-
Deacon Eugene Kummerer
Deacon Eugene Kummerer Jr., 62, died Feb. 2. He was ordained in 2019 and served at St. Pascal, now part of Holy Rosary Parish.
Deacon Kummerer was active in many ministries at the parish, including the liturgy and art and environment committees.
“If Gene saw something that needed to be done, he did it,” said Betty Arena, administrative assistant for the parish. “Nobody knows everything he did.”
He was the moderator for women’s club, past president and a member of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and led adoration and Benediction every Thursday. Friends said he would pull out his wallet to give money to homeless people as soon as he saw them.
He is survived by his parents, Margaret and Eugene Kummerer Sr.; and his siblings Brian, Jeff and Richard Kummerer and Mary Pat Lunkes.
-
Sr. Maureen Abbott
Providence Sister Maureen Abbott, 84, died Jan. 26 in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.
Born in Buffalo, New York, she joined the Sisters of Providence in 1956 and professed final vows in 1964.
She ministered as a teacher, principal, councilor to the provincial, provincial and director of ministries and vicar of education in the Diocese of Corpus Christi. She also worked in the marriage tribunal in the Diocese of Portland, Oregon, and wrote a history of her congregation.
In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Mother Theodore Guerin High School, River Grove.
Sister Maureen is survived by five sisters: Patricia Ashton, Liz Karchmer, Christine Wisian, Jean Wood and Kathy Oxford; and one brother, John Abbott.
-
Sr. Mary Susan Holbach
Felician Sister Mary Susan (Mary Doreen) Holbach, 76, died Jan. 26, at Mother of Good Counsel Convent.
Born in Wisconsin, she joined the Felician Sisters aspirancy in Chicago, where she attended Good Counsel High School. She entered the Felician Sisters postulancy in 1964 and professed her final vows in 1972. She ministered in elementary schools as a teacher and principal in Illinois and Wisconsin. She also ministered as an infant care lead teacher at St. Joseph Academy and as a receptionist at Villa St. Francis in Milwaukee.
In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she ministered at St. Bruno (1967-1968); Our Lady of Ransom, Niles (1968-1970); St. Isidore, Blue Island (1970-1971, 1994-1999); St. Damian, Oak Forest (1971-1974); St. Mary Magdalene (1974-1975); Our Lady of the Gardens (1975-1979, 1982-1986); St. Bronislava (1979-1980); St. Joseph High School, Westchester (1986-1990); Good Shepherd (1990-1992); St. Helen (1993-1994); and Holy Innocents (1999-2002).
-
Sr. Janette Wicker
Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Janette (Juditha) Wicker, 91, died Jan. 29 in Footville, Wisconsin.
Born in Wisconsin, Sister Janette made her first religious profession in 1954 and her perpetual profession in 1957. She was a teacher, co-principal and principal, as well as a religious education coordinator, liturgist, pastoral associate and librarian. She served in Illinois and Wisconsin.
In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Janette taught at St. Cajetan (1954-1963).
-
Fr. Charles W. Watkins
Father Charles W. Watkins, 78, died Jan. 27. He was the former pastor of St. Columba Parish.
Born in Florence, Alabama, Father Watkins attended Coffee High School and the University of North Alabama, both in Florence, and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein.
Before entering the seminary, Father Watkins spent more than a quarter century working in health care. In the early 1980s, he was coordinator of the cardiac surgery section and a research clinician at the University of Chicago.
He was ordained in 2003 at age 58.
After being ordained, Father Watkins was associate pastor at Our Lady of the Ridge, Chicago Ridge, and St. Cletus, La Grange. He became pastor of St. Columba Parish in 2012, and served there until he retired in 2020. Watkins was also chaplain of the Circus and Traveling Show Apostolate and served as dean of Vicariate IV-C.
Father Michael Novick, ordained in 2001 and associate pastor of St. Cletus Parish, was a close friend of Father Watkins. “He became part of my family here in Chicago, since his was in Alabama.”
-
Deacon Wolfgang Walter Kunath
Deacon Wolfgang Walter Kunath, 82, of Hudson Oaks, Texas, died Jan. 16. He was ordained in 1977 and served at St. Catherine Laboure Parish in Glenview before moving to Texas.
Born in Germany, Deacon Kunath moved to Chicago with his family when he was a child. He married his high school sweetheart, Bonnie, in 1965, after serving for six years in the U.S. Air Force.
