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OAN Staff Abril Elfi
10:57 AM – Saturday, April 5, 2025
A Catholic priest has died after being shot at his church’s rectory in Kansas.
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On Thursday, Father Arul Carasala, 57, was fatally shot at the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Seneca.
Gary Hermesch, 66, was taken into custody following the attack on suspicion of first-degree murder.
Father Brian Schieber, a Vicar General for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, spoke with Fox News Digital following the incident.
“We’re all just still in a state of shock. I mean, this is small-town America. And Father Arul was such a beloved pastor in Seneca, Kansas. He’s been a pastor there for over 13 years,” Schieber said.
“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.
He went on to describe the shooting as a “senseless act of violence.”
“We have no idea what the motive for this was. And, you know, we’re really praying for the person that killed Father Arul as well. And thank you all for your prayers,” he said.
Deputies from the Nemaha County Sheriff’s Office and officers from the Seneca Police Department responded to a 9-1-1 call “reporting shots fired at the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church rectory” about 3 p.m. local time Thursday, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) said.
When they arrived, they found Carasala “outside the residence suffering from gunshot wounds,” the report stated.
“Seneca EMS arrived and transported Father Carasala to the Nemaha Valley Community Hospital. Despite life-saving measures, he died at the hospital from his injuries,” the KBI also said in a statement.
Following the shooting, Carasala’s church hosted a mass on Thursday night led by
Archbishop Joseph Naumann. He then shared a statement following the mass.
“Father Arul was a friend to me and a great priest,” Naumann wrote. “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.”
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