Dillon, Rev Vincent Joseph

REV. VINCENT JOSEPH DILLON, C.P.

29 January 1984

Personal Info

  • Date of Birth: 26 April 1906
  • Place of Birth in Ireland: Belfast
  • County: Antrim
  • Date of Ordination: 17 February 1940
  • Place of Ordination: Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Ordained by: Bishop Anunciado Serajini

 Diocesan Appointments

  • Assistant – Parishes in England and South Wales, 1940 to 1951
  • Assistant – Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Wichita, 9/22/1951 to 10/28/1952
  • Assistant Chaplain – Via Christi St Francis Hospital, Wichita, 10/29/1952 to 9/15/1953
  • Chaplain – St Luke Hospital, Marion, 9/15/1953 to 12/20/1954
  • Pastor – Our Lady of Guadalupe, South Hutchinson and St Agnes, Castleton, 12/31/1954 to 7/1/1955
  • Chaplain – St Luke Hospital, Marion, 7/20/1955 to 8/31/1957

Spring Branch, Kansas, 9/1/1957 to 11/30/1958

  • Temporary Leave – Benedictines in California 12/1/1958 to 1963
  • Chaplain – Villa Maria Nursing Home, Mulvane, 5/31/1963 to 6/30/1964
  • Chaplain – Bishop Carroll Catholic High School, Wichita, 7/1/1964 to 6/2/1966
  • Chaplain – Mount St Mary’s Convent, Wichita, 9/4/1964 to 6/2/1966
  • Chaplain – St Luke Hospital, Marion, 6/3/1966 to 8/16/1966
  • Chaplain – Via Christi St Joseph Hospital, Wichita, 8/17/1966 to 1/2/1969
  • Chaplain – Mercy Hospital, Independence, 1/3/1969 to 7/1/1973
  • Assistant Chaplain – Leila Hospital, Battle Creek, MI, 1973-1978

According to Father Dillon’s obituary notice, printed in The Catholic Advance in 1984, he spent 11 years as a missionary in Argentina before joining the Diocese of Wichita.

In the Catholic Advance, there was an article welcoming Father William S Wylie, another priest from Ireland who was joining the Wichita Diocese and was being met at the airport by Father Dillon. Father Wylie came by plane but the newspaper compared the length of time required to travel from Ireland to Wichita for previous missionary priests. “From London to Wichita is 32 hours by plane in 1952. However, earlier missionary priests who came to Wichita may have spent between five and six months by sailing vessel and prairie schooner, six or seven weeks by steamboat and stagecoach.”

Father Dillon began his retirement years in residence at Holy Name Parish in Coffeyville, but later moved to Battle Creek to be near his family. Once established in Michigan, he went to work as an assistant chaplain at Leila Hospital in Battle Creek.

 

  • Date of Death: 29 January 1984
  • Place of Death: Battle Creek, MI
  • Age of Death: 77
  • Funeral Celebrant: Bishop Eugene J. Gerber
  • Burial: Memorial Park Cemetery, Battle Creek, MI – Gravesite location VB-32-5S

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