January 28, 1941
Father Albrecht Kienhoefer
Father Albrecht Kienhoefer was born on Jan. 14, 1863, in Reichenback, Wurttemberg, Germany. He studied in Gmund and Landshuth and completed his seminary studies at Louvain. He was ordained at Rottenburg, Germany, for the Leavenworth Diocese on July 13, 1886. Bishop Fink first assigned him briefly in Topeka and Council Grove and then to Paxico for three years. Other assignments in the Leavenworth Diocese were in Strawberry (now Claver) and Hanover. In 1897 he became a member of the clergy of this diocese due to the addition of 14 counties in eastern Kansas to the Wichita Diocese and was assigned to Burns as its first resident pastor. He later was pastor in Florence and Windthorst before going to St. Leo as his final pastorate. “During his more than a half-century of priestly work, Father Kienhoefer built many small churches and rectories, especially in the early years when pioneering was his lot and tens of thousands of immigrants came to Kansas. Long drives over prairie trails to scattered missions were part of his life.” (The Advance Register, Jan. 31, 1941) Fr. Kienhoefer used to say that pioneer days were “hard on the rubrics.” He died at St. Rose Hospital in Great Bend on January 28, 1941. Bishop Winkelmann celebrated the Requiem Mass in St. Leo where Father Kienhoefer was also buried. In the sermon, Bishop Winkelmann noted that Bishop-elect James O’Reilly, who had been appointed Bishop of Wichita, had asked Fr. Kienhoefer to accompany him to his new diocese. Bishop O’Reilly died before his consecration.