The news was like a punch in the stomach.

For the Rev. Duane Reinert, Conception Abbey had been a place of prayer, learning and contemplation.

The Rev. Duane Reinert, a Lawrence priest, works during the academic year at Conception Abbey, where Monday's shooting took place.

But Monday’s deadly violence at the Missouri monastery shattered that serenity, taking the lives of two of the Lawrence resident’s beloved co-workers.

Reinert, 52, is director of counseling services at Conception Seminary College on the abbey’s grounds. But he spends his weekends and most summer days at St. Conrad’s Friary in Lawrence. On Monday he was at the friary, 745 Tenn., when news broke that a priest and a monk the Rev. Philip Schuster, 85, and Brother Damian Larson, 64, had been killed during a shooting spree.

Two other monks were injured before the shooter, 71-year-old Lloyd Robert Jeffress, killed himself. Authorities said they did not know Jeffress’ motive.

“It was like somebody hit me in the pit of my stomach. I’ve been kind of in a daze most of the day,” said Reinert, a friar in the Capuchin order and a Catholic priest. “I was going to do some reading, but I couldn’t concentrate. I have been spending some time in prayer, watching the news.”

Reinert knew the victims well.

“Father Philip had been there a good long time,” Reinert said. “He had a reputation, particularly among his peers, as being a very holy man. A lot of monks turned to him for spiritual guidance, spiritual direction, and would look to him for that.

“Brother Damian did a lot of manual labor, was very popular among the college students; he was in charge of safety on campus,” Reinert said. “He did a variety of things. He did a lot of work on the grounds, mowing the lawns, taking care of the physical appearance of the campus. He was an amateur meteorologist, took a great interest in predicting the weather.”

Other area residents also have ties to the monastery. The Rev. John Schmeidler, associate director of the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center, was part of a staff retreat in January at Conception Abbey.

“It’s both surprising and shocking,” Schmeidler said of the shootings. “That’s the last thing you would expect from some place that is so quiet and a place of prayer.

“I’ve just loved going up there because of the contemplative spirit, the quiet and the being able to be reflective. It gives you a good, warm feeling of God’s presence.”

Two northeast Kansas men are listed as students of the seminary. Anthony Ovellete and Chris Rossman are both graduates of Central Heights High School in Richmond, south of Ottawa. Neither Ovellete nor Rossman could be reached for comment. Family members said Monday that neither student was at the abbey, but otherwise declined to comment.

Reinert sought solace in his faith and the goodness of his friends.

“One of the greatest consolations to me was knowing the people involved, knowing the depth of their faith and their goodness, their holiness,” he said.

“It gives me a sense of confidence that while it’s a great loss, they are certainly where they always wanted to be: with God. Their lives had a great deal of meaning.”

Staff writer Michelle Burhenn contributed to this report.