SALT LAKE CITY — Msgr. James T. Kenny, a native of Utah, was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Duane G. Hunt June 17, 1945. Father Thomas J. Kaiser, a native of Minnesota, was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Leo C. Byrne of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minn. June 4, 1949 for the Diocese of Salt Lake City. Together, they have given 118 years of priestly service to the Diocese of Salt Lake City, meeting the spiritual, educational, and often the basic material needs of the members of the Catholic communities in their care. Retired, both Msgr. Kenny and Fr. Kaiser have modest apartments at CHRISTUS St. Joseph Villa’s Independent Living Senior Apartments, and in their own ways, they continue to serve the community there. The Diocese of Salt Lake City will take up its annual collection for retired priests at Masses Sept. 9 and 10. Msgr. Kenny was born Nov. 28, 1919, in Ogden. Fr. Kaiser was born July 4, 1923, in Minneapolis. Both share fond memories of Bishop Hunt, who on one of his many "tin cup" journeys around the Eastern dioceses seeking financial and vocational assistance for the young missionary Diocese of Salt Lake City was given permission by Archbishop Byrne to recruit from the seminarians studying for the Archdiocese of Minneapolis-St. Paul. A young Thomas Kaiser responded, and shortly after his ordination, Fr. Kaiser arrived in Salt Lake City. "The Diocese of Salt Lake City was still young then," said Msgr. Kenny, who was named as monsignor in 1988. "Bishop Hunt spent much of his life searching for vocations for the diocese, and money to help us build churches… Bishop Hunt was a very down-to-earth man who could speak his mind without fear of recrimination. He was also very human, which was demonstrated by his weekly ‘Catholic Hour’ that was broadcast on KSL." Msgr. Kenny’s father worked with a lot of rugged railroad men, he said. "He knew a lot of railroad dads who made certain they were home every Sunday evening to listen with the family to Bishop Hunt." Like many priests who consider their first bishop their only bishop, Fr. Kaiser’s face lights up when Bishop Hunt’s name comes up. "He was a gentleman and a man of great faith," he said. Msgr. Kenny spent much of his priestly life in teaching, chaplaincy, and parish ministry. Fr. Kaiser was a parish priest and pastor and a chaplain, serving young people at Decker Lake and other detention facilities, a ministry he began when serving as pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe parish from 1959-1969. Both men say they feel deeply that strong, Catholic family relationships are vital, and those relationships seem to have suffered over the last two generations. As a result, the Catholic Church has seen many young people raised as Catholics walk away from the church, and in Fr. Kaiser’s case he’s met many young people who have made life-altering, bad decisions. "It’s as if these young people don’t know anything," he said. "They get lost, and once they’re lost, we can’t get them back." Fr. Kaiser still goes out to Decker Lake and the Salt Lake/Wasatch Detention Centers on occasion. "I loved tending to the kids of the parishes in which I served," he said. "I’m still doing it." As diocesan superintendent of schools and as principal of Judge Memorial Catholic High School, Msgr. Kenny was always on the lookout for good teachers. "I was serving at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish with Father (then Msgr.) Patrick a Maguire, and teaching at Judge Memorial," he said. "I taught everything except math and science. The only reason I didn’t teach math and science was that Father Jerry (Jerald H.) Merrill, who had been a research chemist for Shell Oil, was an excellent teacher, and I had a deal with the bishop. I got all the newly ordained priests for about two years, and had them teaching at Judge Memorial. It was good for the new priests, and it was good for the school, because we always had priests in the hallways and classrooms. I always told them one important thing: Never try to bluff a teenager." When Msgr. Kenny left Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in 1989, to become a resident priest at the Cathedral of the Madeleine, a full-time teacher at Judge Memorial, and a chaplain at St. Joseph Villa, it was Father Kaiser who stepped in at Our Lady of Lourdes, assisting Pastor Father James Semple. Msgr. Kenny had been present when, in 1946 and 1947, the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word arrived in Utah at Bishop Hunt’s invitation to serve at St. Ann’s Orphanage and establish a home for the aged. He had been named the Villa’s first chaplain. Msgr. Kenny recalled that Bishop Hunt lived in a single room at Holy Cross Hospital. Bishop Joseph Lennox Federal was consecrated auxiliary bishop of Salt Lake City April 11, 1951, and was named coadjutor bishop with the right of succession in 1958. Fr. Kaiser recalls Bishop Federal saying on one occasion: "I don’t think I’ll ever be bishop. Bishop Hunt will never die." But Bishop Hunt died in 1960, and Bishop Federal succeeded him, leading the diocese for 20 years before retiring in 1980. Retirement finds both Msgr. Kenny and Fr. Kaiser reflecting on the joys and frustrations of their years of service. "I’ve always been happy enough and active enough, and of course, I’ve never made a mistake," Msgr. Kenny said. "Oh, I’ve made plenty of those," Fr. Kaiser admitted. They share stories of brother priests they’ve both admired, the late Father Thomas J. Meersman; for example, whom they say was deeply spiritual. After all the service they’ve given, all the jobs they’ve done, and all the years they’ve seen, Fr. Kaiser said he only wants to be remembered as "a good priest." Msgr. Kenny wants to be recalled in the words of Frank Sinatra: "I did it my way." As our interview ended, Msgr. Kenny walked out on the patio to visit with Villa residents before the facility’s summer party. Fr. Kaiser started off in the direction of his room down the hall. Another resident stopped him and the two chatted for a few minutes. They’re still priests, and they’re still serving whoever happens to need them
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