Deacon Kunath studied at IIT Technical Institute and the University of Illinois at Chicago before working for 27 years at AT&T.
As a deacon, he taught religious education, and served in prison, hospital and nursing home ministries. He was also a fourth degree Knight of Columbus.
He is survived by his wife, Bonnie; children Eric Kunath, Gwen Hasty, Perrin Kunath and Marrika Schumann; 10 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
-
Sr. Helen McAllister
Adrian Dominican Sister Helen (Denis Margaret) McAllister, 83, died Dec. 17, 2022, in Adrian, Michigan.
Born in Evergreen Park, Sister Helen attended Aquinas Dominican High School. She was a member of her community for 64 years.
Sister Helen ministered in education in Michigan and Illinois. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she was campus minister at Immaculate Heart of Mary, Westchester (1985-1989) and a teacher at St. Cyprian, River Grove (1989-1995); St. Benedict, Blue Island (1995-1997) and Queen of Peace High School, Burbank (1998-2009).
Sister Helen is survived by three sisters: Judy Gardiner, Rosemary Pritchard and Susan Stachler. -
Sr. M. Gabriel Lazarski
Franciscan Sister of Chicago M. Gabriel (Irene) Lazarski, 96, died Jan. 9.
Sister M. Gabriel entered the community in 1947 and professed perpetual vows in 1954.
She ministered in education and in leadership positions in her community in Illinois and Indiana.
In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Florian (1949-1950); St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr (1950-1954, 1979-1980); St. Louise de Marillac, La Grange Park (1959-1960); and was principal and local superior at Five Holy Martyrs (1969-1974);
From 1974 to 1985, she served two terms as a general councilor. During that time, she held a number of other leadership positions, including retirement coordinator (1976-1977) and motherhouse superior (1977-1979). She was also assistant principal (1980-1981) and principal (1982-1985) of St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr.
She was novice director (1987-1990) at the Lemont motherhouse, then ministered at Five Holy Martyrs as local superior while volunteering at the Port (1990-1991) and director of religious education (1991-1993). From 1993 to 2006, she ministered at St. Joseph Home as local superior and director of mission effectiveness, among other positions. She ministered at Madonna Convent from 2006 to 2009, before retiring at the motherhouse.
-
Sr. Mary Fearon
Mercy Sister Mary (Mateo) Fearon, 98, died Jan. 12.
She was a Sister of Mercy for 75 years.
Sister Mary had a bachelor’s degree from Saint Xavier University and a master’s degree from the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University Chicago.
After years teaching in the primary grades in Catholic schools of Illinois and Iowa, Sister Mary was invited in 1967 to join the Office for Catechesis of the Archdiocese of Chicago. She began her second career there writing the child and adult curricula of the new post-Second Vatican Council catechetical program.
She authored three series of textbooks and teacher manuals dedicated to religious education of young children that were published by Wm. C. Brown and Co. In addition, she wrote “Saints for All Seasons,” “Practical Liturgies for the School Year,” “Bible Stories for Children” and more, which offered fresh and creative approaches to religious education and faith formation.
In 1998 she was honored by Cardinal Francis George for her contributions to religious education in the Archdiocese of Chicago and in 1992 she received the Bene Award for her book “Celebrating the Gift of Forgiveness.”
-
Br. Raymond Albers
Divine Word Brother Raymond Albers, 93, died Jan. 13.
Born in Iowa, Brother Ray entered the Society of the Divine Word in 1947 and professed vows in 1949.
A man of many trades and talents, he served as a tailor at the Divine Word community in Conesus, New York; a carpenter in Bordentown, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C.; and a draftsman for the Divine Word Architecture Bureau in Rome.
He ministered at St. Joseph’s Technical School in Saboba, Ghana, in the 1970s. After returning to United States, he served as business manager at St. Anselm Parish and the director of brother formation at Techny, and worked as a substance abuse counselor.
Before retiring, he provided pastoral care for the Zapotecas people of Oaxaca, Mexico.
He also designed the stained-glass windows in chapel of Divine Word Residence at Techny and the African Chapel in the Techny Towers Conference and Retreat Center.
Brother Ray had lived in Techny in retirement since 2008.
-
Sr. Mary Louise Coccimiglio
Sister of the Living Word Mary Louise Coccimiglio, 87, died Jan. 13. She resided at the Resurrection Life Center.
