by Jan Dixon
Special to The Leaven
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — “Anything is possible.”
It was a phrase that became the hallmark of Archbishop Shawn McKnight in his early days as a parish priest in the Wichita Diocese. Affectionately known at that time as Father Shawn or Father McKnight, his friends and former parishioners agreed that with him leading the way, they had to agree with him: Anything was possible.
Wichita’s Blessed Sacrament parishioner Kaye Brown remembers him as a humble, approachable and caring priest. She loved listening to his inspiring homilies that touched her heart. As chair of the finance council and pledge committee with Father McKnight, she respected his ability to balance the budget with the needs of the parish.
“He was financially responsible right out of the seminary,” Brown said. “He knew how to have the hard conversations needed to get everyone on board. Teaching parishioners about the joys of stewardship is always a rewarding and sometimes a challenging task. But Father McKnight was able to do so in an enthusiastic and consistent manner.”
Patrick Gallagher has known Archbishop McKnight for most of his life. Their families were friends and spent lots of time together. He knew Archbishop McKnight as “Shawn” long before he knew him as “Father.” The two started playing together as toddlers and then young boys, running around Wichita. Both families landed in the Pacific Northwest at the same time, thanks to their fathers’ jobs.
On one memorable occasion, the two boys and their dads took their gear and hiked for 90 minutes into a remote lake area of Seattle. While fishing, they heard what they thought was a sonic boom. After a second boom, they hiked back out to the safety of their car. The actual event was the eruption of Mount St. Helens.
“Shawn was always adventurous,” said Gallagher. “He always had needed information at his fingertips and you knew he was the smartest guy in the room.”
Ann Marie Gallagher knew Archbishop McKnight first when he was a young associate priest at Blessed Sacrament during her first year of teaching Spanish in the school. She remembers Father Shawn coming to her with the idea of doing the Guadalupe Mass all in Spanish. They did it and that tradition continues today in the parish.
“He knew what needed to be done and how to get it done,” she said.
Through their wedding Mass, the baptisms of their children, family funerals and family gatherings, their connection with Archbishop McKnight has stayed strong.
Chris Eck, Larry Kincheloe and Jane Neville have been longtime members of St. Mark Parish in Colwich, and described Father McKnight as humble, loyal and a true leader. One of the greatest needs at that parish during Father McKnight’s assignment there was to tear down a crumbling building and to build a new one. Getting everyone on board with the project required the skills to lead various discussions that would eventually bring about consensus. He was successful — and a New Life Center with classrooms was built and is still used today.
Transitioning from stay-at-home mom to parish secretary when she first met him, Eck found Father McKnight to be a patient, wise teacher and mentor.
“His daily life was an example of God’s love,” she said. “And you couldn’t say no to him.”
Kincheloe worked with the archbishop in a ministry to engaged couples and with facility maintenance. He said that as a pastor, Father McKnight could see what qualities each person had and would involve them in parish activities in which they could excel. Over their years as hunting and fishing buddies, they developed a lasting friendship.
“Out in nature together, we would talk about faith and you could be a regular guy with him. How he lived his life inspired me,” Kincheloe said.
Jane Neville was an Altar Society member during Archbishop McKnight’s time at St. Mark’s. She found him to be a great leader because he knew how to really listen and always sought input from parishioners.
“Father McKnight understood the needs of young families,” she said, “as well as the needs of longtime members. His homilies were informative but understandable, and I always felt like he was talking directly to me.”
When Archbishop McKnight became pastor of Church of the Magdalen in Wichita, he and Tom Simon worked together on the finance council and also took fly-fishing lessons together. Toni Simon worked with him on revising the bylaws for the Altar Society. Both expressed an appreciation for the way Father McKnight was instrumental in the parish getting a new altar, how he organized groups for collaboration and delivered homilies that left you saying, “Wow!”
“He helped Church of the Magdalen to be what it is today,” agreed the Simons. “We just didn’t get him long enough.”
Danielle Seiler felt the same way. Archbishop McKnight led her and husband Steve through their marriage prep and performed their wedding ceremony. Serving on the pastoral council, she found Father McKnight to be professional, understanding and inclusive.
“He was a good manager,” said Pat Hanrahan, finance council chair at the time. “Father [McKnight] was both CEO and pastor. His spirituality made you want to be better yourself.”
Renee Hanrahan, a career sociologist, assisted Father McKnight in conducting an in-depth assessment of parish needs.
“Being a problem-solver and a good listener enabled him to interact with all of the different age groups at Magdalen,” she said.
Patty Hayes, Church of the Magdalen parishioner for 20 years, told how Father McKnight always took time to visit with her grandson Josh after Masses, and how that required both time and patience.
Josh is 33 years old and has cerebral palsy. To communicate, he uses special technology connected to his wheelchair. Using knee pressure, Josh types what he wants to say by choosing letters from different quadrants on his device that is then put into voice.
“I admired his intelligence and brains,” he said in an interview.
The day that Father McKnight announced his appointment to be bishop in Jefferson City, Missouri, Josh typed out the following message: “Our Bishop McKnight could be the first American pope.”
Now tending to a much larger flock, Archbishop McKnight’s friends and former parishioners are grateful for knowing him and proud of who he has become.
Gallagher always thought his childhood friend Shawn would become a priest.
And Kincheloe always thought his hunting buddy would go far.
After all, anything’s possible.
