Gilsenan, Monsignor John Paschal
MONSIGNOR JOHN PASCHAL GILSENAN
July 15, 2016
Personal Info[1]
- Date of Birth: 19 May 1932
- Place of Birth in Ireland: Dublin
- County: Leinster
- Education: All Hallows Seminary, Dublin, Ireland
- Date of Ordination: 17 June 1956
- Place of Ordination: All Hallows Chapel, Dublin, Ireland
- Ordained by: Bishop Michael O’Reilly
Diocesan Appointments:
- Assistant – All Saints, Wichita – 11/3/1956 to 9/8/1962
- Assistant – St John the Evangelist, El Dorado – 9/9/1962
- Assistant – Tribunal, Wichita – 6/1/1963
- Student – Canon Law at Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome – 9/8/1963
- Judicial Vicar – Tribunal (Officialis), Wichita – 7/15/1965
- Chaplain – Veterans Administration Hospital, Wichita – 7/15/1965
- Assistant – Blessed Sacrament, Wichita – 9/3/1965 to 7/1/1967
- College of Consultors – Chancery, Wichita – 8/1/1966
- Presbyteral Council – Chancery, Wichita – 3/1/1967 to 2/15/1973
- Pastor – St Michael the Archangel, Mulvane – 7/1/1967 to 8/30/1983
- Chaplain – Villa Maria Nursing Home, Mulvane – 4/1/1974
- Vicar General & Officialis – Chancery, Wichita – 8/31/1983
- Rector – Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Wichita – 8/31/1983 to 7/6/1995
- Presbyteral Council – Chancery, Wichita – 5/1/1984 to 5/27/2006
- College of Consultors – Chancery, Wichita – 5/1/1984 to 5/27/2006
- Tribunal Judge – Chancery, Wichita – 6/7/1985
- Vicar for Priests – Chancery, Wichita – 6/28/1988 to 5/27/2006
- Pastor – St Anthony, Wichita – 6/28/1988 to 2/22/1989
- Pastor – Blessed Sacrament, Wichita – 7/6/1995 to 7/31/2006
- Tribunal Judge – Chancery, Wichita – 2/1/1996
- Tribunal Promoter of Justice – Chancery, Wichita – 2/1/1996
- Tribunal Defender of the Bond – Chancery, Wichita – 2/1/1996
- Named Monsignor by Rome – 3/4/1998
- Vicar General – Chancery, Wichita – 7/16/1998
- Dean – East Wichita Deanery, Chancery, Wichita – 7/9/1999
- Pastor – St Mark the Evangelist, St Mark – 8/1/2006 to 6/13/2010
- Senior Priest in Residence – St Catherine of Siena, Wichita – 6/14/2010
Monsignor Gilsenan’s journey to priesthood began in Dublin when he was recruited to replace a Mass server for the Carmelite Nuns at Tranquilla Convent. John Gilsenan, still in grade school at the time, agreed to replace the server who had left and he continued to serve the Sisters for six years prior to entering the Seminary of All Hallows in Dublin. The young clerical student, who had trained him to be a server, was now Father Michael Blackledge, born in England, and was assigned to St Mary’s Parish in Parsons, Kansas. Father Gilsenan, wanting to come to America reached out to his mentor and through the intercession of Bishop Mark K. Carroll, Father John Gilsenan was recruited to the Wichita Diocese. At Father Gilsenan’s ordination in Dublin, a contingent of brother priests from Kansas were in attendance – Fathers John Kavanagh, Tom McGread and Kieran Murray. His first Mass was celebrated at the Carmelite Convent at Tranquilla where Father was assisted by his uncle, the Very Rev. M. Gilsenan. The article went on to say that even Father’s uncle had a Wichita connection as he had baptized several Irish orphans who came to be adopted by people in the Wichita Diocese.
Father hosted a missionary visitor, Sister Bernadette Gilsenan, a member of the Medical Missionaries of Mary. Sister Bernadette is Father’s biological sister and was happy to share her story of serving the poor people living in Kenya with her brother’s parishioners in Mulvane at St. Michael’s Parish. Sister’s Order has assisted in setting up a variety of community programs in addition to establishing schools and hospitals. It appears that serving the Lord runs through the veins of the Gilsenan family. Sister Bernadette was glad to spend Christmas in Kansas but after a short visit back in Ireland was going to head home to Africa. In 1998, Sister’s brother became known as Monsignor Gilsenan.
- Date of Death: 15 July 2016
- Place of Death: Hospice at Via Christi St Francis Hospital
- Age of Death: 84
- Cause of Death: Cancer
- Concelebrants: Bishop Emeritus Eugene Gerber and Bishop Ronald Gilmore
- Burial: Ascension Cemetery – Wichita, KS