Columbia native ordained a priest of K.C.-St. Joseph diocese
Columbia native Father Kendall A. Ketterlin, former director of the Catholic Newman Center in Rolla, was recently ordained a priest of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.
Bishop James V. Johnston Jr. of Kansas City-St. Joseph ordained him and two other men on May 25 in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Kansas City.
Fr. Ketterlin offered a Mass of Thanksgiving in Annunciation Church in California on June 9.
He told The Catholic Key, newspaper of the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese, that he is the first in his family to consider religious life and the Priesthood.
His father, the late William Ketterlin, came from a Catholic background, but his mother, Kay, was raised Baptist and converted to Catholic Christianity as a teen.
“I actually come from a long line of Baptist preachers,” said Fr. Ketterlin. “Her dad, her grandfather, her great-grandfather — there are a few generations of small-town Baptist preachers.
After initially sensing a call to Priesthood while he was in high school, Fr. Ketterlin started college studies with the idea of the Priesthood but then decided to go into campus ministry.
He went on to earn a master’s degree in pastoral ministry from St. John’s School of Theology and Seminary in Collegeville, Minnesota.
The idea of a religious vocation later resurfaced while he was serving as director of campus ministry for the University of Missouri-Rolla (now Missouri S&T).
“Once I got into the job as a lay minister in the Church, there was still this absence,” he explained.
He initially spent a year discerning with the Missionaries of the Precious Blood-Kansas City Province, before seeking a more contemplative form of religious life with the Carmelites in Chicago.
He spent three years with the Carmelites, making simple vows and studying for the Priesthood at The Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and then Early and Eastern Christian Spirituality at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
“My time with the Carmelites has definitely given me a spiritual foundation that I think every priest needs — some sort of spiritual foundation, not necessarily Carmelite — but just pulling from the saints who have come before us, to really have that rock and foundation with God,” he said.
As Fr. Ketterlin studied and discerned his vocation, the diocesan Priesthood kept calling him more and more. After a year of living in the world, he was accepted as a seminarian for the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph and continued seminary studies at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Cincinnati.
Through all of this, he has completed almost 200 hours of graduate theology.
“Which means I should be a lot smarter than I am,” he said with a laugh, “but it’s just given me a lot more to pull from.”
He noted that studying at four different seminaries is unusual.
“But it’s also been a very good gift because each seminary has a different approach in theology, with living out the faith and the teachings of the Church,” said Fr. Ketterlin.
He said the scope of his studies and experience allowed him to have conversations about confusing or controversial aspects of faith.
“I’ve found its really, really helped me in relating to people, and understanding what our Church has been through a little bit better, where we may be going, what different kinds of ministries we may be needing,” he said. “Every little speed bump and obstacle has been part of God’s plan, and has been part of preparing me for ordination.”
When he’s not studying or praying, Fr. Ketterlin enjoys sports.
“I love playing baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, running, a lot of writing — I enjoy that also,” he said.
He is author of a book, Remembering God: The Story of a Volunteer in Hurricane Katrina, about the time he spent helping people affected by the deadly 2005 hurricane that devastated parts of New Orleans and a large area of the Gulf Coast in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
The Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese includes 27 counties in western Missouri and has about 124,000 Catholics.
Bishop Johnston has appointed Fr. Ketterlin to serve as parochial vicar of Holy Cross and Our Lady of Peace parishes in Kansas City, with residence at St. Anthony parish, effective Aug. 1.
From June 17 to July 26, he will take part in a Spanish language immersion experience in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Ms. Marley is a reporter for The Catholic Key (www.catholickey.org), newspaper of the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese, which gave permission for a version of this article to be published here.
