Please join us for the Rosary and Vespers for the Dead for Fr. Paschal Salisbury, OP. A reception will follow in Siena Hall. His obituary may be found at OregonLive and donations may be made in his memory at opwest.org.
Obituary for Fr. Paschal (Donald Hughes) Salisbury, O.P.
June 6, 1928 - August 18, 2023
Fr. Paschal Salisbury died peacefully after a long illness at Holy Rosary Priory in Portland, Oregon, on August 18, 2023. He had just celebrated his 95th birthday.
Fr. Paschal lived a long and interesting life. His grandfather was freed from slavery in Missouri. Born in Lawrence, Kansas, on June 6, 1928, Fr. Paschal grew up during segregation when there were very limited employment opportunities for African Americans. He spent time in the US Army when it was still segregated, and though not Catholic, enjoyed listening to Bishop Fulton Sheen on the radio. President Truman integrated the Air Force shortly after Fr. Paschal's Army tour ended, so he enlisted in that branch of the service. He was a very talented musician and, while practicing the organ at the Catholic chapel, pursued his interest in Catholicism and entered the Church in 1948 at age 21.
When Fr. Paschal returned to civilian life, he completed a degree in business, moved to San Francisco, and pursued his profession. He sang in the choir at St. Dominic’s Church and began to discern a call to priesthood. He attempted to enter many religious communities, but because of discrimination was turned down or told to become a lay brother. His desire was finally realized when he was admitted to the Dominican Order on the West Coast. He was ordained the first African American Dominican priest in the U.S. on June 16, 1967, by Bishop Floyd Begin at St. Francis Cathedral in Oakland, CA. After ministering at St. Dominic Catholic church in San Francisco where he was well-received, he completed a program in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) and discovered a gift for hospital ministry.
In 1975, he started a CPE internship at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, DC. From that time on, much of the rest of his life was spent ministering to the infirm in such disparate places as the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, hospitals in Jefferson City, Missouri, and Fresno, California, and VA hospitals in White City, Ashland and Portland, Oregon. He retired in 2008 and spent his last years hearing confessions and gardening at Holy Rosary Dominican Priory in Portland, Oregon.
He was much loved by the people he served and by the members of his community. They admired his commitment to the Lord and the religious life. His obvious talents for gardening and music were put to great use for the good of others. Though generally quiet and reserved, it was a delight to get to know him. One of the priests who lived with Fr. Paschal when he ministered to the sick in his beloved Jefferson City stated what all his friends knew, “He’s very witty and insightful, and very talented.”
A vigil will be held at Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Portland, on Friday, August 25, at 7:00 p.m. A memorial Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Saturday, August 26. He will be buried at St. Dominic Cemetery, Benicia, California at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, August 30. To honor the memory of Fr. Paschal, gifts may be made securely online in support of the education of Dominican brothers and priests at https://opwest.org/blog/death-of-fr.-paschal-salisbury.