Father Daniel Jensen

Jensen, Father Daniel P.
Father Daniel P. Jensen M.M., a native of Greenwich and a Catholic priest of the Maryknoll order died on July 14, 2013. At the time of his death, he was a resident of St. Teresa's nursing home of the Maryknoll Fathers in Ossining, New York. He was 77 years old and had been a Maryknoll priest for 51 years.
Daniel Powers Jensen was born in Greenwich, the second son of Charles W. Jensen and Marjorie Powers Jensen. A graduate of Fairfield Prep in 1953, he joined the Maryknoll Society and was awarded a BA degree in Philosophy and a MRE degree from the Maryknoll Seminary. He was ordained a priest in 1962 and assigned to the Maryknoll Mission in Guatemala.
Dan's missionary career centered around Guatemala working in San Miguel Acatan and Santa Eulalia in the state of Huehuetenango. Eventually, he was forced to leave the country due to the civil war and its violence. Subsequently he worked in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica and a refugee camp in Campeche, Mexico tending to Guatemalans who had fled their country. Other assignments included director of the Maryknoll residency at Los Altos, California. In 2003, he joined the retirement community of fellow priests at Maryknoll, New York and finally as a resident of St. Teresa's Home at Maryknoll.
Father Jensen is survived by his brother Dr. Charles Jensen and his wife Rachel Jensen of Riverside, his cousin Mrs. Robert (Karen) Dustin of Randolph, VT and a step-brother and his wife George and Celine Heath of Milford, CT.
Dan explained to his family, "Mission is not taking Jesus overseas, but it is discovering the footprints of God across the history of the people we serve. For example, the Mayan people do not have a word for holy, because everything is holy. They have a sense of reverence and a feeling of awe before the presence of God in all creation."
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Maryknoll at 11 a.m. on Friday, July 19, 2013. Father Jensen's ashes will be interned in Guatemala as per his desire.