John R. Gaydos

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His Excellency, The Most Reverend

John Raymond Gaydos
Bishop Emeritus of Jefferson City
ArchdioceseSt. Louis
DioceseJefferson City
AppointedJune 25, 1997
InstalledAugust 27, 1997
Term endedNovember 21, 2017
PredecessorMichael Francis McAuliffe
SuccessorShawn McKnight
Orders
OrdinationDecember 20, 1968
by Francis Frederick Reh
ConsecrationAugust 27, 1997
by Justin Francis Rigali, Michael Francis McAuliffe, and Oscar Hugh Lipscomb
Personal details
Born (1943-08-14) August 14, 1943 (age 78)
St. Louis, Missouri
MottoWITH A SHEPHERD'S CARE
Styles of
John Raymond Gaydos
Coat of arms of John Raymond Gaydos.svg
Reference style
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Religious styleBishop

John Raymond Gaydos (born August 14, 1943) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church.

Gaydos served as third Bishop of Jefferson City in Missouri.

Biography[]

Early years[]

John Gaydos was born in 1943 in St. Louis, Missouri, to George and Carrie (née Lee) Gaydos. He graduated from St. Agnes School in 1957, then entered St. Louis Preparatory Seminary in St. Louis. In 1961, Gaydos entered Cardinal Glennon College at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary.

In 1965, Gaydos entered the Pontifical North American College and the Pontifical Gregorian University. He obtained his Bachelor's degree in Dogmatic Theology in 1969.

Priesthood[]

On December 20, 1968, Gaydos was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Saint Louis by Bishop Francis Reh in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.[1][2]

Upon his return to the United States, he served as associate pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Manchester, Missouri, until 1974, and of St. Cecilia Parish in St. Louis until 1977. Gaydos was the secretary of John Cardinal Carberry and Vice-Chancellor of St. Louis from 1977 to 1981, and then secretary to Archbishop John May and full Chancellor until 1990. Gaydos became pastor of St. Gerard Majella Parish in Kirkwood, Missouri in 1990, and vicar general of St. Louis on February 14, 1996.

Bishop of Jefferson City[]

On June 25, 1997, Pope John Paul II appointed Gaydos as the third Bishop of Jefferson City. He was installed and consecrated on August 27, 1997, byArchbishop Justin Rigali, with Bishop Michael McAuliffe and Archbishop Oscar Lipscomb serving as co-consecrators, at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Jefferson City.[2]

Within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Gaydos served as Chairman of the Committee on Priestly Life and Ministry, and currently sits on the Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse, Administrative Committee, and Committee for Communications.

On March 19, 2001, Gaydos and the Diocese were sued by a former student at St. Thomas Aquinas Preparatory Seminary in Hannibal, Missouri. The plaintiff claimed that Bishop Anthony J. O'Connell, then rector at the seminary, had sexually exploited him.[3] In May 2002, facing declining enrollment and pending lawsuits, Gaydos closed the seminary.[4]

In March 2002, it was revealed that the Diocese had made a secret settlement of $125,000 in 1996 to a former seminarian who claimed by have been sexually abused by O'Connell in 1969 at the seminary. In 1988. O'Connell was named Bishop of the Diocese of Palm Beach; it is unknown if Gaydos had informed the Pope about the O'Connell settlement before the O'Connell appointment.[5] In 2002, O'Connell admitting abusing two boys at the seminary and resigned as Bishop of Palm Beach.

In 2003, Gaydos and the Diocese were named in a sexual abuse lawsuit by a Missouri man. The plaintiff alleged that Gary Pool and Kevin Clohessy, two priests in the Diocese, had sexually abused him for most of his childhood.[6]

On September 3, 2015, the Diocese settled for $40,000 a long-standing sexual abuse claim by David Clohessy, the brother of Keven Clohessy, against John Whiteley, a diocese priest. Clohessy had sued the diocese in 1991, claiming that Whitely, then a pastor at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Moberly, Missouri, had sexually abused him. Clohessy's case was dismissed in 1993 due to the statute of limitations. However, Clohessy renewed his claim in 2015 and the Diocese decided that it was credible.[7]

Retirement[]

On November 21, 2017, Gaydos sent a letter of resignation to Pope Francis, asking for early retirement due to health reasons,[8][2] later described as hypertension, arterial fibrillation, and heart valve replacement.[9]

References[]

  1. ^ Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 107th Congress Second Session: Vol.148 Part 12. Government Printing Office.
  2. ^ a b c "Bishop John Raymond Gaydos [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  3. ^ "Boca Raton News - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  4. ^ "Childproof 30: Breaking the Silence | Some True Things about St. Thomas Perpetrators; Jefferson City Predators, The Diocese of Jefferson City, May 07, 2012". www.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  5. ^ Wakin, Daniel J. (March 12, 2002). "Secrecy Over Abusive Priests Comes Back to Haunt Church". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  6. ^ "Sex Abuse Suit Filed In Missouri". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  7. ^ "Clohessy, JC Diocese settle priest abuse case". newstribune.com. September 4, 2015. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  8. ^ Nies, Jay (November 21, 2017). "Pope Names New Bishop for Jefferson City Diocese". Catholic Diocese of Jefferson City (from The Catholic Missourian). Retrieved November 23, 2017.
  9. ^ "Pope names new bishop for diocese". Jefferson City News Tribune. November 22, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2017.

External links[]

Episcopal succession[]

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Bishop of Jefferson City
1997–2017 		Succeeded by
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