Bishop Kaising, 'a truly gentle giant,' laid to rest in Cincinnati

Published: 2007-01-30

CINCINNATI (CNS) -- At Masses in Washington and Cincinnati, Auxiliary Bishop John J. Kaising of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, who died unexpectedly from heart failure Jan. 13, was recalled as a devoted bishop, priest, Army chaplain, uncle and brother. More than 80 priests and bishops were in attendance at a funeral Mass Jan. 23 at St. Dominic Church on Cincinnati's West Side, where Bishop Kaising had served as pastor before his appointment in 2000 as an auxiliary bishop for the military archdiocese. "All of us have lost a friend and a dear colleague," said Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk, principal celebrant. At an earlier Mass in the Crypt Church at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien of the military archdiocese noted that "the Lord, who in Jeremiah promised his people shepherds after his own heart, kept his promise in offering the church this pastor and shepherd of souls, John Kaising." Archbishop O'Brien called his auxiliary "a truly gentle giant" who loved his priesthood and country, and who "realized the extraordinary potential for evangelization as these two loves were joined in his chaplaincy."

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