This story has been updated with additional information.
Monsignor Rex Nicholl, the senior priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Amarillo, died Wednesday, Feb. 11. He was 89.
A vigil and Rosary will take place at 6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15 at St. Mary’s Cathedral, located at 1200 S. Washington in Amarillo, followed by a funeral Mass at 11 a.m. Monday at the same location. The funeral Mass will be livestreamed on the St. Mary’s Cathedral website.
The announcement of Nicholl’s passing was posted on the church’s website and Facebook page.
Along with his decades of service in the church, Nicholl celebrated Mass weekly at the Ussery-Roan Texas State Veterans Home in Amarillo and visited his fellow veterans at the Thomas Creek VA Hospital.
In addition, he served as spiritual advisor for the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, a post he assumed in 2007 following the passing of Monsignor Francis A. Smyer. He was also active with the Father Francis Crowe Council No. 13134 of the Knights of Columbus and as Faithful Friar for the Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus.
The Amarillo Diocese said that in an interview on St. Valentine Catholic Radio (now the Guadalupe Radio Network) in 2017, Nicholl was asked what advice he would give a young man who was seeking a calling to the priesthood, to which he replied, “I would tell him to do his very best and trust in God. Seek Him first. Form habits or prayer and prayerful reading of Scripture, especially Lectio Divina. I would seek the guidance of priests as mentors and enjoy the company of lay people in your parish and draw strength from them.”
Born Dec. 3, 1936 in Fort Worth, Nicholl was the son of Worth Howard and Phyllis Nicholl, and his family moved to Amarillo when he was age 2.
After his graduation from Price College in 1955, Nicholl studied journalism at St. Edward’s University for two years before he transferred to Marquette University, where he graduated in 1959 with a degree in journalism. Nicholl then volunteered for the draft and served two years in the U.S. Army. After he was honorably discharged, Nicholl entered Conception Seminary in Conception, Mo., where he studied for the priesthood.
On May 19, 1967, Nicholl, along with his brother Larry and fellow seminarian Kenneth Yaroch, were ordained to the priesthood by then-Bishop Lawrence M. DeFalco at St. Laurence Church, Amarillo, the Diocese said. After his ordination, he spent the summer of 1967 as a substitute for various priests at parishes in Pep, Morton, Muleshoe and Levelland, which are all now in the Diocese of Lubbock.
In 1968, he received his first permanent assignment as parochial vicar at St. Laurence Church in Amarillo. Nicholl also taught at St. Laurence School and for a short time was associate editor of The West Texas Register, now called The West Texas Catholic.
He was then transferred to Sacred Heart Church, Plainview, and its mission, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, serving as parochial vicar. Nicholl was appointed pastor after the passing of Father Fred Hyland on April 26, 1977, and he remained there until 1982, when he was named pastor of the Church of the Holy Spirit in Tulia and its missions, St. Paul the Apostle Church, Kress and Our Lady of Loreto Church, Silverton. While in Tulia, Nicholl established a Catholic community center in Quitaque that eventually became San Juan Diego Church, and he was a founding member of the Red River Valley Mission Team, according to the Amarillo Diocese.
In July 1991, Nicholl was appointed pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Perryton, and St. Peter’s Church in Booker.
In 1992, he noted the 25th anniversary of his ordination with several Masses at various locations, including Our Lady of Loreto in Silverton, St. Mary’s Church in Amarillo, Church of the Holy Spirit in Tulia, Sacred Heart Church in Plainview and at Immaculate Conception Church in Perryton.
During his time in Perryton, Nicholl was named a Prelate of Honor on Aug. 24, 1999, with the title of Monsignor. In 2000, Nicholl was named pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Amarillo, where he remained until Sept. 1, 2009. He was then appointed as pastor at St. Martin de Porres Church.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Amarillo Diocese senior priest, Monsignor Nicholl, 89, dies
Reporting by Kristina Wood, Amarillo Globe-News / Amarillo Globe-News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
