Larkin Rev. Patrick Joseph
REV. PATRICK JOSEPH LARKIN
November 17, 2022
Personal Info
- Date of Birth: 16 March 1933
- Place of Birth in Ireland: Currulragh, Moyvane
- County: Kerry
- Education: St Michael’s College in Listowel and St Kieran’s College in Kilkenny
- Date of Ordination: 2 June 1957
- Place of Ordination: St Mary’s Cathedral, Kilkenny
- Ordained by: Most Rev. Patrick Collier, Bishop of Ossory
Diocesan Assignments
- Assistant – St Patrick’s, Parsons – 1957 to 1960
- Assistant – Holy Savior, Wichita – 1960 to 1963
- Assistant – Blessed Sacrament, Wichita – 1963 to 1967
- Pastor – St Patrick, Harper – 1967 to 1973
- Chancery – Wichita Diocese Priests’ Council – 1969 to 1972
- Pastor – St Patrick, Kingman – 1973 to 1984
- Chancery – Wichita Diocesan School Board, Region 3 Representative – 1974 to 1977
- Pastor – St Ignatius, Neodesha – 1984 to 1986
- Pastor – St Louis, Waterloo and St Rose, Mt Vernon – 1986 to 1987
- Pastor – Sacred Heart, Chetopa and Mother of God, Oswego – 1987 to 1995
- Pastor – St Martin, Caldwell – 1995 to 1998
Father Patrick Larkin’s uncle was the late Monsignor Patrick Larkin who served in the Diocese of Wichita and retired in April 1954 due to poor health. He passed away in 1980 and is buried in County Kerry, Ireland. Father Larkin arrived in the New York harbor on October 8, 1957, six days after boarding the S.S. America at Cobh, Ireland. Father reported that out of the six days voyaging, they were plagued by two days of horrific storms. After doing a little sight-seeing in New York City, he traveled to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania were he visited relatives.
For his first appointment, Bishop Carroll assigned him as assistant priest to Monsignor Edward Gunning, pastor of St Patrick’s Parish in Parsons. His first assignment kept him from being homesick as Monsignor Gunning was from County Clare and the other assistant, Father Charles Walsh was from County Galway.
Father Larkin, accompanied 18 scouts and four scoutmasters on a 700-mile pilgrimage to earn their Altare Dei badges. After boarding a bus, the group had scheduled visits to Immaculate Conception Abbey, Conception, MO; St. Benedict’s Convent, Clyde, MO and St. Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison, KS. The purpose of the trip was to have the scouts relive the spirit of medieval pilgrims who walked from their European homes to Rome to worship.
In 1966, Father Larkin, an assistant pastor at Blessed Sacrament, was named diocesan director of the 1966 Thanksgiving Clothing Collection by Bishop Leo C. Byrne. This drive was inaugurated in 1945 under the sponsorship of the Catholic Bishops and operated under Catholic Relief Services of the National Catholic Welfare Conference.
Father Larkin retired in 1998 and in 2022 is living assisted living in the Catholic Care Center in Wichita, Kansas. He retired following over 40 years of service to the Diocese of Wichita. In response to a question on what has sustained him over the years, he said “Being able to minister to people and helping bring Christ’s saving action to the world through my priesthood.”
Date of Death: 17 November 2022
Place of Death: Catholic Care Center, Wichita, KS
Age of Death: 89
Cause of Death: Cancer
Burial: Ascension Cemetery, Wichita, KS