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Carl Hensler

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Monsignor Carl P. Hensler
Born Carl Peter Hensler
November 7, 1898
Carnegie, Pennsylvania
Died November 21, 1984 (aged 86)
North Hills Passavant Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Education St. Vincent's Seminary, North American College
Occupation Priest
Employer Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh
Known for Catholic Radical Alliance
Title Monsignor
Parent(s) Charles P. Hensler, Margaret E. Klein
Relatives Clara Hensler (sister; aka Sister Estelle), Paul Joseph Hensler (brother), Cecilia Hensler Johnson (sister), John Francis Hensler (brother), Mildred Hensler Graham (sister), Francis Gerard Hensler (brother), Mary Hensler (cousin)
Ecclesiastical career
Religion Christianity
Church Roman Catholic Church
Ordained March 15, 1924
Congregations served St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Mt. Pleasant
St. Brendan's Catholic Church, Braddock
St. Lawrence Church, Pittsburgh

Carl Hensler — Monsignor Carl Peter Hensler (November 7, 1898 – November 1984) was an American Roman Catholic priest of the Diocese of Pittsburgh.[1] Nicknamed "the Labor Priest" in recognition of the help and support he gave to the Steel Workers union during his early career,[2] he also became a founding member of the Catholic Radical Alliance. Describing the alliance in 1937, Hensler said:[3]

"We contend that the relationship between Catholicism and Capitalism is one of fundamental opposition, which cannot be removed unless the ax of reform is laid to the very roots."

During the 1950s, he was assigned as pastor of St. George's Catholic Church,[4] and was also appointed director of the Institute of Adult Education, which was sponsored by the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh.[5]

Formative years

Born in Carnegie, Pennsylvania on November 7, 1898, Carl Peter Hensler was a son of Charles P. Hensler and Margaret E. (Klein) Hensler and the brother of Clara Hensler (later known as Sister Estelle), Paul Joseph Hensler, Cecilia Hensler (married surname Johnson), John Francis Hensler, Mildred Hensler (married surname Graham), and Francis Gerard Hensler.[6]

A graduate of St. Joseph's parochial school, he earned Bachelor of Arts and Licentiate in Philosophy degrees from Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania in 1920.[7]

Theological training and ministry

Hensler then pursued theological training at the St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, earning his Master of Arts there in 1922.[8][9] and at the North American College in Rome, Italy. He was a pupil of minimum wage proponent, John A. Ryan.[10]

He was formally ordained as a priest at the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome on March 15, 1924.[11]

After initial ministries at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania[12] and at St. Brendan's Catholic Church in Braddock, Pennsylvania,[13] he left for China on August 7, 1930 to help establish the Catholic University of Peking.[14] His time there was challenging due to political unrest in the region and the escalating conflict between China and Japan, as well as the school's financial instability.[15]

By the end of 1933, he was back in Pittsburgh, celebrating Christmas masses as an assistant pastor at St. Lawrence Church.[16][17] During this period of his life, he also became a founding member of the Catholic Radical Alliance with two other Roman Catholic priests, Charles Owen Rice and George Barry O'Toole.[18][19] In December 1934, he presented a lecture to the St. Lawrence Parent Teachers' Association, entitled "Human Rights Versus Property Rights."[20]

In 1951, he was appointed as the pastor of St. George's Church.[21] In 1958, he became the director of the Institute of Adult Education, which was sponsored by the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh.[22]

Hensler died at the age of 86 at the North Hills Passavant Hospital on November 21, 1984.[23][24] Funeral masses were held at St. Wendelin Church in Carrick, Pennsylvania on November 23 and 24.[25][26]

Sources

Archives of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, Record Group 22, subgroup 01I

