by Jill Ragar Esfeld
jill.esfeld@theleaven.org
“You have a good man coming to your diocese,” said Deacon Bernard Nojadera of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). “Please take care of him, and he will go to bat for you.”
As executive director of the USCCB’s Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection, Deacon Nojadera is one of many people Archbishop Shawn McKnight has met along the road to creating a remarkable resume.
After receiving a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry with his eye on medical school, the archbishop went on to earn a doctorate in theology with his heart drawn to the priesthood.
The archbishop has made friends that lasted a lifetime and left behind colleagues grateful for his mentorship from his native diocese of Wichita to Columbus, Ohio, to Rome to Washington to Jefferson City, Missouri, and back home again.
The consensus among them all is easily summed up by Deacon Nojadera: “He is extremely competent, courageous, consistent, compassionate and a wonderful communicator.”
A gift of intellect
Father David Lies, vicar general of the Diocese of Wichita, studied at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, at the same time as Archbishop McKnight.
“It was clear that he was very intellectually gifted and did well in his coursework,” he recalled. “He was always very well-spoken and you could just tell that he definitely had an intellectual gift.”
Recently, when Archbishop McKnight received the Good Shepherd Award, a prestigious honor presented by the Josephinum, Father Lies was invited to attend.
“I just noted that he speaks very well, very cogently,” he said. “And he does so without notes.
“So, he has a real gift for expressing his thoughts.”
Father John Hotze, judicial vicar of the Wichita Diocese, also remembers Archbishop McKnight from his days studying for the priesthood.
Though they went to different seminaries, they met when they attended various diocesan events and later served as associate pastors in neighboring parishes.
“Most that know Bishop McKnight probably knew that he was called to be more than a parish priest,” he said. “He was sent to Rome for further studies in theology.
“As with other areas of his life, he jumped in 100 percent.”
While earning a doctorate in sacred theology from the Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm in Rome, Archbishop McKnight wrote his doctoral thesis under the guidance of Father James Puglisi, a Franciscan Friar of the Atonement and professor emeritus of ecumenism, sacraments and ecclesiology.
Father Puglisi remembers enjoying discussions with the archbishop around his dissertation topic, “Understanding the Diaconate,” and found his student to be “very meticulous, very punctual.”
“I never had to call him to attention that we’ve got to keep this thing going,” he said. “He worked assiduously, and I think he was an ideal student.”
Born to lead
In his dissertation, Archbishop McKnight shared his vision for pastoral leadership as being open and sensitive to the needs of people and addressing them with wisdom faithful to the teachings of Christ.
He has lived out that vision in his own ministry.
Father Lies succeeded the archbishop as pastor of St. Mark the Evangelist Church in Colwich.
“The people spoke very fondly of his leadership there and he cultivated some good friendships,” he said. “It was my first time as a pastor and he was very helpful orienting me to the parish community.
“And so, it was a good transition.”
Father Lies described Archbishop McKnight as always looking to the wider church and bigger picture of life in the faith.
“I don’t think it was a surprise to any of the priests that studied with him or worked with him that he has achieved what he has now as an archbishop,” said Father Lies.
From 2010-16 Archbishop McKnight served as director of the USCCB Secretariat for Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations. Father Ralph O’Donnell served as the associate director and eventually succeeded him.
“I always felt supported and encouraged,” said Father O’Donnell. “He is one of the most organized people I have ever worked with; he just has an impeccable sense of timing.
“I felt very blessed to learn from him. I felt very well-prepared because of his example.”
Deacon Nojadera got to know Archbishop McKnight well as they collaborated while at the USCCB, particularly on the release of the Guidelines for Receiving International Pastoral Ministers in the United States.
Along with their colleagues, they did regional training sessions around the country.
“We were looking at this transformation of a culture, a culture of safety and vigilance,” he said. “And the [archbishop] had a clear mission in mind and displayed qualities of excellent leadership with helping me.
“He was very approachable. The door was always open. He was easy to work with, but he was also not shy with communicating particular corrective criticisms or oppositions.
“So I have very fond memories of Archbishop McKnight.”
