by Jeanne Gorman
Special to The Leaven
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — That old adage “you can never go home again” certainly does not apply to Father Jim Shaughnessy, who was raised on the family farm north of Axtell.
After serving as a priest of the archdiocese for 50 years, he retired at age 76 to his hometown.
Father Shaughnessy now spends some of his time helping his brother farm the land they grew up on.
Like many of his fellow retired priests, he continues to stay active in ministry, serving the people of northeast Kansas wherever he’s needed.
By the book
“You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek,” reads Hebrews 5:6 and Psalm 110:4.
Priests are called to their vocation permanently, but they are generally eligible to retire when they turn 70.
Once he retires, a priest can continue his priestly ministry, including celebrating Mass, officiating weddings and funerals and offering the sacrament of confession.
He can also respond to requests for priestly assistance within the archdiocese but is free to decline the requests. As is true with active priests, retired priests may serve outside the archdiocese only with permission from the bishop of the diocese where they wish to serve.
If Father Shaughnessy, Father Mike Stubbs and Father Bill Porter are any example, their priestly calling still plays a significant role in their lives.
Father Mike Stubbs
Father Stubbs grew up in Bonner Springs and attended the University of Kansas before his seminary studies. He retired about six years ago after serving most recently as pastor of Church of the Holy Cross in Overland Park, preceded by a stint at St. Francis de Sales Parish in Lansing.
In addition to being a pastor, Father Stubbs wrote a Scripture column for The Leaven for 20 years.
So, perhaps it’s not surprising that he continues to actively pursue his love of writing in Lawrence, where he moved upon retirement.
He joined a group of Lawrence authors and has had one short story published in a literary journal.
He’s currently working on a series of short stories featuring a mysterious Catholic nun named Sister Margaret of the Sisters of Infinite Compassion and a Baptist detective. Each of the seven stories he’s written so far has some Catholic connection. Father Stubbs hopes to turn the stories into a novel that is “highly fictionalized,” he emphasized.
After retirement, he spent a total of six weeks in Lourdes, France, hearing confessions. Because he’s planning a pilgrimage to Egypt, he took a course in Arabic at the Lawrence Public Library. He was able to practice some of the language when he was approached at dinner by a visitor during the World Cup, who thanked him for being so welcoming to the Algerians who stayed in Lawrence during the tournament.
Father Stubbs definitely “doesn’t vegetate at home,” as he puts it. In addition to his other interests, he helps out at parishes in Lawrence, Eudora, and nearby areas and remains involved in Marriage Encounter.
Father Bill Porter
Father Porter served the archdiocese for 43 years before he retired at age 70 on New Year’s Day 2024.
After celebrating his last Mass as pastor of St. Agnes Parish in Roeland Park on New Year’s Eve, he flew to Florida as the guest of good friends. It’s a trip he’s been able to enjoy several times since then. He especially enjoys fishing from a boat on the ocean, which he says “is a whole different kind of fishing.”
Born in Iola in the Diocese of Wichita, Father Porter attended Washburn University in Topeka, where he met Father Vince Krische, which made him begin thinking about becoming a priest for the archdiocese.
His last assignment before St. Agnes was at St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Leawood, and that church was built during his time as pastor.
In retirement, he often fills in at parishes in Johnson County and other places upon request. And the requests are frequent — sometimes two to three calls or emails a day. He’s also spent substantial time at Holy Family Parish in Eudora.
“I know how hard it is to try to find someone to fill in so you can take your vacation or to try to get a few days off sometimes,” said Father Porter. “ So, I’m happy as long as I’ve got the health to do it, and I’m glad to do it for [the priest who’s calling].”
One of the nicest things about filling in, he said, is getting to see people he’s known from previous parishes and ministries, including campus ministry at Emporia State University and KU.
“It’s always an extra treat when you see a familiar face that you haven’t seen in a long time,” he said.
Father Porter tries to exercise every day and does his own shopping, cooking and cleaning. He also enjoys seeing more of his family, still largely in Iola.
He says he has a “pretty good life” — but then admits he always has.
“God has been very good to me,” said Father Porter.
Father Jim Shaughnessy
Father Shaughnessy was pastor when Corpus Christi Church in Lawrence was built but spent the last decades of his active ministry at parishes in the Nemaha-Marshall Deanery — most recently as pastor at St. Michael in Axtell and Holy Family in Summerfield.
He continues to celebrate Masses, hear confessions and officiate a few weddings and a lot of funerals. He serves most of the parishes in the Nemaha-Marshall Deanery and sometimes in Pottawatomie County and co-teaches a first Communion class.
As he approaches 80, Father Shaughnessy enjoys staying active but doesn’t miss “the pastor part,” he said. “I don’t miss the paperwork and keeping the records.”
He’s surrounded by his brother and sister, two nieces and nephews and their children who live in the area. And he enjoys tinkering on things like machinery.
“But [I] can’t do too much on the new modern stuff with all the computers on it,” he chuckled. “That’s way beyond me. So, we usually are messing with the old stuff, like fences.”
Father Shaughnessy celebrates Mass every Monday so that the priests of the deanery can have a day off. On a recent Monday, 20 people from at least five different parishes were in attendance. He knew them all.
It’s clear by the way people greet the retired priests after Mass that their efforts do not go unnoticed — they truly are priests forever.