Born in Detroit, she served at Josephinum High School; as a volunteer with RCIA at Our Lady of the Wayside, Arlington Heights; and in Missouri and Michigan.
-
Fr. Eric Meyer
Passionist Father Eric Meyer, 84, died Jan. 13. He was the former pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish on Talcott Avenue.
Father Meyer was born in Chicago and attended St. Ita School before entering the Passionist seminary. He earned a doctorate in theology in Munster, Germany.
He entered the community in 1959 and was ordained a priest in 1966.
Meyer taught theology at Catholic Theological Union and at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, and ministered at the Newman Center at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. He was associate pastor and then the last Passionist pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish (2005-2013).
Rose Hegarty, former business manager at Immaculate Conception Parish, remembered Father Meyer as a good man, very dedicated to the church. “He had a golden heart, and always felt sorry for people who needed help,” Hegarty said.
He is survived by his brother, James Meyer.
-
Fr. Edward J. Whelan
Maryknoll Father Edward J. Whelan, 88, died Jan. 16 in Maryknoll, New York.
Father Whelan was born in Chicago and attended St. Angela School and St. Ignatius High School before entering Maryknoll in 1952. He was ordained a priest in 1961.
He taught English at Maryknoll collegiate institutions in Glen Ellyn and in Pennsylvania, and earned a doctorate in English at St. Louis University before being sent to Korea.
From 1972 to 2022, Father Whelan ministered for almost 40 years in South Korea and 10 years in northeast China, serving as a pastor and an English professor and establishing two early childhood special education centers, one in Cheongiu City, South Korea, and one in China. He also helped establish a day care center for adults with severe intellectual disabilities in Cheongiu.
In 2022, Father Whelan returned to Maryknoll, New York.
-
Sr. Joris Binder
Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Joris Binder, 84, died Jan. 22 in Footville, Wisconsin.
Born in Gary, Indiana, Sister Joris made her first religious profession in 1958 and her perpetual profession in 1961. She was a teacher and administrator and worked in residence life leadership at the University of Notre Dame and led the Hesburgh Sabbatical Program at Catholic Theological Union.
In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught (1968-1973) and was a counselor (1970-1973) at St. Philip the Apostle School, Northfield, and was codirector of the Hesburgh Sabbatical Program (now Hesburgh Renewal Program) at Catholic Theological Union (1998-2001).
She is survived by a brother, George Binder Jr.
-
Deacon Joseph Pepitone
Deacon Joseph Pepitone, 81, died Jan. 11. He was ordained in 1982 and ministered for 40 years at St. John of the Cross Parish, Western Springs.
Born in Chicago, he attended Austin High School and DePaul University. He worked in sales for the McGraw-Hill Companies, and after he retired, he was a paraeducator for 10 years at Lyons Township High School.
He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Mary; his children Melissa Glimco, Joseph Pepitone and Anthony Pepitone; seven grandchildren and his siblings Ann Donatello, Francine Erenburg and John Pepitone.
-
Sr. Thomas Jeanne Doriot
Providence Sister Thomas Jeanne (Margaret Ann) Doriot, 85, died Dec. 19, 2022, at Westridge Health Center in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Born in Indiana, she entered the Sisters of Providence in 1960 and professed final vows in 1967. She ministered in education for five years, in journalism for 11 years in Indiana, Illinois and California. She also did pastoral ministry.
In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Marywood High School, Evanston (1964-1966), and was a journalist at Pioneer Press, Evanston (1969-1971).
-
Sr. Teresa Disch
Dominican Sister Teresa (Joseph Henrice) Disch, 84, died Dec. 20, 2022, in Adrian, Michigan.
Born in Wisconsin, she was in her 63rd year of religious life.
Sister Teresa ministered in elementary and secondary education, as a director of formation for her community, as a social worker, pastoral counselor and retreat and spiritual director in Michigan, Illinois and Colorado.
In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Mary Mount Carmel (1959) and Regina Dominican High School, Wilmette (1970-1971). She was associate director of permanent diaconate formation in Oak Park (1991-1995), and was a pastoral counselor and spiritual director at Catholic Counseling Associates, Westchester (1995-2006).
She also had a master of divinity degree from the Jesuit School of Theology in Chicago.
She is survived by a sister, Rita Chiodini, and two brothers, Richard Disch and Robert Disch.
