BARRY’S BAY – Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy is mourning the loss of one of their own.
Fr. Kenneth Walker, who studied at the Barry’s Bay academy for two years, was killed in Phoenix, Arizona on June 11.
Fr. Walker was ordained in 2012 and was an associate pastor at Mother of Mercy Parish in Phoenix.
On Wednesday evening, a male suspect entered into the fraternity rectory and attacked both Fr. Walker and Fr. Joseph Terra.
The 28-year-old priest was shot and died at the scene. Fr. Terra, a pastor at the church, was rushed to hospital in critical condition. News reports indicate Fr. Terra’s condition had stabilized as of press time. There are many reports indicating Fr. Terra was able to give Fr. Walker absolution and the Last Rites before being rushed himself to the hospital.
While the motive is unknown, a 54 year-old suspect was taken into custody on June 16, the same day as Fr. Walker’s funeral.
According to his biography posted on the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter’s website, Fr. Walker was born September 13, 1985 in Poughkeepsie, New York. He felt a calling to the priesthood, so after high school, he attended OLSWA, where he pursued a classical formation in liberal arts.
“After the influence of his parents, Fr. Walker always credited the college as being essential to his formation in the faith prior to entering the seminary,” his biography reads.
In fall 2005, he was then accepted to the Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary, the Fraternity of St. Peter’s International House of Formation for English speakers in Nebraska.
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