SENECA, Kan. — The town of Seneca, Kansas, is grappling with the loss of Father Arul Carasala, the priest at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church who was shot and later died Thursday.
“It’s like losing a family member,” Greg Kohake, a parishioner at Saints Peter and Paul and a longtime friend of Carasala’s, said. “He was here for 14 years. You have a bond.”
Kohake is also a member of the Seneca Knights of Columbus.
“He was our pastor, our priest, but he was also a friend,” Kohake said. “We’re a very tight-knit community. Pretty much, we know everyone.”
Prosecutors in Nemaha County charged Gary L. Hermesch of Tulsa, Oklahoma, with first-degree murder in Carasala’s death.
Hermesch appeared before a Nemaha County District Court judge just after 2 p.m. Friday.
Judge Scott M. Anson set a preliminary hearing for 11:30 a.m. on April 15, 2025.
Community members say while Hermesch lived in Oklahoma most recently, he grew up in Nemaha County.
“All we ask is for prayers,” Kohake said. “We don’t need prayers for ourselves. We need prayers for all of Christianity. We need prayers for the perpetrator.”
The church held a mass and rosary for Carasala on Thursday afternoon, which was planned in a matter of hours.
Still, the turnout was significant.
Come Friday, several community members spent the day paying respects at the rectory where he lived and even left flowers at his doorstep.
Kohake says this loss comes just a week after a seven-year-old girl died in an ATV crash in the county.
“Seneca is going through a lot right now,” Kohake said.
The impact of Carasala’s death stretched far beyond the church.
KSHB 41’s Rachel Henderson spoke with several businesses on Main Street Friday, including Seneca Variety.
“You don’t expect a small town to have something like this happen,” Diann Funk, an employee at Seneca Variety, said.
Funk was working alongside Tina Strathman, another lifelong Seneca resident, on Friday.
“[I have] no words,” Strathman said tearfully.
Strathman says Carasala was a friend to everyone, especially the youth at Saints Peter and Paul School, which he was passionate about.
“He always said the summer was the most depressing time for him because he didn’t have school for the kids,” Kohake said. “It just lit up his world.”
Strathman says he also lit up rooms.
Carasala officiated the wedding between her son and his wife, and he baptized their kids.
“He’s always got his hand out, shaking your hand,” Strathman said. “Always got a smile on his face.”
For now, the smiles have been replaced by tears.
“It’s affected everybody,” Strathman said.
But they’ve at least got faith — and each other — to rely on.
“I think there's a lot of hugging going on and just talking and just trying to make each other feel better,” Funk said. “I think that's just about all you can do. That’s what a small town is, is we’re here for each other.”
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KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson covers neighborhoods in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. Share your story idea with Rachel.
