John R. Gaydos

John Raymond Gaydos (August 14, 1943 – September 6, 2025) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Jefferson City in Missouri from 1997 to 2017.

Biography

Early years John Gaydos was born on August 14, 1943, in St. Louis, Missouri, to George and Carrie (née Lee) Gaydos.

In 1965, Gaydos traveled to Rome to reside at the Pontifical North American College while attending the Pontifical Gregorian University. He obtained his Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree in dogmatic theology in 1969.

Priesthood On December 20, 1968, Gaydos was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Saint Louis by Bishop Francis Reh in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

After returning to Missouri, Gaydos was assigned as associate pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Manchester, Missouri, until 1974. He was then transferred to be associate pastor at St. Cecilia Parish in St. Louis, serving there until 1977. Gaydos was appointed as priest-secretary to Cardinal John Carberry and as vice-chancellor of St. Louis from 1977 to 1981. He then became secretary to Archbishop John May and full chancellor until 1990. Gaydos became pastor of St. Gerard Majella Parish in Kirkwood, Missouri in 1990, and vicar general of the archdiocese on February 14, 1996.

Bishop of Jefferson City On June 25, 1997, Pope John Paul II appointed Gaydos as the third bishop of Jefferson City. He was consecrated on August 27, 1997, by Archbishop Justin Rigali, with Bishop Michael McAuliffe and Archbishop Oscar Lipscomb serving as co-consecrators, at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Jefferson City. In May 2002, facing declining enrollment at the seminary and pending lawsuits, Gaydos closed it.

In March 2002, it was revealed that the diocese had made a secret settlement of $125,000 in 1996 to a former seminarian who claimed to have been sexually abused by O'Connell in 1969 at the seminary. In 1988, O'Connell was named bishop of the Diocese of Knoxville; it is unknown if Gaydos had informed John Paul II about the O'Connell settlement before he appointed O'Connell as bishop. In 2002, O'Connell admitting abusing two boys at the seminary and resigned as bishop of Palm Beach.

Other sexual abuse cases In 2003, Gaydos and the diocese were named in a sexual abuse lawsuit by a Missouri man. The plaintiff alleged that Reverend Gary Pool and Reverend Kevin Clohessy had sexually abused him for most of his childhood.

On September 3, 2015, the diocese settled for $40,000 a long-standing sexual abuse claim by David Clohessy, the brother of Kevin Clohessy, against Reverend John Whiteley. David Clohessy had sued the diocese in 1991, claiming that Whiteley, then a pastor at St. Pius X Parish in Moberly, Missouri, had sexually abused him. Clohessy's case was dismissed in 1993 due to the Missouri statute of limitations. However, Clohessy renewed his claim in 2015 and the diocese decided that it was credible.

Retirement and death In 2017, Gaydos sent a letter of resignation to Pope Francis, asking for early retirement as bishop of Jefferson City for health reasons. The pope accepted his resignation on November 21, 2017.

Gaydos died at the St. Agnes senior care home in Kirkwood, Missouri, on September 6, 2025, at the age of 82.