An undated photo of Msgr. Robert Gipperich is seen, showing the priest when he was more advanced in years. COURTESY OF HOLY NAME OF JESUS PARISH
The 40 Martyrs: Fr. Robert Gipperich (Part 3)
BY EDWARD WILSON, ARCHIVES
This final installment of the story of Fr. Robert Gipperich will take up where the last one left off in our September WKC column. The good priest now fully understood that returning to serve the Church in Louisville was no longer a possibility.
Though he accepted this and was beginning to see God’s plan for him in the Diocese of Owensboro, there remained a resentment between he and his old friend Bishop Francis Cotton who refused to let him return to serve in Louisville.
On June 21, 1941, Bishop Cotton wrote Fr. Gipperich in response to his request for a new associate pastor at Holy Name in Henderson. After addressing the request the bishop stated, “It has also been reported to me that you have said some things that would have hurt me pretty much coming from you. But I have tried not to believe them.” Concluding he added “Be sure now to train (later annotating in the word “well”) the young man, who will come to you, to be a good, energetic, pious, and zealous priest, and especially ever to be loyal towards his bishop.” The later addition of the word “well” made the exchange that much more heated.
This was the relationship between the two. They were very transparent. Few, if any, stood their ground or spoke their mind to Bishop Cotton, like Fr. Gipperich. However, no matter the situation, they both remained loyal to their duties as servants of the Church and brothers in the priesthood. “… I have favored you and tried to be good to you many times” Bishop Cotton stated. This was true and both knew it. Bishop Cotton understood Fr. Gipperich’s sadness. This is one of the few stories in which you see a more human side of Bishop Cotton, getting a glimpse behind his legendary austere image.
A clip from a June 21, 1941 correspondence between Fr. Robert Gipperich and Bishop Francis R. Cotton is seen, reading “Be sure now to train (later annotating in the word ‘well’) the young man, who will come to you, to be a good, energetic, pious, and zealous priest, and especially ever to be loyal towards his bishop.” COURTESY OF ARCHIVES
After the passing of Bishop Cotton, Fr. Gipperich became a very good friend of Bishop Soenneker. Writing the bishop in 1965, Fr. Gipperich beamed, “I cannot refrain from thanking the Holy Spirit for bestowing such a wonderful shepherd on our Diocese.” The feeling of admiration was mutual as the new bishop bestowed the honor of Monsignor on Fr. Gipperich that same year. An honor that the 44-year veteran priest humbly stated, “I certainly do not think I have deserved…” His final years in the diocese certainly seemed to be some of his most joyful and peaceful.
In the end, Msgr. Gipperich finally made his way back to Louisville. In 1965, Bishop Soenneker offered the priest a year leave for rest to try and dissuade him from retirement. He accepted and moved to Louisville to live in a house owned by himself and his unwed sister. The warmth of home and family were everything that the good priest hoped they would be all those years. At the end of his leave, citing his health, he offered his resignation at Holy Name. The bishop offered him his choice of churches would he want to return but, in the end, Msgr. Gipperich was finally home. To this day, he remains in Louisville, buried in a plot by his father and mother, making up for all the time away.
Note: Special thanks to Holy Name of Jesus parishioner Charyl Farley for assistance in obtaining the photo of Msgr. Gipperich.
Edward Wilson is the director of the Diocese of Owensboro’s Archives and the Archives of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph. Comments and questions may be sent to [email protected].
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Originally printed in the October 2025 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.
