News

Seminary Visit to St. Louis a Success!

Though small in numbers (in terms of Serrans attending) the annual seminary visit, this year to Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, MO, was again a success by every other measure. See inside for details!

Submitted by John Weber
 

On October 15-16, 2025 the KCK and JOCO Serra Clubs visited ArchKCK seminarians at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis. Eight Serrans and one spouse attended. From the KCK Serra Club, Phil Punswick and Mark and Donna Dold were present and, from the JOCO Serra Club, Wally Foote, Rob and Julie Tinker, Al and Deborah Osborne, and John Weber participated. ArchKCK Vocation Office Administrative Assistant, Kelly Kmiecik, also joined the group.

The two day event began on Wednesday with a visit to the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George. The Sisters have a long time connection to the KCK Archdiocese; Sr. M. Karolyn Nunes, currently the order's Director of Vocations, taught at St. James Academy. Sr. M. Petra taught at Holy Spirit School and Sr. M. Eva Maria worked at the archdiocesan offices with Kelly (among others). Sr. Karolyn gave the group a wonderful tour of the beautiful Motherhouse, and we learned about the order's history. They celebrated their 100th anniversary in the USA in 2023! The Germany-based Sisters came to the USA in December 1923 specifically to staff Fr. Dunne's Home for Newsboys in St. Louis, Missouri.

The group is pictured left, from left to right: John Weber, Kelly Kmiecik, Deborah and
Al Osborne, Sr. Karolyn, Rob and Julie Tinker, Wally Foote, and Phil Punswick.

On Wednesday evening we had dinner at Favazza’s with the eight ArchKCK seminarians: Deacon Will Sutherland, Alex Rickert, Gabriel Zuniga, Jimmy Mendoza, Joey Punswick, Drew Stanley, Juan Vazquez and Gabriel Pryor. Dinner was great and it was wonderful to have almost two hours to spend with the men!

On Thursday morning we attended Mass at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary celebrated by Bishop David Kagan of Bismarck, ND. Breakfast with the seminarians followed, and again it was a pleasure to have quality, unstructured time to get to know them better.

The photo at right includes Serrans and seminarians. Back row, from L to R are  Kelly Kmiecik, Gabe Pryor, Juan Vazquez, Jimmy Mendoza, Drew Stanley and Deacon Will Sutherland. Middle row, L to R are Donna and Mark Dold, Gabriel Zuniga, Al Osborne, Joey Punswick, and his grandfather, Phil Punswick. Front row (seated), L to R, are Rob and Julie Tinker, Deborah Osborne, Wally Foote, and John Weber.

A tour of the beautiful Kenrick-Glennon campus followed breakfast. All the ArchKCK seminarians had class, so we were hosted by Propaudetic (first year) seminarians Martin Luna (San Angelo, TX), Daniel Hogan (St. Louis), Tyler Selzler (Bismarck, ND) and Victor Satorski (Springfield, MO). We learned about the four foundations of seminary training: spiritual, human, intellectual and pastoral.

It was a great visit and a pleasure to spend time with our diocesan seminarians! Join us next year when the annual Serran seminary visit returns to St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver.

Mark your calendars now: the trip usually occurs during the second full week in October.

Related Articles • More Articles

Three new Serrans were welcomed to membership at the October 2025 General Membership Meeting. Read inside for details.
In July 2025, seminarians Drew Stanley and Jimmy Mendoza undertook a pilgrimage to California to close out the summer's experience prior to returning to seminary life and to explore a part of the country where neither had previously traveled, seeking God's presence in every encounter. Before departure, the men requested prayer intentions from Serrans, which they carried with them during their travels. They were in for more than a few surprises. Read the story of their experience!
The June JOCO Serra General Membership meeting included a visit to the Catholic Radio Network headquarters, a visit to Mercy Park, and a terrific Mexican fiesta at Manny's on Southwest Blvd! Read on for details and reactions of attendees.