The Chancellor’s Office just received word of the peaceful passing of Monsignor John A. Cippel, 92, a retired priest of the Diocese of St. Petersburg, this afternoon, Monday, December 1, 2025. He was under Hospice care at the St. John XXIII Retirement Residence, in Lutz, following a battle with leukemia.

Monsignor Cippel was born in Ford City, Pennsylvania, on April 8, 1933, and was ordained for the White Fathers (now Missionaries of Africa) on January 28, 1960. He arrived in Florida in 1975, was incardinated into the Diocese of Saint Petersburg in 1980, and served in six parishes in our Diocese before his retirement in 2006. However, he remained active in retirement, assisting in parishes as needed and serving as Spiritual Director at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, in Boynton Beach until 2020.

In August 1999, at the nomination of Bishop Robert Lynch, Monsignor Cippel was given the honorary title of Prelate of Honor of His Holiness, by Pope John Paul II. In 2000, his brother priests nominated him as the recipient of the Father Luis de Cancer Distinguished Priestly Service Award.

Funeral arrangements are pending and will be announced once they have been finalized.

Please keep Monsignor Cippel’s brother priests and loved ones in your thoughts and prayers.

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Well done, good and faithful servant…
Come, share your master’s joy.
~ Matthew 25:21