Wilbert Lanser

The Province of St. Joseph of the Capuchin Order | Office of the Capuchin Communications

96 HWY 1 | P.O. Box 57 | Crow Agency, MT 59022

Obituary

Wilbert Lanser Capuchin Friar

November 14, 1933 – January 18, 2026

Wilbert Lanser was born in Port Washington, Wisconsin, on November 14, 1933, to Nicholas and Frances (Jungers) Lanser. A few days later, his parents brought him to St. Mary Church to be baptized Donald William Lanser. He grew up in a Catholic farming family alongside his siblings Robert, John, Dorothy and Ruth, in a household where faith and vocation were nurtured and supported. The Lanser family was well regarded in the parish, and it was in this environment that young Wilbert discerned his calling to religious life.

Wilbert attended the Parochial school and attended St. Lawrence Seminary, Mt. Calvary where he graduated in 1951. Wilbert attended St. Lawrence with the intention of becoming a priest. The example and influence of the Capuchins drew Wilbert to join the Capuchins, and he was invested on August 31, 1951 at St. Felix Friary, Huntington, Indiana, where he would make his novitiate and continued his novitiate at St. Bonaventure Monastery in Detroit. Wilbert made first vows on September 1, 1952 and transferred back to St. Felix as a cleric in philosophy studies. Wilbert continued with priestly studies at St. Anthony Friary in Marathon, Wisconsin where he also made his Solemn Profession on September 1, 1955. Wilbert was ordained a priest on September 10, 1959. One superior noted early on that he would be “better suited to parish and missionary work than institutional leadership,” which proved accurate later.

His first summer as a priest, Wilbert was stationed at St. Mary Friary in Crown Point, where he would be a help-out priest. That following year, he made a pastoral rotation at St. Francis Friary. In the summer of 1961, Wilbert served as a chaplain at St. Joseph’s Home in Jackson, Michigan. In 1962, Wilbert was assigned to St. Benedict the Moor Friary in Milwaukee. He served as assistant pastor and chaplain to St. Anthony Hospital.

Expressing interest in Spanish speaking ministry, Wilbert moved to St Conrad Friary in Ponce, Puerto Rico for Spanish studies and moved the following year to Utuado, Puerto Rico for Spanish training and pastoral exposure in Spanish speaking ministry while serving the parish as Associate Pastor.

In August of 1963, Wilbert was appointed as Associate Pastor of St. Francis Parish in Milwaukee where he ministered to the Puerto Rican and African American communities, in 1968 he became the Pastor.

On May 28, 1974, Provincial Lloyd Thiel wrote Wilbert appointing him to the missions: “We fully realize that this assignment can be a very difficult one for you and yet it can also be the fulfillment of a dream. I do hope and pray that you will enjoy the experience and will find it a very fruitful apostolate for you.” From 1974 until his return to the province in 2017, Wilbert served as a missionary among the poor in the rural areas of the Vicariate of Bluefields, Nicaragua.

Numerous letters preserved in his provincial file reflect his years of missionary service. At the conclusion of his pastorate in Muelle de los Bueyes, Wilbert wrote with gratitude: “It’ll be difficult to leave Muelle de los Bueyes. I enjoyed my time here and found the people very loving and the work fulfilling. The parish team and I have been blessed in many ways in the different projects we undertook.”

During his leadership from 1974 to 1981, the parish grew from a small number of communities into 45 base Christian communities, supported by careful organization and solid formation of lay leaders. The parish sponsored Cursillos, marriage encounters, and extensive catechetical training, and a permanent diaconate program led to the ordination of eight deacons. By 1981, the parish had developed a strong network of lay ministers and constructed numerous chapels through local initiative alone. As Wilbert noted, “The people are accustomed to take responsibility into their own hands.” His final major project in Muelle de los Bueyes was a three-month parish-wide evangelization campaign beginning Jan. 1, 1981, during which hundreds of parishioners visited every household in the parish.

Assigned to Nueva Guinea in 1981, Wilbert served as pastor of St. Martin de Porres Parish until 1990. Writing to the provincial shortly after his arrival, he described the simplicity of his living conditions with characteristic understatement: “Although I won’t be ‘home’ too much, living conditions here are a bit more primitive.” He noted the absence of running water, plumbing, and basic kitchen fixtures, adding simply that he had purchased a small gas hot plate after his arrival.

In 1990, Wilbert began what would become his longest and most demanding pastoral assignment as pastor of El Señor de Esquipulas Parish in Siuna. The parish encompassed roughly 60,000 Catholics, including the town of Siuna and 120 rural communities scattered throughout the mining region. Each community functioned as a self-sustaining ecclesial unit, supported by lay leadership and local ministry teams.

Wilbert regularly visited these communities, traveling by road when possible and on foot or by mule to the most remote areas. His pastoral visits were long and physically demanding, ministering the sacraments, extended celebrations, and overnight stays in simple accommodations. He planned his travel carefully to ensure his presence in Siuna every Sunday for parish Mass. When not traveling, he devoted himself to the formation of lay leaders, preparing and leading annual training programs in collaboration with religious sisters and other ministers.

Writing for his 60th jubilee in 2012, Wilbert reflected: “I am extremely grateful for the 60 years of Capuchin. The brotherly spirit of my Capuchin brothers has been a constant blessing. The apostolic opportunities offered throughthe Order have given me a continued sense of satisfaction and fulfillment. I never regretted having responded to the call sixty years ago to follow Christ, guided by St. Francis of Assisi.”

In February 2017, out of concern for his health, his custos returned Wilbert to the United States, bringing hismissionary chapter to a close. He continued to serve as chaplain at St. Paul's Home in Kaukauna until his health declined. In 2022, Wilbert moved to assisted living in Kaukauna. He was admitted to hospice care in January 2026 and died peacefully Sunday afternoon, January 18, 2026.

Wilbert is preceded in death by his parents, Nicholas and Frances (Jungers) Lanser, siblings Robert Lanser, John Lanser, Dorothy Fink, and Ruth Gaspar.

He is survived by his nieces and nephews, and his Capuchin brothers with whom he lived, prayed and ministered for over seven decades.

Funeral arrangements are foreseen as follows:

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Monday, January 26, 2026 

Our Lady of the Holyland Parish

Holy Cross Church

308 S. County W, Mt. Calvary, WI 53057

Visitation will begin at 9:00 a.m. (CT)

The Liturgy of Christian Burial will begin at 10:00 a.m. (CT) Luncheon to follow at St. Lawrence Friary.

Burial at Mt. Calvary Friary Cemetery will be held at a later date.

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The funeral service will be live-streamed and will be made available online for viewing later: www.thecapuchins.org

Uecker Witt Funeral Home – Fond du Lac