August 12, 2024

September 26, 1934

William Edward Hartgen was born in Washington, DC, on September 26, 1934, to William Edward Hartgen, Sr., and Helen Louise (nee Hatch) Hartgen. Fr. Hartgen was one of five children. His two brothers are deceased, and he is survived by his two sisters, Ann and Edith.

Fr. Hartgen earned his BA from Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg, Maryland, in 1957 and completed his theological studies there in 1961. As a layman, he worked in the office of Senator Thomas Kuchel from 1961 to 1965. He then went on to earn the MA in religious studies from The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, in 1967.

As a layman, he worked in various capacities in church-related programs. From 1967 to 1968, he was on the faculty of St. Paul’s Seminary High School in Baltimore where he taught religion and was the director of the liturgy program. From 1968 to 1971, he served St. Mark’s Church in Vienna, Virginia, as director of religious education and director of liturgy. From 1971 to 1972, he was the co- director of the office of religious education and liturgy for the Diocese of Richmond. From 1972 to 1974, he was self-employed as a consultant to parishes and to the North American Liturgy Resources in Phoenix, Arizona. During this period, he also worked as the editor of newsletters for religious education and liturgy in the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia, and wrote a regular column for the National Liturgical Conference.

Fr. Hartgen joined the faculty of St. Mary’s Seminary & University as a layman in 1974. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Maryland on April 30, 1976, and continued on the faculty at St. Mary’s until 1978, serving as director of recruitment for the seminary, and worked in the pastoral department at St. Mary’s and taught in the pastoral department at The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC. From 1978 to 1980 he was the editorial consultant at the corporate center for Pastoral Arts Associates of North America in Phoenix, Arizona.

In 1980, he returned to Washington, DC, to do his formation year for the Society of St. Sulpice at Theological College. He was admitted to the Society in 1982 and remained on the faculty at Theological College until 1986. During that time, he was the director of the Basselin program, coordinator of the liturgy, and an instructor in the pastoral program of The Catholic University of America. From 1986 to 1988 he served as a consultant to Cooperative Ministries, Inc. in Washington, DC, and then became its managing director from 1989 to 1997, when he retired with residence in his home on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

August 11, 2024

December 2, 1938

“Where there is no vision, the people perish,” could well have been the motto of Fr. Gerry Brown in his thirty-five years of service in administration—Council member, two-term Provincial, and rector several times over. He is well remembered as someone who had a vision to keep the Province growing and expanding its influence not only on the Church in the United States, but even into Africa.

Born December 2, 1938, in Garden City, Kansas, but raised in San Francisco, California, Fr. Brown was the only boy of the five children of Irvin and Mary (nee Burton) Brown. He was preceded in death by his parents and sisters, Janet and Barbara. He is survived by his sisters, Patricia and Sharon.

Fr. Brown was educated in San Francisco parochial schools and then entered St. Joseph’s Seminary high school in Mountain View, California (1952). After completing high school, he entered St. Patrick’s College in Mountain View where he earned the B.A. in 1960, and then the M. Div. from St. Patrick’s Seminary, Menlo Park, California in 1964. While at St. Patrick’s Seminary, he also earned a certificate in church music from the Gregorian Institute of America (1960). This training served him well as he frequently served as cantor for major ceremonies throughout his priestly career. He was ordained for the Archdiocese of San Francisco, California on June 13, 1964, and joined the Society of St. Sulpice.

Fr. Brown’s first assignment as a Sulpician candidate was to St. Edward’s high school, Kenmore, Washington, where he taught Latin and religion (1964-1965). After his Solitude year in Baltimore, Maryland (1965–1966), he was admitted to the Society of St. Sulpice and returned to the Northwest to teach in the college division of St. Thomas Seminary, Kenmore, Washington (1966–1968). While in Seattle, Fr. Brown became immersed in the charismatic renewal—an experience that strengthened the optimism and openness to diversity that were so characteristic of his personality. At that time, also, he rooted himself in the disciplines of homiletics, communications, and liturgical music—all areas which he drew upon throughout his service to the Society.

