Catholic priest in Kansas dies from gunshot wound at church residence, causing shock among parishioners

A Catholic priest was tragically killed in Kansas after being shot at his church’s living quarters, leaving his community in disbelief, according to a colleague who spoke to Fox News Digital.

The suspect, Gary Hermesch, 66, from Tulsa, Oklahoma, was apprehended on Thursday after the incident at the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Seneca, as reported by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. Hermesch was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder.

“The entire community is still reeling from the tragedy. This is a tight-knit rural area, and Father Arul was a highly respected pastor in Seneca, Kansas, serving there for more than 13 years,” shared Father Brian Schieber, a Vicar General for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, with Fox News Digital.

“A good shepherd knows his people by name, and Father Arul knew everybody. He, over these years, baptized so many people, did so many weddings, funerals, he was such a good confessor and present to people who were sick, had such pastoral wisdom, he is really beloved by everybody,” Schieber added.

A mass was held at Carasala’s church Thursday night in the wake of the shooting.

Gary Hermesch was taken into custody in connection to the shooting. (Nemaha County Sheriff’s Office)

“Father Arul was a friend to me and a great priest,” Archbishop Joseph Naumann wrote on Facebook Friday after leading the mass. “I shared in my homily that being a priest today requires heroic love. That quality was evident in Father Arul, who left India to come to the heartland of America and serve the people of the Catholic Church in northeast Kansas.” 

“While we continue to mourn the loss of Father Arul, I pray that we will not lose hope. God is with us in our adversity,” Naumann added. “He can bring good out of evil. He can bring life out of death. Let us draw closer to Jesus during this time of sorrow and ask him to console our hearts.” 

Archbishop Joseph Naumann leads a mass at the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church on Thursday night. (Jay Soldner/The Leaven)

Schieber told Fox News Digital that “we are a small archdiocese, so we have about 150 priests and we all know each other really well. 

“We’re like brothers to each other. And Father Arul was really helpful to me personally and will be dearly missed,” he said.

The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas said “Father Arul was a faithful priest who devoutly served our archdiocese for more than two decades.

Carasala was found Thursday afternoon suffering from gunshot wounds outside the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church rectory, officials said. (Jay Soldner/The Leaven)

“Ordained in March 1994 in his home Diocese of Cuddapah, India, he ministered at Sts. Peter and Paul… and also served as dean of the Nemaha-Marshall deanery. His deep faith, pastoral care, and generous spirit touched the lives of so many,” it added. “Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.”