Monsignor Joseph Senger
Mar. 19, 1929 – Nov. 9, 2020
RUGBY–Monsignor
Joseph Senger, 91, a priest
of the Fargo Diocese of
North Dakota, died Nov.
9, 2020, in a Minot hospi-
tal. Since his retirement
from active priesthood in
2000, he continued to
maintain a variety of ac-
tivities in Minot where he
lived until his death. He
spent the last three and a
half years as a resident of
Somerset Court, saying
Mass there daily.
Joseph Phillip Senger
was born March 19, 1929,
at Orrin, ND, a son of
Joseph and Elizabeth
(Thomas) Senger. He liked
telling people that his ac-
tual birthplace was at
Kandel, ND. But the
town’s name was changed
to Orrin. Orrin and the
farm life he grew up in be-
came the subject of count-
less church homilies he
offered later as a priest.
He was proud of Orrin
and of his Germans from
Russia heritage. The latter
enhanced his language
skills that later became
useful during a stretch he
spent in Europe.
His early education was
at Balta, a community
near Orrin. While very
young, he decided that he
wanted to be a priest. So
his parents sent him to
Assumption Abbey in
Richardton, ND. He gra-
duated from there in
1946. He attended St.
John’s University in Col-
legeville for two years. He
went to St. Paul Seminary
in St. Paul, Mn., for his
last two years of college
and four more years of
seminary training. He was
ordained a priest on June
13, 1954, at St. Mary’s
Cathedral in Fargo, ND.
His first assignment was
as pastor at St. Mark’s Par-
ish in Bottineau, ND.
Two years later he was
assigned to serve as secre-
tary to Archbishop
Aloisius Muench, then of
Fargo, who had been
chosen by Pope Pius XII
as the apostolic nuncio to
Germany. The pair lived
at the embassy in Bonn,
Germany. Father Senger
also served as a chaplain
at an American military
unit. He spent almost four
years in Germany and
another year and a half in
Rome after Muench was
named a cardinal. Father
Senger met Pope Pius XII,
Pope John XXIII, Pope
Paul VI when he was still
a cardinal, and Pope John
Paul II.
In 1960 he returned to
North Dakota, eager to be-
come a pastor. He
couldn’t see himself con-
tinuing as a professional
priest in Rome. His first
assignment was as pastor
of St. Arnold’s Parish in
Milnor and St. Vincent’s
Parish in Stirum which
also served Gwinner. Suc-
cessive assignments were
at St. Mary’s Parish in
Knox and St. Ann’s in
Fillmore, St. Mary’s in
Grand Forks, and, from
July 1985 to July 2000
when he retired, as pastor
at St. Cecilia’s in Velva
and Sts. Peter and Paul’s
Parish in Karlsruhe.
In addition to his work
as a pastor, he was direc-
tor of the Propagation of
the Faith for forty years in
the Fargo Diocese, dean-
ery director of vocations,
director of religious edu-
cation at St. James Educa-
tion Center in Grand
Forks, dean of Deanery II
and Deanery VII. He
maintained a prison min-
istry for the North Dakota
Council of Churches and
served on the College of
Consulters for the Fargo
Diocese. He was a spiri-
tual director for Marriage
Encounter, Search and
Cursillo. He served as
state spiritual director for
the Catholic Order of
Foresters and the Catholic
Daughters of the Ameri-
cas. After retirement, he
was a substitute pastor in
many parishes, including
Minot Air Force Base. He
also served as a chaplain
at Trinity Hospital in
Minot.
He visited mission sta-
tions in Kenya, Africa,
Guatemala, Venezuela,
Bolivia and Honduras.
He was a member of the
Foresters, and a Fourth
Degree member of the
Knights of Columbus.
Survivors: sisters,
Christine Axtmann and
Jenny Lemer, and brother,
Nick Senger and his wife
Bernie, all of Rugby.
He was preceded in
death by his parents;
brothers, Anton, Edward,
Pete and infant Adam; sis-
ter, Elizabeth Burgard;
sisters-in-law, Regarda
Senger and Julia Senger;
brothers-in-law, Tom Bur-
gard, Peter Lemer and
Fred Axtmann.
Visitation: Wednesday,
November 18, 2020, from
noon until 2 pm at
Thompson-Larson Fun-
eral Home, Minot, and
from 5 until 7 pm at St.
Therese of Little Flower
Catholic Church, Rugby,
ND with a vigil at 7 in the
church. Visitation also
took place from 10 am un-
til noon on Thursday, No-
vember 19, 2020 at the
church.
Mass of Christian Buri-
al: Due to the Corona
Virus/Covin-19 pandemic,
there will be a Funeral
Mass on Thursday at 1
pm for family and fellow
priests at St. Therese of
Little Flower Catholic
Church, Rugby, ND.
The service will be
live-streamed and avail-
able to view at be ac-
cessed by going to
YouTubehttps://youtube.c
om/channel/UCxB6DikdB
zleKHanHE_V4RQ
Graveside Service:
Thursday, November 19,
2020, 3:30 pm, Sacred
Heart Catholic Cemetery,
Orrin.
Memorials are pre-
ferred to St. Therese the
Little Flower church at
Rugby.
Thompson-Larson Fun-
eral Home at Minot com-
pleted funeral arrange-
ments.
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