If you’re the Rev. Vince Krische, going on sabbatical doesn’t mean taking a vacation.

Yes, Krische’s recent six-month absence from his position as director of the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center, 1631 Crescent Road, had many moments of pure enjoyment.

But that hardly meant he spent his time sleeping late, watching ball games on TV and snoozing in a backyard hammock.

Krische, who was away from the center from June 7 last year until early January, used the sabbatical — his first since being ordained as a priest 40 years ago — for more constructive purposes.

Among the highlights:

• He spent two months researching and writing a 100-page history of the St. Lawrence Center (established in 1958), the first one that’s ever been written. It will likely be turned into a book for center benefactors.
• He participated in continuing theological education courses from early September to early December at the Pontifical North American College, in Rome, taking classes in sacred art, liturgy and Scripture.
• And he was among a group of six people who had a private audience with Pope John Paul II in November in his residence.


The Rev. Vince Krische, left, director of the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center, and Archbishop Emeritus James P. Keleher, of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, meet with Pope John Paul II in his residence, the Apostolic Palace, in the Vatican City. Krische made the visit this fall while on sabbatical from the campus center at Kansas University.

Not bad for a humble Kansas priest, who’s led the campus center — the Catholic Church’s outreach ministry to the Kansas University community — since 1977.

“It was very refreshing. I learned a lot. I met a lot of wonderful people,” says Krische, still glowing from his experiences.

“My mind was on the people of the center, wishing they could be with me, that the students could be here.”

From teacher to student

Krische’s first job was to start his work compiling a history of the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center.

Soon after leaving his duties at the center, he traveled to Glen Haven, Colo., to begin the ambitious project.

His environment was perfectly suited for research, reflection and study. He spent almost the entire summer in a one-person cottage, located right next to a stream.

“We have no historical documents (tracing the development of the center), and I wanted to get that accomplished. That was my task for my sabbatical. I just went through our files, and I had to start using my memory,” he says.

The result was a draft that stretched to more than 100 typed, single-spaced pages, recording the important people and events in the center’s history.

The Rev. Vince Krische, far right, director of the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center, was among a group of six people who had a private audience with Pope John Paul II in November in the Vatican City.

In August, Krische returned briefly to Lawrence, then left town Sept. 2 to travel to New York City. He spent a few days there visiting a cousin, then flew to Rome.

That’s where he began taking courses at the Pontifical North American College near St. Peter’s Basilica.

He had 34 classmates — priests and theology students training for the priesthood.

Simply being there was a lesson in itself.

“On my second day in Rome, I said, ‘I’ve got to find a way to get our (KU) students here for a semester to learn the (Catholic) heritage. It makes you feel, as a human being, the mystery and beauty that go into us,” Krische says.

His eyes light up when he describes the class he took on 16th century sacred art, which included lectures, viewing slides and then visiting sites around Rome, such as the Borghese Museum and Gallery.

“Our teacher was insisting that (artisans) Michelangelo and Bernini were deeply spiritual, that no one could do the work that they did without a deep spirituality,” he says.

The Rev. Vince Krische says he is rejuvenated after recently returning from a sixth-month sabbatical, his first since being ordained as a priest 40 years ago. Krische is director of the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center, 1631 Crescent Road.

“Then we had courses in liturgy, really wonderful courses in Scripture. We had a week for each topic, and we had classes for two hours. There were classes in reading Scripture as narrative, so you see the thread that goes all the way through the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament.”

It was a neat switch for Krische, who spends countless hours working with KU students at the center.

“It was really nice to be on the other side of the desk. (There were) no tests, no written reports. You could just focus on the learning. It was great,” he says.

Meeting the pope

An obvious high point during Krische’s time in Rome was a private audience he had with Pope John Paul II in his residence, the Apostolic Palace.

He was among a small group of people who were present for the occasion. Aside from Krische, the group included: Archbishop Joseph Naumann and Archbishop Emeritus James P. Keleher of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas; David Stecher, a first-year theologian at the Pontifical North American College; Anthony Oulette, a first-year theologian at the college; and the Rev. Bob Rizzo, of Chicago, a friend of Krische’s.

“It was fantastic,” Krische says. “There were only six of us. Because of his health, the Holy Father didn’t talk — he was saving his voice for public appearances — but he was really alert.”

The private audience lasted about 10 minutes. Keleher did the talking for the group, introducing each person to the pope, explaining what each person does and why he was in Rome.

“Archbishop Keleher talked a lot to the Holy Father about the St. Lawrence Center,” Krische says.

He also attended a special performance of the Russian Red Army Chorus and Dance Ensemble, who came to the Vatican to perform for the pope on the 26th anniversary of his election to the papacy.

“It was so magnificent. At the end, when it was over, the applause just went on and on. The pope was in the audience, and the dancers were incredible. Then when it all died down, they came back and serenaded the pope in (his native) Polish,” Krische says.

He returned to Lawrence Dec. 15, resuming his duties at St. Lawrence in early January.

“It (the sabbatical) was really refreshing — a certain freedom without all the responsibilities. A lot of time to read, a lot of time to pray, a lot of time to be alone,” Krische says.

“I wish I could have taken a year.”