Father Kevin Robert Seasoltz, OSB

Monk of Saint John's Abbey
Collegeville, Minnesota

Born: 29 December 1930

Professed: 13 November 1960

Ordained: 26 May 1956

Died: 27 April 2013

Robert Joseph Seasoltz was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on December 29, 1930, to Walter and Alice (Hackett) Seasoltz. His mother was a teacher, and his father was employed as a mechanical engineer.

Robert attended Sacred Heart parochial school (1936-1944) and Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic High School (1944-1948), both in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Continuing his education, he matriculated at St. Mary's College, Baltimore, Maryland, and earned a B.A. in 1952. He completed his Licentiate in Sacred Theology in 1956 at The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., with a concentration in liturgical studies. That same year, he was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, at Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

After ordination, his interest in liturgical studies next took him to Rome, Italy, where he was awarded the Licentiate in Canon Law with specialization in liturgical law in 1958 at the Lateran University.

On his return to his home diocese, Father Kevin was first assigned as associate pastor at St. Joseph parish, Bellwood, Pennsylvania, from 1958 to 1959. During the same time he taught religion at Altoona Catholic High School in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He also served on the marriage tribunal for the Diocese of Altoona in 1959.

Sensing an attraction to the monastic life he had come into contact with during his studies in Washington, D.C., Father Robert entered the novitiate of St. Anselm's Abbey there. He made his first profession at St. Anselm's in November of 1960, taking the monastic name of Kevin. In 1963 Father Kevin made his final profession.

His formal education as a canon lawyer came to a close in 1962, when he earned a Doctorate in Canon Law (liturgical law) at The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. However, in later years, he also did postdoctoral studies in liturgy at the University of Notre Dame, in Indiana.

In 1962, Father Kevin joined the faculty of the School of Religious Studies at The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. In 1969 he was awarded tenure at this institution where he continued to teach until 1987. During this same era, beginning in the spring and summer of 1974, Father Kevin was a Fellow at the Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research, Collegeville, adjacent to the campus of Saint John's University. Two years later he was invited to teach in the Saint John's Summer School of Theology as adjunct. He did this until 1988. From his many years of summer teaching at Saint John's, Father Kevin became very well acquainted with our community, and in 1987 he transferred his monastic stability to Saint John's Abbey. He continued teaching in the Saint John's School of Theology, and in 1988 he joined the faculty as a tenured professor. He taught until 2008, when he retired and was named professor emeritus of theology. He also had an extended teaching career as a visiting professor at such schools as LaSalle University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California; and Mount Angel Seminary, Mount Angel, Oregon.

Father Kevin occupied other important positions at Saint John's. In 1988 he was appointed rector of Saint John's Seminary in Collegeville, overseeing the education and formation of priesthood candidates until 1992. Of international ecclesiastical significance was his work as editor of Worship magazine, a premier publication of Saint John's Abbey. He fulfilled this office with his usual quiet competence until serious illness befell him in 2013. He felt a keen sense of engagement with Worship, and he worked closely with Brother Frank Kacmarcik (1920-2004), a claustral oblate of Saint John's Abbey, who designed the covers for Worship for many years.

In addition to his editorial contributions to Worship, Father Kevin's academic writings included many erudite articles as well as the authoring and editing of several books. Liturgy, aesthetics, church architecture, ministry, the sacraments (especially the Eucharist), spirituality, religious life, and Canon Law were all areas of his research and writing, often joined with a pastoral sense of deep insight and wisdom. A sampling of some of his most recent book titles clearly reveals the breadth of his theological scholarship: A Sense of the Sacred: Theological Foundations of Christian Architecture and Art (Continuum, 2005); God's Gift Giving: In Christ and through the Spirit (Continuum, 2007); A Virtuous Church: Catholic Theology, Ethics, and Liturgy for the 21st Century (Orbis, 2012).

Father Kevin was eagerly sought out as a retreat director and speaker on divine topics for clergy and religious. He was popular among religious communities of sisters both in the United States and abroad, especially in the British Isles. His presentations were always marked by impeccable preparation, careful reasoning, and serious delivery. As a homilist he spoke with seriousness and quiet drama, bringing the word of God into contact with literature, story-telling and the stuff of daily human experience.

His awards included the Michael Mathis Award in 2001 from the Notre Dame Center for Pastoral Liturgy, the Baraka Award in 2005 from the North American Academy of Liturgy, and the Frederick R. McManus Award in 2009 from the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions.

Father Kevin died on April 27, in the retirement center at Saint John's Abbey. He is survived by Dr. John Seasoltz, (brother), Sue Seasoltz, (niece) and Rebecca Bakanowski, (niece) and the community at Saint John's Abbey. The monks, family, and friends will celebrate the Eucharist Mass of Christian Burial for Father Kevin on May 2, 3:30 p.m., in Saint John's Abbey Church.

We ask each community member to offer two Masses according to the manner of his participation in the priesthood of Christ. We commend our brother Kevin to your prayers.

Abbot John Klassen, OSB
and the monks of Saint John's Abbey