Monsignor Xavier Mankel, founding father of Diocese of Knoxville, dies at 81

Bill Brewer
Special to the News Sentinel
Monsignor Francis Xavier Mankel

Monsignor Francis Xavier Mankel, a founding father of the Diocese of Knoxville who served as a Catholic priest in East Tennessee for 56 years, died Wednesday following a lengthy illness. He was 81.

Monsignor Mankel, a Knoxville native who grew up in Fort Sanders and attended Immaculate Conception Church, St. Mary School and Knoxville Catholic High School, was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Nashville in 1961 following his graduation from seminary. At the time, all Catholic churches in Tennessee were part of the Nashville diocese.

He served as an associate pastor or pastor of churches in Memphis, Lawrenceburg, Alcoa, Farragut and Knoxville, including the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, where he was pastor from 1987 to 1997.

While at Sacred Heart, Monsignor Mankel worked closely with the Diocese of Nashville’s bishop to divide that diocese and form the Diocese of Knoxville, which includes all Catholic churches, Catholic schools and Catholic organizations stretching from South Pittsburg and Chattanooga north to the Kentucky border and east to Tennessee’s borders with North Carolina and Virginia.

As part of the directive from Pope John Paul II and the Vatican establishing the Diocese of Knoxville in 1988, Monsignor Mankel worked with papal representatives in designating Sacred Heart as the diocesan cathedral.

In 2006, then-Father Mankel was named an Honorary Prelate to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI and he received the title of monsignor.

Bishop Richard F. Stika said Monsignor Mankel possessed a wealth of knowledge about the Catholic Church and its presence in East Tennessee, including the many people who make up the diocese.

“I would rely on him a lot, because I knew he would give me authentic feedback. But he also would give me the history. Even in his later years, at our senior leadership meetings, he always had something to say when I called upon him,” Stika said.

“He was very key in the formation of the diocese in making sure we were on a good foundation so that we could grow. A lot of the things we have now, the new high school, the new parishes, the new cathedral, the retreat center, everything is part of his wisdom of the ages,” Stika added.

In addition to serving as a priest for nearly six decades, Monsignor Mankel was the Diocese of Knoxville’s first chancellor and was a vicar general from the diocese’s inception. He also served as moderator of the curia and was a teacher, principal and superintendent of Catholic schools for the diocese. He was a longtime columnist for The East Tennessee Catholic newspaper and served as the newspaper’s peer reviewer, following in the footsteps of his father, who was a career newspaperman for the Knoxville News Sentinel.

In addition to his pastoral responsibilities, Monsignor Mankel through the years was active in the American Guild of Organists, National Pastoral Musicians and the Knoxville Ministerial Association. He also served on the board of directors of the Knox Area American Red Cross, as an advisory board member for Catholic Charities of East Tennessee, on the advisory board for Knoxville Catholic High School, and as a spiritual moderator for the Ladies of Charity.

And Monsignor Mankel also worked in ecumenical outreach for the Catholic Church, representing the diocese in community organizations that promoted faith and fellowship. Among the organizations he was most active in was the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Commission. The commission honored Monsignor Mankel in January during its annual King Week Celebration with the Chair’s Award for his service to the commission and for upholding the ideals of Dr. King.

Monsignor Mankel was preceded in death by his parents, George W. and Willia Frances Duncan Mankel. He is survived by his brother, George W. Mankel Jr. of Rockwood, and his sister, Sister Mary Georgeanna Mankel, RSM, of Nashville. He also is survived by nephews George W. Mankel III of Lexington, Ky., and Johnathan Eric Mankel and wife Sally of Lillington, N.C., as well as nine grandnieces and grandnephews and seven great-grandnieces and great-grandnephews.

A funeral Mass for Monsignor Mankel will be celebrated at 2 p.m. Tuesday, June 27, at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, with Bishop Stika serving as the principal celebrant and Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., concelebrating the Mass. Visitation will be held before the Mass from 1-1:45 p.m. Visitation also will take place 2-7 p.m. Monday, June 26, at Holy Ghost Church, followed by a parish Mass at 7 p.m. at Holy Ghost.

“He was a true man of faith, a true priest, and he had a great love for priests. But he also was obedient to the Church,” Stika said, fondly recalling Monsignor Mankel. “I always enjoyed spending time with him. He was a giant, physically because he was a big guy, as well as a giant in the priesthood.”