Providence Sister Carolyn (Ann Carolyn) Kessler, 91, died July 7 in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Born in Indiana, she entered the Sisters of Providence in 1954 and professed final vows in 1962. After teaching in high schools in Illinois and Indiana for 10 years and earning a master’s degree from Georgetown University, she was awarded a Fulbright lectureship at the University of Rome, after which she earned a doctorate in linguistics at Georgetown.

She taught at the University of Texas at San Antonio for 25 years and remained in Texas for another 15 years, consulting in the area of bilingual education.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Marywood High School, Evanston (1957-1964).

Father Milan Cyril Nemecek, 88, died June 4. He was pastor emeritus of Mater Christi Parish in North Riverside.

Born in Chicago, Father Nemecek attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1960.

He served as assistant pastor of St. Denis; Our Lady of Lourdes; Our Lady of the Mount, Cicero; and Mary, Queen of Heaven, Cicero. He was pastor of St. Mary of Celle, Berwyn, from 1979 to 1992, and of Mater Christi from 1992 to 2004.

He also served as assistant director of the archdiocese’s Office of Urban Affairs and assistant secretary of the Commission on Human Relations and Ecumenism, and as a delegate to the Interreligious Council on Urban Affairs, a member of the steering committee of the priests’ senate, a member of the compensation committee for Catholic school personnel, a consultant to Catholic Cemeteries and a member of the pastors’ review board.

Father Patrick Tucker, former pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Palos Hills, had known Nemecek since 1972. “He was very pastoral and empowered the people he worked with,” Tucker said. He recalled that Nemecek would give a note to couples getting married. In the note, he promised to take the engaged couple out for pizza on their first wedding anniversary.

Father John Mulvihill, 83, died June 25. He was a former pastor of St. John Bosco Parish.

Born in Chicago, Father Mulvihill attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago, the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome before being ordained in 1964.

He served as assistant pastor of St. John Bosco Parish before returning to Rome to continue his studies at the Gregorian University.

From 1972 through 1997, Father Mulvihill served as associate pastor and then pastor of St. John Bosco Parish. He also served as vicar for religious, supporting more than 8,000 religious sisters and 2,000 priests as a canonical and spiritual consultant. Before retiring, he served as judge on the Court of Appeals for the Province of Chicago, for 12 years. He retired from ministry in 2018.

Father Thomas Baldonieri, one of Mulvihill’s closest friends and colleagues, remembered Mulvihill as a wonderful priest. “I always saw him being very caring to parishioners and he was always available to them,” Baldonieri said.

Father Martin “Marty” Zielinski, 71, died June 25. He was a retired associate professor in the Department of Church History at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary.

Born in Denver, Father Zielinski attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary, Niles College and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1978.

His first pastoral assignment was at St. Margaret of Scotland Parish. He then attended Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he earned a doctoral degree in American Catholic church history in 1989.

He then was assigned to Mundelein Seminary as an associate professor of church history. He spent more than 30 years at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary, where he took on spiritual direction, teaching and administrative responsibilities, including one term as academic dean.

Throughout his time at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary, he assisted at St. Patrick Parish in Wadsworth (now St. Brigid Parish-Church of St. Patrick). He wrote many scholarly articles published in the U.S. Catholic Historian, the Encyclopedia of American Catholic History and Chicago Studies.

Zielinski also contributed to the collection “Black and Catholic” published by Marquette University Press. In the past three years, he accomplished a special contribution to American Church History, which was a transcription and annotation of the diary of Bishop William Quarter, who was the first bishop of Chicago. Zielinski also wrote the text for the Litany of American Saints, Blessed and Venerables, which was set to a musical composition. It premiered at the seminary on Dec. 8, 2022, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, and was recorded in February  2023, sung by the seminary choir.

Deacon Charles P. O’Donnell, 89, died June 18. He was ordained in 1983 and served at Our Lady of Ransom Parish, Niles, and as co-associate director of the archdiocese’s Diaconate Office.

The son of Irish immigrants, Deacon O’Donnell lost his father when he was 2 years old. He was married to his late wife, Lindy, for 64 years.

As a deacon, he officiated at marriages, baptisms and gravesite services, and mentored many younger deacons.

He is survived by his children Charles Patrick O’Donnell Jr., Stephen Gerard O’Donnell, Kathleen Guzman and Patricia Ann Patke; eight grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and his sister, Patricia Ann Holochwost.