Obituary: Fr. Lyle Konen, C.Ss.R.

DEATH NOTICE OF A REDEMPTORIST

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Fr. Lyle Konen, C.Ss.R., who died at the age of 94 on August 8, 2025, in Seattle, WA, where he had served the People of God for nearly three consecutive decades.

A beloved Redemptorist missionary of 69 years, Fr. Lyle will be remembered for his dedicated parish ministry and service to the incarcerated, as well as the generous spirit he brought to community life and his nurturing mentorship of generations of Redemptorist confreres.

Lyle Ernest was born to William and Katherine Konen on July 9, 1931, in Worley, ID. His family later relocated to the community of Keuterville, near Cottonwood, ID, where he was educated by the Benedictine Nuns through high school. Although he had considered a religious vocation as a youngster, he was blessed with a beautiful voice and received a scholarship to Gonzaga University. He also attended Great Falls College of Education before he met and was inspired by the life and work of the Redemptorists. He enrolled at Holy Redeemer College in Oakland, CA, where he was known as a sincere, sensitive and thoughtful student. He was considered the main support of the seminary choirs throughout his Redemptorist formation. Lyle proceeded to novitiate at Mount St. Clement College in DeSoto, MO and professed temporary vows on August 2, 1956. He continued at Immaculate Conception Seminary in Oconomowoc, WI, where he professed perpetual vows on September 2, 1959, and was ordained to the priesthood on June 29, 1961.

Newly ordained Fr. Lyle finished Tirocinium at Holy Redeemer College and served on the faculty from 1963 until 1965 ­ the tumultuous years of Vatican II. He was appointed pastor and superior of the local community at Holy Redeemer Parish in Portland, OR in 1966. After five years, he was assigned to the Alaska Missions in Homer. Although he marveled at the scenery, the weather and isolation so severely impacted his health that he served only a year at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church. He returned to the Lower 48 as director of Palisades Retreat House and superior of the local community in Federal Way, WA, where he served for one year.

Fr. Lyle was appointed at St. Gerard Parish in Great Falls, MT in 1973, and two years later took the helm as pastor and superior of the local community at Sacred Heart Parish in Seattle. After six years, he returned to retreat ministry as director of Picture Rocks Retreat House in Tucson, AZ and superior of the local community during the 1980s. In addition to improving the facilities,