-
Sr. Vincent O’Neill
Little Sister of the Poor Vincent (Mary Catherine) O’Neill, 100, died Dec. 28, 2022, in Palatine.
Born in Philadelphia, she professed temporary vows in her community in 1944 and perpetual vows in 1950. During her religious life of 78 years, she served the elderly poor with devotion.
She spent 47 of those years in the Archdiocese of Chicago, serving at both St. Mary’s Home in Chicago and St. Joseph’s Home in Palatine.
-
Deacon Ismael Pineiro
Deacon Ismael Pineiro, 78, died Dec. 20, 2022. He was ordained in 1983 and had served outside the Archdiocese of Chicago for many years.
Deacon Pineiro was born in Puerto Rico, one of 14 children. He married his wife, Virginia, in 1968, and they had three children.
After he was ordained a deacon, he served at St. Peter Canisius Parish and later in Clermont, Florida.
His wife predeceased him. He is survived by his children Ismael Jr., Laura and Maria; seven grandchildren; and his siblings Francisca, Ana, Mercedes, Carmen, Marta, Ana Maria, Laura, Juan, Domingo, Luis and Martin Jr.
-
Sr. Margarita Walters
Benedictine Sister Margarita Walters, 83, died Nov. 20, 2022, in St. Joseph Court Infirmary.
Sister Margarita was born in New York and moved with her family to Wilmette, where she attended St. Joseph School. After graduating, she enrolled at St. Scholastica High School and graduated in 1956.
Shortly after Sister Margarita finished high school, she moved to California and spent the greater part of her adult life there. She was married and eventually widowed. As her five children grew to adulthood, her success in the business world began to be less important to her than a yearning for a deeper relationship with God. After she tested that call with short memberships in the Carmelites and a small Italian community, she finally entered St. Scholastica Monastery in 1995.
In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Margarita served as director of alumnae relations for St. Scholastica Academy High School, director of the development office for the school, and following her profession of vows, the vocation minister for the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago.
-
Sr. Barbara Sheehy
Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Barbara (Rosellen) Sheehy, 91, died Nov. 28, 2022, in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.
Born in Chicago, Sister Barbara made her first religious profession in 1951 and her perpetual profession in 1954. She was a teacher, principal and diocesan assistant superintendent, and she helped develop and lead a workplace computer training program. She ministered in the District of Columbia, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Montana, Illinois and Massachusetts.
In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Barbara was principal at Queen of Peace, Burbank (1973-1986).
-
Br. George Haegele
Divine Word Brother George Haegele, 75, who worked in accounting and business administration for the Society of the Divine Word for decades, died Dec. 3 , 2022, in Techny.
Born in Chicago, Brother George grew up in St. Sabina Parish. He professed first vows in 1968 and perpetual vows in 1974.
He served as treasurer for Divine Word Seminary in Perrysburg, Ohio; business manager for the Divine Word community in Pittsburgh; and treasurer for the Society of the Divine Word New Jersey District.
He worked as a bookkeeper for the Divine Word Missionaries at Bordentown, New Jersey, and in pastoral care in East Troy, Wisconsin. He also served as chairman of the Society of the Divine Word Chicago Province Budget Committee and as a member of the province’s Finance Committee.
Brother George retired in Techny in 2017.
-
Fr. Mark Weber
Divine World Father Mark Weber, 68, died Dec. 14, 2022, in Chicago. Father Weber served two terms as his community’s provincial and was its general secretary for formation and education internationally. He also served as a missionary in Ghana.
“Mark was an advocate for those in need, a leader who preferred working with his hands rather than governing with a pen,” said Divine Word Father Roger Schroeder, Louis J. Luzbetak, SVD professor of mission and culture at Catholic Theological Union, and a good friend of Father Weber.
Born in Iowa, Father Weber was ordained to the priesthood in 1982, He spent almost eight years in West Africa: two years as a seminarian and six years as a missionary priest. In 1983, he became chaplain and teacher at St. Paul Technical School in Kukurantumi, Ghana. By 1989, tropical illnesses, such as malaria and typhoid, took a toll on him and he returned to the United States.
Upon his return, he joined the staff of the 8th Day Center for Justice in Chicago. For most of the 1990s, Father Weber worked on the formation staff of Divine Word Theologate in Chicago and eventually was named rector.
