Father David Kessinger, the senior professed monk of our community, died peacefully in the Lord in the late afternoon of Sunday, February 7, strengthened by the sacraments. Robert Kessinger was born on August 5, 1932 in Clifton Forge, VA, the son of Samuel K and Ethel Shughrue Kessinger. He first came to Belmont Abbey in the fall semester 1949 as a student in the junior college. He subsequently earned a B.S. in History and Economics at Mount St. Mary’s College, Emmitsburg, MD, and later pursued graduate studies in Library Science at the Catholic University of America. Upon entering Belmont Abbey he was given the name David and sent for his novitiate formation to Saint Bernard Abbey, where he made his first profession of vows on July 2, 1954. Following seminary studies at Belmont Abbey, he was ordained a priest on May 31, 1958. Father David initially taught Geometry in the prep school at Belmont, and served as librarian for the college for thirteen years. He served for one year in each of the Abbey’s dependencies in Richmond and Savannah.
Father David was a gentle soul and the kindest of men. He could never understand why anyone would be unkind, and he suffered much from life’s inevitable hardships. He himself never grew weary of offering assistance to others, and always willingly accepted any and all tasks he was asked to undertake. His sensitive nature, however, made him especially susceptible to disappointment and discouragement.
From his mother, a piano teacher, Father David received a love for classical music. He had an extensive knowledge of composers and their works and loved to listen to music, especially in live performances. Father David had a quick wit, made all the more effective by his own quiet and self-effacing personality. He could produce an endless supply of jokes with puns as a specialty. His training as a librarian made Father David an indefatigable researcher; an avocation which reached new heights with the advent of the photocopy machine and the internet. He shared a continual stream of articles, jokes, pictures and other materials with his confreres and friends, archiving copies of everything in his room over the years.
He was a devoted and faithful priest with a special compassion for the sick and homebound, and a kindness which made him a much sought-after Confessor. He loved his duties as chaplain to the Sisters of Mercy, who readily returned his affection. He was devoted to his confreres, Abbot Walter and Father Kieran, with whom he made several pilgrimages to the Blessed Mother’s Shrine at Fatima.
Father David was preceded in death by his parents, and by his sisters, Miss Phyllis Kessinger and Sister Dolores Kessinger, C.S.C. He is survived by the monks of Belmont Abbey. His body was received at Vespers on Tuesday, February 9, and the funeral was celebrated on February 10, the Feast of St. Scholastica. During his life, Father David was required more than most men to share by patience in the sufferings of Christ. We trust that he now shares all the more abundantly in his glory. In your kindness, please remember our gentle confrere, Father David, with the customary suffrages for the deceased monks of our Congregation.
The Monks of Belmont Abbey
