Msgr. Ellsworth Kneal

The news was slow to travel, but by mid-day the news was out that three priests and two deacons serving in the Archdiocese had died that day.  The three priests (Frs. Michael Kennedy, Elgar Bockenfeld,OFM and Msgr. Ellsworth Kneal) were retired after many years of priestly ministry in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. It is difficult to realize that their commitment to service is no longer part of our Archdiocese.  It is difficult to lose a fellow priest even if he was retired from active priestly ministry.

For many years I worked with one of those who died: Msgr. Ellsworth Kneal who was a native of St. Louis, Missouri. His desire to be a priest led him to ask if he could join the priests of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.  Not only was he welcomed here, but he was also asked to pursue Doctoral Studies in Church Law. While pursuing that Doctoral Degree he taught Church Law at the St. Paul Seminary.  As a seminarian I studied that Canon Law under his guidance.

In 1965 Archbishop Binz sent Msgr. Kneal to Rome to complete his study of Canon Law. At the same time the Archbishop sent me to study in Rome as well.  It was in that year that I learned to appreciate Msgr. Kneal.  He was a man of great curiosity.  He was always asking questions and trying to understand new things. His curiosity prompted him to try to understand every thing from Canon Law all the way to some complex mechanical device that needed fixing.  His curiosity touched his love for people and his curiosity of knowing everything about you in the amount of time you had to talk to him.  His curiosity in dealing with people was not just idle curiosity, but rather it was his way of providing a pastoral touch for anyone who passed his way.  He had no pretenses about himself.  He ultimately became responsible for the Church’s Tribunal in the Archdiocese. He held a deep conviction of the importance of treating people in the most pastoral way possible, seeking only the truth.

Msgr. Kneal never spoke critically of others, nor did he tolerate such talk.  As a priest he simply wanted to minister to whatever need they had.  In Msgr. Kneal our Archdiocese had someone who was a man of integrity, sense of humor and love for the Church.

Msgr. Kneal was studying in Rome during the last session of Vatican Council II.  I was there as well.  On the last day of the Council, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Paul VI and all the bishops of the world con-celebrated Mass on the steps outside the Basilica of St. Peter.  Together Msgr. Kneal and I tried to find a place near the altar.  Thanks to his great curiosity, Msgr. Kneal led me to a place right behind the Cisteen Choir where we celebrated the close of Vatican Council II.

I pray for Msgr. Kneal and I thank God.