Fr. David William Shannon, C.Ss.R. Dies
Redemptorist missionary, Oconomowoc native spent time in Brazil

Father David William Shannon, C.Ss.R. died late on the evening of June 7, 2007, at St. Clement's Health Care Center in Liguori, MO, where he was a resident for the past month. His funeral was celebrated on June 11, 2007, presided by Fr. Joseph Stenger, C.Ss.R., of Brooklyn Center, MN, and Fr. Martin Stillmock, local Redemptorist superior in Brooklyn Center preached the homily. Burial was in Liguori, MO. Prior to moving to Missouri, Fr. Shannon worked hard for many years to help local pastors in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, residing at St. Alphonsus Parish in Brooklyn Center, MN. He was 85 years old.

Fr. Shannon was born August 31, 1921, in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin where he attended St. Jerome grade school and Oconomowoc High School before he entered the Redemptorist Seminary on Lac La Belle in Oconomowoc. He was president of his senior class and was captain of his high school football, track, and basketball teams. He won a state championship in the broad jump and a state speed skating championship.

Fr. Shannon attended St. Joseph's Minor Seminary in Kirkwood, Missouri. He then entered the Redemptorist novitiate at Mt. St. Clements in DeSoto, Missouri. His second novitiate was at St. Gerard's in Pine City, Minnesota. Fr. David professed his first Redemptorist vows on August 2, 1943, and was ordained a priest on June 29, 1948. He said his first Mass on July 5, 1948 at St. Jerome Church in Oconomowoc, WI.

In 1950, Fr. Shannon was assigned to the Redemptorist missions in Brazil. He was a missionary priest from Belém to Coari, in the states of Pará and Amazonas, and preached joint missions in other Brazilian Redemptorist provinces. He was superior of the community in Manacapuru. He ministered to the poor and spiritually abandoned in Brazil until 1961, when he returned to the States. Of his time in the Amazon, Fr. David said; "I preached missions in Portuguese throughout Brazil. These gatherings were always held outside, as the churches were not large enough to accommodate those who came. From the beginning, I developed a love for God's people and preaching God's word to them."

Back in the U.S. following his Brazil ministry, Fr. Shannon brought his love of preaching to parish missions throughout the Midwest. The gospel message of the Most Holy Redeemer was preached in Fr. Shannon's own special way to the faithful at parishes all through the Midwestern USA. He was also a retreat preacher in Redemptorist retreat houses in North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Illinois.

All three Shannon children accepted God's call to the religious life. Fr. David's sister, Ellen, became a Sinsinawa Dominican with a vocation as a teacher and principal in the Catholic school system. His other sister, Kathryn, professed vows as a Maryknoll and spent years laboring with the poor in Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and in the Sudan. The siblings celebrated Fr. Shannon's golden jubilee on July 5, 1998 together at their home parish, St. Jerome Catholic Church, in Oconomowoc, WI.

Fr. David was known to his confreres as a man who dressed in colorful ways - a trademark of his. Throughout his life, he never tired of bringing the Good News of Jesus to God's people. He explained that being a Redemptorist is a life-long vocation. "Redemptorists," he said, "never retire from being Redemptorists." Fr. David William Shannon, C.Ss.R. touched the lives of thousands of people and set a Redemptorist standard for spreading plentiful redemption.

If you would like to make a donation in Fr. Shannon' memory, to help support the work of the Redemptorists, please make your check payable to Redemptorists/Denver Province and mail it to:

Redemptorists/Denver Province
Development Office
1230 South Parker Road
Denver, CO 80231

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The Redemptorists are a religious congregation of Catholic priests and brothers founded in southern Italy in 1732 by St. Alphonsus Liguori, C.Ss.R., a doctor of the Church and one of her greatest saints. Redemptorists around the world celebrate this year the 275th anniversary of their founding.

Born: August 31, 1921
Professed: August 2, 1943
Ordained: June 29, 1948