Prior John Michael Paul Kidner, O.S.B.
Fortified with the Sacraments of Holy Mother Church, Saturday, January 18, 2020. Monk and priest of Saint Louis Abbey, Creve Coeur. He is survived by his brother Richard, five nieces and a nephew, and several grandnieces and grandnephews.
John Michael Kidner was born in Oswestry, England, August 17, 1931. He attended Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire and obtained a degree in civil engineering from Oxford University. Entering the monastery at Ampleforth he professed his vows as a monk in 1953. He was ordained priest in 1958 and obtained a Licentiate in Sacred Theology in Rome in 1959. That same year he was sent to the recent foundation of Ampleforth Abbey in St. Louis, where he taught mathematics and physics, coached several sports, and served for 25 years as college counselor. He was headmaster of the Priory School from 1974 to 1983. As Claustral Prior in the monastery he oversaw the day-to-day running and finances of the monastery. After 56 years of teaching he retired in 2014. He died in the monastery after a year-long battle with cancer. He is remembered with love by many former students and friends and by his fellow-monks.
Services: The Body will be received at Saint Louis Abbey, 500 S. Mason Rd., Creve Coeur at 6:00 p.m. Friday, January 31. An all-night vigil of silent prayer will be kept with the body in the Church. Those wishing to pay their respects are welcome from 6:00 p.m. until the funeral Mass at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, February 1. Burial will follow immediately in the cemetery adjacent to the Abbey monastery. Reception will follow in the monastery.
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