A collaborative spirit
The archbishop is the current episcopal moderator for the National Catholic Restorative Justice Initiative, and so Deacon Nojadera continues to work with him in efforts to help victim survivors of clergy sex abuse.
“He is very much in tune with the realities of survivor victims and what it means to be the presence of Christ for those who are suffering and healing,” he said. “He understands the reality that those are our sisters and brothers.
“And if they hurt, we hurt.”
The deacon has found Archbishop McKnight particularly helpful in the organization’s efforts to establish a National Healing Garden.
“The bishop is very good at being able to walk beside, walk along, sit and listen,” he said. “And then, if needed, contribute.
“There’s no ego involved.”
Throughout the archbishop’s extensive career, he’s been known to value collaboration and deeply respect the opinions of others.
Like Pope Francis, he wants to create a synodal culture at every level of the church.
“He’s really focusing on a greater communal responsibility within the church,” said Father Lies, “that pastors draw on the gifts of the people of the parish to share in the work of the evangelization mission.
“And I think he’ll be using that perspective to shepherd the people of the Archdiocese of Kansas City.”
Father O’Donnell agreed.
“He was always very interested in the perspective of others,” he said. “He always had a sense of overall goals and objectives and was very open to working with and collaborating with others to achieve their purpose.”
Holiness in Levis and a flannel shirt
Archbishop McKnight’s reputation for organization and hard work may lead some to perceive him as solemn and serious.
Past acquaintances claim that is far from the truth.
“While, yes, there is a rather serious side to [Archbishop] McKnight,” said Father Hotze, “he is never one to turn down a night out with family or friends. He would never turn down catching a hockey or baseball game, never one to turn down a trip to the lake or maybe an opportunity to go hunting.
“While his role as priest and bishop certainly limits his time, you often grasp what you can here and there.”
Father Lies agreed that the archbishop can seem reserved when you first meet him but “as you would get to know him, you would pick up on his sense of humor.”
Deacon Nojadera spent a great deal of time with the archbishop during his stint with the USCCB — working, traveling and going to the gym together.
“I know he’s a bishop,” he said. “And that permeated even though he was wearing a pair of Levis and a flannel shirt.
“But he was a regular guy, you could have a beer with him, shoot the breeze, tell jokes. But always there was this holiness about him, this sense of justice.
“‘Vultus Christi’ — ‘in persona of Christ’ — that was him.”
Father Stuart Smeltzer, pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Colwich, has known Archbishop McKnight since their days in the seminary.
“After ordination to the priesthood,” he said, “a few of us hung out together on our days off on occasion and it was always an enjoyable time.
“But what made it all special was discussing issues concerning the church and the world.
“I have found Archbishop McKnight to be especially blessed by the Lord God to have a brilliant mind along with a shepherd’s heart.”
Hello to Kansas
Blessed and grateful for the time he spent as a bishop in Missouri, Archbishop McKnight is equally happy to be returning to his roots.
“I hate to say goodbye, but I love to say hello,” he stated.
“I’m sure he’s happy to come home,” said Father Puglisi. “It’s good to see that he now has the pastoral care of the church that gave him his vocation.”
Father Holze expressed gratitude that the priests of the archdiocese will have the opportunity to work with Archbishop McKnight.
“It will be nice to have one of our own as the archbishop in our home state,” he said. “Native Kansans know there is no other place on earth like Kansas.”
And it’s no secret that the archbishop enjoys Kansas sports. Father Lies fondly remembers time spent skeet shooting with the archbishop and noted that his coat of arms includes a quail — a symbol of God’s providential blessing.
“So, it coincides with his interest in hunting and, of course, his knowledge of Scripture,” he said.
Priests from his native diocese won’t be the only Kansans happy to welcome the archbishop back to where his priesthood began.
Father Hotze recalled how well Archbishop McKnight fit in with his first parish, remarking that priests learn more about being a priest from their parishioners than they learned in the years spent in the seminary.
“You quickly learn that it is not your priesthood but that of Jesus Christ,” he said. “The good priest learns to trust in him and be an avenue for God’s love and mercy.
“I think Father McKnight not only learned it, but continues to live it as bishop.”
