Fr. Paschal Salisbury OP

1928 - 2023

Fr. Paschal Salisbury, OP
June 6, 1928 - August 18, 2023
Fr. Paschal (Donald Hughes) Salisbury, OP, died peacefully after a long illness at the age of 95 at Holy Rosary Priory in Portland, Oregon, on August 18, 2023.
Born the grandson of a freed slave in Lawrence, Kansas, on June 6, 1928, Fr. Paschal grew up during segregation when there were limited employment opportunities for African Americans. He served in the US Army when it was still segregated, and though not Catholic, enjoyed listening to Bishop Fulton Sheen on the radio. When President Truman integrated the Air Force shortly after Fr. Paschal's Army tour ended, 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 at age 21.
After leaving the military, he completed a degree in business, moved to San Francisco, and pursued his profession. He sang in the choir at St. Dominic Catholic 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 Western Dominican Province. 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, California. 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.
Much of the rest of his life was spent ministering to the infirm at 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 Priory in Portland, Oregon.
Though generally quiet and reserved, 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. One of the priests who lived with Fr. Paschal when he ministered to the sick in his beloved Jefferson City observed what all his friends knew: "He's very witty and insightful, and very talented."
A vigil will be held at St. Dominic Catholic church, San Francisco, at 7:30 p.m. on August 29. His funeral Mass will be at St. Dominic Catholic church, San Francisco, at 10:00 a.m. on August 30, followed by burial at St. Dominic Cemetery, Benicia, California, at 2 p.m.
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 to honor the memory of Fr. Paschal.