In 1968 he began to study for his master’s degree in communication at the University of Washington in Seattle. After receiving the MA in 1971, he went to Theological College in Washington, DC, until 1975. There he was able to teach preaching and also to introduce a pastoral training program at the Catholic University of America. This program led to establishing an MA in Pastoral Studies at the University that enabled Theological College and the University to keep pace with similar programs being developed in other seminaries at that time. In 1975, he began a doctoral program in communications at Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which he completed in 1979. His graduate studies prepared him to serve the Province in the areas of research and planning (1972-1975; 1976-1977) as well as on the Council (1973–1979) and later as Provincial (1985–1997). Fr. Brown also served as Rector of St. Patrick’s College, Mountain View, California, from 1978 to 1985. During that time, he initiated programs to support the increasingly multicultural seminary.

As Provincial, Fr. Brown received the Bishop Loras Lane Award from the Seminary Department of the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA) for his general contribution to seminary education. During his term, he also saw the importance of a Sulpician presence in the Conference of the Major Superiors of Men (CMSM) where the Sulpicians could participate in issues concerning men’s religious life on a national level. Fr. Brown became an influential voice in CMSM and was elected to its Board and Executive Committee and then, in 1994, became its president. In that capacity, he was able to attend the Synod on Consecrated Life and Secular Institutes in Rome in October 1994. As a result of his participation in that event, Fr. Brown became a spokesman for Vita Consecrata, Pope John Paul II’s exhortation on religious life issued after the synod.

During Fr. Brown’s term as Provincial, he oversaw two important developments for the Society and the Province. The first was presiding over the bicentennial anniversary of the Sulpicians’ arrival in the United States in 1791 and the 350th anniversary of the founding of the Society of St. Sulpice in 1641. The year of celebration included alumni celebrations in Honolulu, Seattle, New York, Louisville, and Detroit, all places where the Sulpicians administered seminaries in the past. During that year, Fr. Brown hosted an international conference of representatives of the Sulpician family and the French School of Spirituality at St. Mary’s Seminary & University in Baltimore.

March 19, 1931

March 25, 2024

Born March 19, 1931, and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, Fr. John Edward McMurry was one of three children of Vincent and Augusta (nee Delaigre) McMurry. He is preceded in death by his brother Vincent de Paul, who was also a Sulpician, and is survived by his sister, Mary Ammon, her family, and friends.

Fr. McMurry was educated in Nashville parochial schools and then completed his AB at St. Ambrose College, Davenport, Iowa, in 1953. He began his theological studies in 1953 at the Gregorian University in Rome. He was ordained in Rome on December 16, 1956, and then completed the STL degree at the Gregorian University in 1957. He returned home to the Diocese of Nashville to serve as associate pastor at the Cathedral of the Incarnation (1957–1964), at St. Mary’s Church (1964–1966), and at Blessed Sacrament Church and Mission (1966–1969).

Fr. McMurry then joined the Society of St. Sulpice and was assigned to the faculty of St. Patrick’s Seminary & University in Menlo Park, California, from 1969 to 1970 and from 1974 to 1975. He did his doctoral studies in theology at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California, from 1970 to 1974 and completed the PhD in 1977. He was admitted to the Society in 1972. After his studies in Berkeley, he was assigned to the theology faculty of St. Thomas Seminary, Kenmore, Washington, for one year (1975–1976). After that, he returned to parish ministry to serve as associate pastor of St. Joseph Church, Vancouver, Washington, for one year (1976–1977). He then took a leave of absence from the Society from 1977 to 1979. He returned to the Society with an assignment on the formation faculty of St. Mary’s Seminary & University, Baltimore (1979–1982). He then joined the formation faculty of Theological College from 1982 to 1988. After a sabbatical (1988–1989), he returned to St. Mary’s Seminary & University in Baltimore. In 1990 he began a joint appointment with St. Mary’s Spiritual Center on Paca Street. In 1992, Fr. McMurry took up residence at St. Mary’s Spiritual Center and became its director.

September 25, 2023

August 14, 1943

“O Lord, I have heard of your renown, and I stand in awe, O Lord, of your work.” (Habakkuk: 3: 2) This is the opening line of the Prayer of Habakkuk, the subject of Fr. Barré’s unfinished final work. He was most renowned for his book, The Lord Has Saved Me: A Study of the Psalm of Hezekiah, Isaiah 38:9-10. Many have been awed by Fr. Barré’s work as a Scripture scholar.

