Deacon Lawrence Kaas, 84, died Sept. 14 at his home in Sauk Centre. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 3 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21, at Our Lady of the Angels Church in Sauk Centre, with Father Greg Paffel officiating and Fathers James Statz and Andrew Marthaler concelebrating. Burial will be at Calvary Cemetery in Sauk Centre.
Visitation will be from 1 to 3 p.m. Sept 21 at the church.
Deacon Kaas was born in Sauk Centre, Dec. 9, 1933, to Ann (Hoffman) and Louis Kaas. He married Agnes (Schluender) Kaas April 12, 1955, at Immaculate Conception Church in Osakis.
In 1987 he was ordained a deacon for the St. Cloud Diocese and served at Our Lady of Angels until his death. Deacon Kaas was a member of the Bishop Busch Council 4863 of the Knights of Columbus.
He was also one of the original four members promoting Divine Mercy devotion in the diocese.
Paul Theisen, one of those four and a longtime friend, said, “We were concerned about parish renewal. The pope, John Paul II, had just lifted the prohibition on St. Faustina Kowalska’s diary and we read excerpts, which was the impetus to start this devotion.
“Lawrence had been ready to give up carving, because his hands were in great pain,” Theisen said. “But he wanted to carve the Divine Mercy [image]. He started in 1980 and was done in eight or nine months. What is miraculous is that during that time, all his pain went away.”
Some of his carvings are at Our Lady of the Angels; the Divine Mercy carving, in butternut, is at St. Paul Church in Sauk Centre.
Survivors include his seven children, Tereasa (Eric) Simonson of California, Catherine (Brian) Gill of Sauk Centre, Joseph (Laura) of New Brighton, Lucy (Sterling) Schwieger of St. Cloud, Francis (Lorri) of Ramsey, Leo of Burnsville and Lawrence (Amanda) of Milaca; grandchildren and great grandchildren; his sisters: a twin, Evelyn Goerdt of Sauk Centre, Virginia (Donny) Toenies of Sauk Centre and Sally Ley of St. Cloud.
Deacon Kaas was preceded in death by his wife, his parents, an infant granddaughter and two brothers-in-law.
Memorials are preferred to the Divine Mercy Devotion at St. Paul Church in Sauk Centre.