References

  1. Back to citation "Monsignor Carl P. Hensler Dies." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 22, 1984, p. 175 (subscription required).
  2. Back to citation "Msgr. Hensler: Pastor of St. George's Keeps Cemetery Trim: It's Labor Priest's Favorite Hobby After Years of Service to Catholics." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 13, 1960, p. 6 (subscription required).
  3. Back to citation "Priests of 'Radical Alliance' Rub Elbows with Strike Pickets" (includes photo of Hensler). Marshfield, Wisconsin: Marshfield News-Herald, October 14, 1937, p. 4 (subscription required).
  4. Back to citation "Msgr. Hensler: Pastor of St. George's Keeps Cemetery Trim," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 13, 1960.
  5. Back to citation "Diocesan Classes Open to All Races, Creeds: Teens or Aged Finding Culture, Education at Pittsburgh's Fastest Growing 'School.'" Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, January 19, 1958, p. 4 (subscription required).
  6. Back to citation "Rev. Carl P. Hensler," in "Summary of Church News." Omaha, Nebraska: Our Sunday Visitor, August 1, 1920, p. 2 (subscription required).
  7. Back to citation "Rev. Carl P. Hensler," in "Summary of Church News," Our Sunday Visitor, August 1, 1920.
  8. Back to citation "Rev. Carl P. Hensler," in "Summary of Church News," Our Sunday Visitor, August 1, 1920.
  9. Back to citation "Monsignor Carl P. Hensler Dies," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 22, 1984.
  10. Back to citation "Radical Alliance' Priests Strike With Pickets". Pittsburgh Press. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. p. 42. “We contend that the relationship between Catholicism and capitalism is one of fundamental opposition”
  11. Back to citation "Rev. Carl P. Hensler," in "Summary of Church News," Our Sunday Visitor, August 1, 1920.
  12. Back to citation "Rev. Carl Hensler Has First Service at Mt. Pleasant." Connellsville, Pennsylvania: The Daily Courier, August 12, 1924, p. 10 (subscription required).
  13. Back to citation "Braddock." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, September 4, 1927, p. 52 (subscription required).
  14. Back to citation "Scenes at Catholic University and Priests Who Will Teach There." Latrobe, Pennsylvania: The Latrobe Bulletin, July 28, 1930, p. 11 (subscription required); "Monsignor Carl P. Hensler Dies," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 22, 1984; "Msgr. Hensler: Pastor of St. George's Keeps Cemetery Trim," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 13, 1960.
  15. Back to citation "Catholic U. of Peking Is Carrying On." Brooklyn, New York: The Tablet, March 5, 1932, p. 16 (subscription required); "Chinese Desert Colleges, Join Shanghai Army: Warfare with Japan Causes Universities to Collapse." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, February 26, 1932, p. 2 (subscription required); "Catholic University in Need of Funds." Latrobe, Pennsylvania: The Latrobe Bulletin, February 20, 1932, front page (subscription required).
  16. Back to citation "Church Activities." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, December 16, 1933, p. 16 (subscription required).
  17. Back to citation "Rev. Hensler to Lecture." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, September 22, 1935, p. 2 (subscription required).
  18. Back to citation "Priests, Pickets, Pickle Workers". Time magazine archive. 28 June 1937. Archived from the original on 13 July 2007. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
  19. Back to citation "Priests of 'Radical Alliance' Rub Elbows with Strike Pickets" (includes photo of Hensler), Marshfield News-Herald, October 14, 1937.
  20. Back to citation "Activities Are Listed by P.T.A." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, December 23, 1934, p. 20 (subscription required).
  21. Back to citation "Msgr. Hensler: Pastor of St. George's Keeps Cemetery Trim," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 13, 1960.
  22. Back to citation "Diocesan Classes Open to All Races, Creeds: Teens or Aged Finding Culture, Education at Pittsburgh's Fastest Growing 'School,'" The Pittsburgh Press, January 19, 1958, p. 4.
  23. Back to citation Kenneth J. Heineman A Catholic New Deal: Religion and Reform in Depression Pittsburgh. Penn State Press, 1999 page 211 ISBN 0-271-01896-8
  24. Back to citation "Monsignor Carl P. Hensler Dies," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 22, 1984.
  25. Back to citation "Masses for priest." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 23, 1984, p. 10 (subscription required).
  26. Back to citation "Hensler" (funeral notice). Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 22, 1984, p. 175 (subscription required).
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