Born August 14, 1943, in Memphis, Tennessee, Fr. Barré was one of two children of Lee and Mary (Lonergan) Barré.

Fr. Barré was educated in Memphis parochial schools and then entered St. Mary’s College, St. Mary, Kentucky where he earned the B.A. in 1966. He earned his S.T.B., in 1968, S.T.M. in 1970, and S.T.L. in 1981 from St. Mary’s Seminary & University, Baltimore, Maryland. He was ordained for the Diocese of Memphis, Tennessee, on May 23, 1970, and admitted to the Society of St. Sulpice in 1974.

After ordination, he received his first Sulpician teaching assignment at St. Patrick’s Seminary, Menlo Park, California, from 1970 to 1973. He then went to Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, from 1973 to 1978 to pursue a doctorate in near eastern studies. After completing his doctorate, he returned to St. Patrick’s Seminary (1978-1992). He had his first sabbatical from 1988-1989 at the Vaugirard community in Berkeley, California. From St. Patrick’s Seminary, he returned to Baltimore to join the faculty of St. Mary’s Seminary & University from 1992 to 2013. During another sabbatical from 2011 to 2012, he worked on his translation and interpretation of the Prayer of Habakkuk. He retired in 2013, remaining in residence at St. Mary’s Seminary & University until renovations at Villa Olier, the Sulpician retirement community, were complete. He moved to Villa Olier in Catonsville, Maryland, in 2016.

As an Old Testament scholar, he was in a class of his own. His contributions to Old Testament studies will be a lasting tribute to his linguistic skills. He served one term as President of the Catholic Biblical Association and as editor of the Catholic Biblical Quarterly. As a teacher, he was known to be demanding. One of his former students commented: “You had to earn any grade that he assigned.”

November 11, 1929

March 27, 2023

Born November 11, 1929, and raised in Baltimore, MD, Fr. Reitz was one of two children of Louis and Eleanor (nee Hooper) Reitz. He is survived by Nancy D Reitz, wife of his late brother Donald, John G. Reitz, Sara Macek-Folio, Deborah A Reitz, Mary Elizabeth Appleby, and Mary Doyle Lindauer, and thirteen grand nieces and nephews.

Fr. Reitz began his education at St. Ambrose elementary school in Baltimore, MD. He attended high school at St. Charles Seminary, Catonsville, MD. He received his B.A. from St. Mary’s Seminary Liberal Arts College (Paca Street) in 1951. He earned the S.T.B. from St. Mary’s Seminary & University (Roland Park) in 1953 and the S.T.L. in 1955. He continued his graduate studies at The Catholic University of America and earned the M.S. in Library Science in 1959 and then the M.Ed. at Loyola College of Baltimore, MD in 1960.

He was ordained for the Archdiocese of Baltimore on May 28, 1955. He immediately joined the Society of St. Sulpice and was admitted as a member in 1957. As a Sulpician candidate (1955-1956), Fr. Reitz’s first assignment was to teach Latin and Greek at St. Thomas Seminary, Louisville, KY. He then returned to Baltimore to attend the Solitude program (1956-1957).  He returned to St. Thomas Seminary for another year to serve as librarian and to teach English, French, and public speaking. Fr. Reitz came back to Baltimore for three years (1958-1961) at St. Mary’s Seminary & University (Roland Park) to serve as librarian and to teach catechetics and homiletics. He then returned to St. Thomas Seminary again and remained there for the next ten years (1961-1971) serving as librarian and teaching English, public speaking, and music.

Fr. Reitz came back to Baltimore again in 1971 to serve on the faculty of St. Mary’s Seminary, Liberal Arts College, in Catonsville, MD from 1971-1979. There he held a variety of positions but mostly to serve as librarian, vice-rector (1974-1975), and, after the College closed, the director of the Education for Christian Ministries Program (1977-1979). He then assumed his longest assignment in the Province – Treasurer from 1979 to his retirement in 2000. Fr. Ron Witherup, who served as provincial at the end of Fr. Reitz’s tenure recalled: "I always found him cooperative and responsive to the requests of the Provincial Council. He also had a good sense of humor, which sometimes made us all laugh!"

December 14, 2022

January 11, 1937

Born January 11, 1937, and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, Fr. Bleichner was one of two children of Howard and Catherine (nee Hoban) Bleichner. He died from complications related to Parkinson’s disease on December 14, 2022. He is survived by his sister, Joan Stanley.

