Historical directory of Hungarian, Hungarian-descended, and Hungarian-speaking clergy serving abroad

Kerner István Paszkál OFM

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Deceased

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Birth data:: Szentanna, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, currently Sântana, Romania — November 11, 1891
Death data:: Kansas City, MI, USA — July 28, 1977
Denomination:: Roman Catholic
Ecclesiastical status:: religious
Diocese / Order:: ferences (Ordo Fratrum Minorum) (St. John Baptist rendtartomány)

Ordination level:: priest
Entry into religious life:: 1917
Priestly ordination:: 1925
Other name used:: Paschal Stephen Kerner

Biographical data

His parents were Simon Kerner and Teréz Takács; he had six siblings. He arrived in the United States on August 19, 1902. He entered the Franciscan Order in 1917 and was ordained a priest in 1925. He spent nearly six decades of his monastic life and priestly ministry almost entirely as a parish pastor.

His first assignment was at the Hungarian National Parish in Cincinnati, St. Joseph of Nazareth Church. From there, he was transferred in 1928 to St. Boniface Parish in Lafayette, Indiana. Later, he served at St. Bonaventure Church in Cincinnati, and from 1933 to 1937, he served as pastor of St. Francis Seraph Parish.

In the following years, he served at several parishes until, in 1941, he was entrusted with the leadership of the Holy Family Parish in Oldenburg, Indiana. He served as pastor there for nine years, which was one of the longest and most significant periods of his life.

In 1950, he served as an assistant pastor at St. Anne Parish in Calumet, Michigan, and then moved to Kansas City, Missouri, to Our Lady of Sorrows Parish. From then on, he remained connected to this parish until the end of his life.

In Kansas City, he initially served as an assistant pastor and later retired. However, retirement did not mean giving up his pastoral work: until the very last months of his life, he regularly heard confessions and assisted the faithful. Until his death at the age of eighty-five, he remained faithful to his Franciscan vocation, which he had served for nearly sixty years.

Foreign service locations

From	To	Place	Church / institution	Position
1925	1928	Cincinnati, OH, USA	St. Joseph of Nazareth Church	assistant pastor, Hungarian pastor
1928 after	1933 before	Lafayette, IN, USA	St. Boniface Church	assistant pastor
1933	1937	Cincinnati, OH, USA	St. Francis Seraph Church	assistant pastor
1941	1950	Oldenburg, IN, USA	Holy Family Church	parish priest
1950 after		Calumet, MN, USA		administrator
1951 after		Kansas City, MI, USA	Our Lady of Sorrows Church	administrator, then retired

Life timeline

Birth

November 11, 1891

Szentanna, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, currently Sântana, Romania

Entry into religious life

1917

Service abroad

1925 – 1928

Cincinnati, OH, USA

St. Joseph of Nazareth Church

assistant pastor, Hungarian pastor

Priestly ordination

1925

Service abroad

1928 – 1933

Lafayette, IN, USA

St. Boniface Church

assistant pastor

Service abroad

1933 – 1937

Cincinnati, OH, USA

St. Francis Seraph Church

assistant pastor

Service abroad

1941 – 1950

Oldenburg, IN, USA

Holy Family Church

parish priest

Service abroad

1950

Calumet, MN, USA

administrator

Service abroad

1951

Kansas City, MI, USA

Our Lady of Sorrows Church

administrator, then retired

Death

July 28, 1977

Kansas City, MI, USA

Sources

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Citation for this entry

Kerner István Paszkál OFM: personal record. In: Historical directory of Hungarian, Hungarian-descended, and Hungarian-speaking clergy serving abroad. Available at: https://www.diaszporalelkipasztorok.hu/persons_v2/view.php?id=539 (accessed: 2026-07-07).

Last modified: June 8, 2026 11:36 | Opened: 43 times