopping spree at Sherman’s. Pius X Parish successfully matched all numbers within the outlined blue cross and qualify for the grand prize of a $5,000 furniture shopping spree from Sherman's.

Tom and Jan DeSmet hold their winning Bingo card outside their Rock Island home.

Post office bingo