Fr. Bleichner was educated in Pittsburgh parochial schools. He earned a B.A. in 1958 from Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH. He then entered St. Mary’s Seminary & University where he earned the S.T.B. in 1965 and the S.T.L. in 1967. He was ordained for the Diocese of Pittsburgh, PA, on May 13, 1967. He immediately joined the Society of St. Sulpice and was admitted in 1970.

As a Sulpician candidate, Fr. Bleichner was first assigned to teach at St. Charles College, Baltimore, MD (1967-1968). In 1968 he completed the M.A. degree at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA. He then went west to teach at St. Patrick’s Seminary, Menlo Park, CA (1968-1969). After two years of teaching, he began doctoral studies in theology at the University of Tubingen and was awarded the D. Theol. in 1973. He returned to the U.S. to begin teaching at St. Mary’s Seminary & University from 1973 to 1977. He then went west to St. Patrick’s Seminary to teach there from 1977 to 1988 and served as its Rector from 1978 to 1988. Fr. Jerry Coleman, who succeeded him as Rector, said: “Perhaps his greatest achievement was to build a solid and professional faculty devoted to scholarship, pastoral sensitivities, and in many cases well-praised theological publications.”

After a sabbatical from 1988 to 1989, he served as the Executive Director of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Priestly Formation and Committee on Vocations from 1989 to 1992. During this time, he oversaw the development and drafting of the fourth edition of the Program of Priestly Formation. He was made Rector of Theological College, Washington, DC, and during his term (1992-2002) he oversaw a major renovation of the dining room and chapel.

Following a sabbatical from 2002 to 2003, he retired but did not stop teaching. He returned to the west coast to live in his own home in Santa Cruz, CA, and to teach part-time at St. Patrick’s Seminary for ten more years (2003-2013). He wrote two books: View from the Altar: Reflections on the Rapidly Changing Catholic Priesthood and In the Circle of Mysteries: The Coherence of Catholic Belief.

January 20, 2021

June 10, 1937

Born June 10, 1937 and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Fr. Bonadio was one of three boys of Frank and Carmela (nee Doccolo) Bonadio. He is survived by his brother, Frank. 

Fr. Bonadio was educated in Baltimore public schools and entered the seminary in 1955 at St. Charles College in Catonsville and completed his A.B. at St. Mary’s Seminary on Paca Street (1960).  He completed his theological studies at St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Roland Park where he earned the S.T.B. (1962) and S.T.L. (1964). He was ordained to the priesthood on May 16, 1964 for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. 

Inspired by his rector and mentor, Fr. James Laubaucher, Fr. Bonadio immediately joined the Society of St. Sulpice and was assigned to the faculty of St. Thomas Seminary, Louisville, KY (1964-1966).  He completed his M.R.Ed. degree through a series of five summers at Loyola University in Chicago (1966-1970). During this time, he also did his Solitude in Baltimore (1969) and was admitted to the Society of St. Sulpice in 1970.  While studying for his master’s degree in the summer, he was on the faculty of St. Mary’s Seminary and University from 1966-1973 where he taught liturgy and preaching and was Master of Ceremonies for the seminary. During those years at Roland Park, he prepared seminarians on how to say Mass. And, along with his Sulpician confrere Robert Waznak, he made innovative strides in the teaching and practice of preaching. They introduced the use of audio-visual aides and taping of homilies to review with the seminarians to improve their preaching.

In 1973, Fr. Bonadio went west to become the rector of St. Patrick’s Seminary. Seminaries at that time were going through a period in the post-conciliar church when there were different interpretations of how to implement the reforms of Vatican II.  Since Fr. Bonadio had been teaching in Baltimore during this time, he was free from the polarization that was occurring between the San Francisco seminary and the Archbishop. Fr. Bonadio’s conciliatory manner made him a good candidate as rector to begin, together with newly assigned confreres, the process of appropriate reform at the seminary.  Fr. Bonadio remained as rector until the end of the episcopacy of Archbishop McGucken. In 1978, he moved back east to Theological College to be the director of worship and homiletics (1978-1983).

