By Mary Claire Gart
ASSISTANT EDITOR

The path that led Gerald Frederick Kicanas to St. Augustine’s Cathedral in Tucson, Ariz., began Aug. 18, 1941 on the North Side of Chicago. The son of Fred and Eva Kicanas, he and his two sisters grew up in Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish.

Young Jerry often served as an altar boy and, by the time he was in eighth grade, asked to enroll at Quigley Preparatory Seminary. From then on, said family members, his interest in the priesthood never wavered. He continued his studies at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, earning a master’s degree in religion and a licentiate in theology, and was ordained by Cardinal John P. Cody on April 27, 1967.

He also earned a master’s degree in education and a doctorate in educational psychology from Loyola University in Chicago.

His first assignment was to St. Joseph Parish in Libertyville, where he was associate pastor for two years. Father Kicanas then joined the faculty of Quigley Preparatory Seminary South as religion teacher and guidance counselor. In addition to teaching, he served as associate pastor at St. Clotilde Parish (1969-73) and as chaplain at Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (1973-77).

He also has taught clinical psychology at Loyola University, has been a caseworker for Catholic Charities, and has been chaplain of Chicago Parental School.

In 1976, he became vice rector of Quigley South and in 1978 was named rector. One of his special moments as rector came in October 1979 when Quigley South hosted Pope John Paul II during his Chicago visit.

In 1984, he was appointed rector of Mundelein Seminary at the University of St. Mary of the Lake. When he came to Mundelein, there were 100 seminarians preparing to serve in 20 dioceses. By 1995, there were 167 seminarians representing 47 dioceses from all over the world and the seminary had set up its own vocations office.

According to Father Kicanas in a 1995 interview, the mix of nationalities provided the seminarians with “a wonderful sense of church—they leave with a better taste of the Catholic Church they’re going to be serving.”

At the same time, he acknowledged his own love of his job. “There’s an excitement about being with people who are preparing for a life of service,” he said. “Priests who come here are encouraged by what they see in the seminarians. It is very life-giving.”

Nevertheless, the rector took on a new role and new responsibilities when he was named an auxiliary bishop of Chicago in January 1995, along with Bishops Edwin M. Conway and George V. Murry, SJ. The three were ordained to the episcopacy by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin on March 20, 1995.

Bishop Kicanas became episcopal vicar of Vicariate I, which encompasses Lake County and the northwestern suburbs in Cook County. The appointment took Bishop Kicanas back to St. Joseph Parish, where the vicariate office is located.

Although plunged into administrative and pastoral duties of the vicariate, the bishop never forgot vocations work and the need to recruit future priests. One of his most noticeable efforts was a media campaign that began with downtown billboards proclaiming: “If you are waiting for a sign from God, this is it! Consider the priesthood.”

But, as he wrote in The Catholic New World two years ago, “Focusing on vocations to priesthood in no way suggests that other vocations are of secondary importance.” He also serves as chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on the Diaconate, a role that will stand him in good stead in Tucson where there are more deacons than diocesan preists.

Bishop Kicanas also serves as a member of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Doctrine, their Subcommittee for Ecclesial Lay Ministry and their National Advisory Council. He also has served on the bishops’ laity, liturgy and priestly formation committees.

He is episcopal liaison to the National Association for Lay Ministry and the National Association of Diocesan Directors of Campus Ministry.



Catholic News Service contributed to this story.