In 1983, he returned to his alma mater, St. Mary’s in Roland Park, for one more year. In 1984, he was made director of St. Mary’s Spiritual Center on Paca Street and, in the same year, also completed the D.Min. degree at Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC. He remained director of the Spiritual Center until 1989 when he took a sabbatical (1989-1990). After his sabbatical, he immersed himself fulltime in various forms of pastoral ministry: he was assistant pastor at his home parish, St. Francis of Assisi Church, Baltimore, MD from 1990-2001 and then continued to serve there as their faithful weekend associate until the very end; he was chaplain to Notre Dame University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD (1990-1995); he was chaplain of the Oak Crest Retirement Community, Baltimore, MD (1995-2012); and he served as Superior of what was then named St. Charles Villa, now Villa Olier, the Sulpician Retirement community, Catonsville, MD from 2001 to 2007. He officially retired in 2012 and remained in residence at the Villa.

June 9, 2020

June 25, 1961

“The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you’ ” (Gen 12:1). With Fr. Vince Bui, it is as though he heard a call like that of Abram when he came to us in the wake of the Vietnam War. After graduating from high school in 1979, he attempted to escape the Communists in Vietnam but was captured during his thirteen attempts. His brother arranged a fourteenth attempt, which finally proved successful. He escaped Vietnam on Easter Sunday, 1981, a profound experience which gave the paschal mystery a deeper meaning of suffering, freedom, and new life for Fr. Bui ever after. After spending about eight months in refugee camps in Bangkok and elsewhere in Thailand, he arrived in the U.S. on February 4, 1982.

Vincent D. Bui was born on June 25, 1961 in Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, to Trinh Q. and Yen T. (Duong) Bui. He is the sixth of eight children, and he is survived by two brothers (one also a priest) and four sisters (one a Dominican Sister).

After getting settled at his father’s cousin’s house in Illinois in 1982, Fr. Bui spent two years studying English at Divine Word College in Iowa and then moved to Quincy, Illinois to join the Franciscans. He remained with them for only one year. For the next four years he lived in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois while working as a bilingual social worker with refugees through the East Central Illinois Refugee Mutual Assistance Center. In addition to working with refugees, he also held a variety of other positions in the local community and the local church. In 1989 he took a position with the Resettlement Program of Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Peoria (Illinois). Out of this work, he gave himself another chance at official ministry by applying for studies to the priesthood for the Diocese of Lansing (Michigan) in 1990. He began his theological studies and priestly formation at St Mary’s Seminary & University in Baltimore, MD in 1990 under the auspices of the Diocese of Lansing.

Fr. Bui was ordained for the Diocese of Lansing on June 10, 1995, while harboring an interest in perhaps joining the Sulpicians. He spent two years as an associate pastor at St. Robert Bellarmine Parish in Flushing, MI from 1995-1997. His trajectory with the Sulpicians began in an unusual way for his time in that his candidacy and years of Sulpician formation took place at Emmaus Spirituality Centre (Lusaka, Zambia), a mission seminary providing a propaedeutic program for young men interested in going to the major seminary. While in Africa he contracted malaria, a disease which he had also had in Vietnam, but which came back forcefully with negative ramifications for his health from then on. After his two years of candidacy in Zambia, he returned to the States and was admitted as a definitive member of the Society in 2000. He then spent a year at The Catholic University of America completing a licentiate degree in Canon Law (2001).

June 8, 2020

January 19, 1923

“As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age.” (Gen 15:15). These words which Yahweh spoke to Abram could well be spoken to Fr. Mattingly, who enjoyed the benefits of God’s grace for seventy-two years as a priest and ninety-seven years of life. Living got to be such a habit for him that it was hard to imagine him any other way. When he died, he was the oldest Sulpician in the US Province.

Born January 19, 1923 and raised in Cumberland, MD, Fr. Mattingly was one of four children of John and Teresa (nee Winters) Mattingly.

Fr. Mattingly was educated in Cumberland parochial schools under the direction of the School Sisters of Notre Dame and the De LaSalle Brothers. Then he entered the high school division of St. Charles College in 1936 where he met the Sulpicians. After completing high school and the first two years of college there, he went to Theological College, Washington, D.C. as a Basselin Scholar in philosophy at The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. He completed his B. A. in 1944 and his M.A. in 1945. He began his theological studies there in 1944 and completed his S.T.L. in 1948. He was ordained for the Archdiocese of Baltimore on May 22, 1948. He immediately joined the Sulpicians and was admitted to the Society in 1949.

Fr. Mattingly remained at The Catholic University of America to further his studies in theology with a concentration in Scripture. He then went to study at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome to receive the S.S.L. in 1952. After twenty-four years of non-stop education, he took his first teaching assignment as a Sulpician at St. Patrick’s Seminary, Menlo Park, CA, where he was professor of biblical studies from 1952-1968. During those years, biblical courses were taught on a rotating basis. Fr. Mattingly tried to introduce a sequential course program so that the Old Testament would be taught before the New. However, the rector, Fr. Mulligan, rejected this proposal on the basis of setting a bad precedent for biblical studies! After a decade and a half at St. Patrick’s, Fr. Mattingly was then assigned to be professor of biblical studies and dean of the theologate, St. Thomas Seminary, Kenmore, WA (1968-1972).

Despite the fact that Fr. Mattingly was appreciated as a good priest, a dear and gracious man, and an industrious worker, teaching was not his strength. As a formator, he was strict about keeping the rule. As with other matters of life, he would get lost in small details and gained the reputation of making even small infractions of the rule reason for holding a student back from being advanced towards priesthood. Accepting the reality that he was not effective in the classroom and had become outdated in his teaching methods and biblical scholarship after the Vatican Council, he brought his teaching career to a close, generously giving his biblical library to a younger Sulpician colleague just beginning biblical studies. Fr. Mattingly nevertheless continued to contribute to seminary education and priestly formation in other ways.

2020, May 21

Date of Birth: 1957, July 29

When a member of our Province passes on, he leaves a mark. For many, it is as a teacher in the classroom; for others, it is as a formation advisor or spiritual director; for a few, it is as an administrator. Fr. Kemper is among these few.  He may not have been a master teacher, but he was a master builder. With St. Paul, we can say, “According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder, I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds on it.” (1 Cor 3:10) Whenever someone visits the refurbished Sulpician retirement residence, Villa Olier, or tours the beautifully restored St. Mary’s historic chapel on Paca Street, Fr. Kemper will rise from the dead. A dedicated administrator with a warm heart, a good sense of humor, and a gift for building was God’s gift to us in Fr. Kemper.

John Charles Kemper was born in Kulpmont, PA on July 29, 1957 to John and Lois (nee McCabe) Kemper.  He is survived by his mother, Lois, and his three sisters: Georgeann Hyduk, Marsha Williams, and Marion Zakrzewski.

Fr. Kemper was raised and educated in central Pennsylvania, an area that he loved for its simple life and wholesome people.  He returned there frequently to enjoy his personal home (inherited from his aunt), to enjoy time with his family and to remain connected to his home diocese.  Fr. Kemper earned his bachelor’s degree at St. Pius X College Seminary in Erlanger, KY (1979) and then moved on for theological studies at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg, MD where he earned the M.Div. and M.A. in 1983. Ten years later, as a Sulpician, he earned the D.Min. from the Pacific School of Religion of the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA (1993).

Fr. Kemper’s journey to the Sulpicians did not follow the common narrative of his era. His seminary studies were done at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, a seminary founded by the Sulpicians but not Sulpician at the time Fr. Kemper studied there. However, Sulpician Fr. James Brennan, P.S.S. who was teaching canon law there at that time, and Fr. Thomas Byrd, a member of the faculty with a high regard for the Sulpicians, encouraged Fr. Kemper to consider the Sulpician ministry as his vocation within his vocation to the priesthood. After ordination to the priesthood for the Diocese of Harrisburg, PA on April 9, 1983, Fr. Kemper did not immediately seek admission to the Sulpicians. He was assigned as an associate pastor at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Camp Hill, PA (1983-1986). After three years in parish ministry, Fr. Brennan’s invitation came to fruition. Fr. Kemper was accepted as a Sulpician candidate. After completing his formation year at Vaugirard in Berkeley, CA (1986-1987), he was assigned to the faculty of St. Joseph’s College, Mountain View, CA (1987-1990). He became a member of the Society in 1989.

After completing his Doctor of Ministry degree in 1993, he embarked on his career in administration—a track from which he was never derailed. While holding the academic rank of associate professor of pastoral theology, he began his administrative duties at SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake, MI where, after a year as director of the internship program, he was named vice rector and director of formation for three years (1994-1997). From Michigan he went to Texas to become the director of the D.Min. and the pastoral internship programs for the Oblate School of Theology, San Antonio, TX. During this time, he was in residence at Assumption Seminary while sharing duties on the formation faculty (1997-2000).  While on the faculty at Oblate and Assumption, he also chaired the multicultural formation committee for the Province.

After a semester sabbatical in the fall of 2000, the Oblate School of Theology recognized his gifts for administration and assigned him multiple administrative duties through the years 2001-2006. While holding the rank of professor of pastoral theology, Fr. Kemper served as vice president for administrative affairs, the school liaison to the Board of Trustees, and the director of the pastoral year internship and continuing education programs. He also had responsibility for overseeing the Renewal Center on campus, the physical plant, the renovation of the library, human resources, and information technology.  In addition, he chaired the grant writing group (2002), the centennial planning committee (2003-2004), and was on the professional consultation committee for the Clinical Pastoral Education Department of the Baptist Health System (2001-2006).

After a year’s sabbatical (2006-2007), Fr. Kemper came back east to Baltimore to serve the Province in various administrative capacities.  He had already been elected to the Provincial Council in 2003 and served as a consultor for two terms until 2015. In 2007, he was made Provincial Secretary for one year while also serving as the Director of St. Mary’s Spiritual Center & Historic Site on Paca Street, where he resided until 2020. As Director of the Center and Historic Site, he oversaw his first major construction project for the Province – building the visitor’s center and restoring the historic chapel.  While holding the position of Director of the Spiritual Center and Historic Site, he also became the Vice President of Advancement for the Province in 2009.  He held these dual positions until 2015 when he was elected Provincial. As Provincial he oversaw the major renovation of Villa Olier, and the renovation of Providence Hall at Theological College, the new residence for priest-graduate students of CUA doing a “fifth” year at TC. In short, he was at home wearing a hard hat on a building site. He also continued to make a major contribution to the office of Advancement for Theological College, such as in spearheading the fundraising for the Endowed Selner Chair in Liturgy and Sacred Music.

During his time as Provincial, Fr. Kemper not only oversaw the final negotiations with the Little Sisters of the Poor to gain possession of the property for Villa Olier and conduct the major renovation of the Sulpician retirement community but also managed three significant developments in the seminary world for the Province.  The first was the Provincial Council’s decision to withdraw from St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, CA.  On May 13, 2017, Fr. Kemper presided over the “Adieu” event that celebrated our 118 years of service in a spirit of hope amidst sadness and loss. With a dignity befitting the gentlemen of St. Sulpice, Fr. Kemper said farewell to friends and supporters of the church of the west coast as he recommitted the Province to its mission and its future.

The second major event was responding to the invitation by the Archdiocese of San Antonio for the Sulpicians to assume the administration of Assumption Seminary in San Antonio, TX. On November 21, 2017, Fr. Kemper signed an agreement with Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller, MSpS, of San Antonio for the US Province to assume the administration and staffing of Assumption Seminary beginning July 1, 2018.  With this agreement, Fr. Kemper acted on behalf of the Sulpician Fathers in taking a historical step forward in serving the Church in one of its most rapidly growing areas.

The third major event was responding to the invitation of Cardinal Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation of the Evangelization of Peoples and Archbishop Murat, Apostolic Nuncio of Zambia and Malawi, and with the approval of the Sulpician Superior General, Very Rev. Ronald D. Witherup, PSS, for the US Province to undertake responsibility for St. Anthony’s Seminary, Kachebere, Malawi, beginning February 2018. While this event was not marked by formal celebration similar to the one in San Antonio, Fr. Kemper visited Malawi to assist in the transition of a new administration that now expands the Sulpician mission in Africa to include Malawi along with Zambia.  After sizing up the situation there, he returned later with two professors from the University of Nebraska, one to offer technical assistance on running the farm and the other to install internet service on the campus.

With such yeoman service in various administrative capacities, Fr. Kemper gave clear witness that the work of administration is indeed a work of ministry. He accepted without complaint the sacrifices of a life in administration. He engaged in all kinds of details in work that often went unnoticed by the rest of us and often without the support of words of appreciation or thanks.