After his time there, Father Weber served St. Anselm Parish in Chicago’s Washington Park neighborhood. Divine Word Missionaries have staffed the predominantly African American parishes of St. Anselm and St. Elizabeth (now among the former parishes united as Our Lady of Africa Parish) since before World War II. Father Weber lived and worked at the parish for five years, including three as pastor.
In 2005 and 2008, Father Weber was elected as Chicago provincial. When Father Weber’s second term as provincial superior ended, the religious order’s international leaders chose him as the generalate’s secretary for formation and education. His one request when accepting the position was to make his base at St. Anselm Parish in Chicago instead of Rome. In the role as formation and education secretary, he traveled the world to meet with Divine Word formation directors and candidates and to improve the congregation’s formation and education processes.
He is survived by four sisters: Jeanne Kluesner, Ann Their, Joan Weber and Marilyn Mootz; and a brother, Michael Weber.
-
Sr. Joann Feist
Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Joann (Antonia) Feist, 88, died Dec. 6, 2022, in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.
Born in Bloomington, Sister Joann made her first religious profession in 1954 and her perpetual profession in 1957.
She taught for 46 years at all levels of formal education and in community adult learning centers, specializing in teaching science and computer skills. Sister Joann also served as a chaplain for one year and in fundraising for five years. Sister Joann served in Wisconsin, Illinois, Montana, Nebraska, Alaska, Alabama and the District of Columbia.
In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Joann taught at St. Luke, River Forest (1956-1961 and 1976-1979); St. Barnabas (1965-1968 and 1989-1990); Unity Catholic High School (1980-1983, 1984-1985 and 1986-1988); Mother McAuley High School (1988-1989); Sts. Faith, Hope and Charity, Winnetka (1991-1994) and St. Thomas More (1997-1998). She ministered as a teacher at Maria Shelter (1994-1997) and Connections Adult Learning Center, now the Learning Center, (2000); and as a teacher and grant administrator at Malcolm X College (1998-1999). She worked in the Development Office at the Mission of Our Lady of Mercy Home (2000-2005).
She is survived by a sister, Genevieve Feist, and a brother, Bill Feist.
-
Deacon Frank Beil
Deacon Frank Beil, 88, died Nov. 26 at his home in Glenview. He was ordained in 1984 and served at St. Catherine Laboure Parish in Glenview and St. Isaac Jogues Parish in Niles.
Born in Cleveland, he moved with his family to Oak Park as a child. After high school, he worked at his family’s furniture store and served in the U.S. Army.
He married his first love, Joan Ann Swinhart, while in the service in 1957. They had five children before she died 13 years later.
He met his second wife, Carolyn Elaine Wenzel, through the NAIM support group for Catholic widows and widowers. Deacon Beil adopted his new wife’s son, she adopted his children and they had one child together. At the time of his death, they had been married 51 years.
Deacon Beil worked in sales for Fruehauf and Pitney Bowes prior to starting his own business with his wife Carolyn.
In addition to his work at St. Catherine Laboure and St. Isaac Jogues, he trained as a chaplain at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge and served as a chaplain at Resurrection Hospital.
Deacon Beil is survived by his wife, Carolyn, and six of his children: Julie Migacz, Laura Deters, Mark Beil, Brian Beil, Gene Beil, and David Beil-Adaskin; 12 grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and his brother, David Beil.
-
Sr. Rosalie FitzPatrick
Mercy Sister Rosalie (Carlita) FitzPatrick, 97, died Sept. 7 at Mercy Circle.
Born in Chicago, Sister Rosalie was a member of her congregation for 80 years. She taught math for 34 years at Saint Xavier University and for four years at Salve Regina University in Rhode Island. She also taught at Mercy High School; Queen of Martyrs; St. Xavier Academy; Immaculate Conception; Little Flower; St. Cecilia; St. Rose of Lima.
After retiring in 1995, she tutored at Mercy Girls Home and served as a minister care at St. Germaine Parish, Oak Lawn.
She is survived by her brother, Larry.
-
Sr. Cecilia Davis
Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Cecilia (Elianne) Davis, 82, died Nov. 17 in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.
Born in Nebraska, Sister Cecilia made her first religious profession in 1960 and her perpetual profession in 1965. She was a teacher and assistant principal, and cared for a family member. Sister Cecilia served in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois.
In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Cecilia taught at St. Vincent Ferrer, River Forest (1970-1976); St. Giles, Oak Park (1976-1982), where she was also unit coordinator; St. Eulalia, Maywood (1986-1987); and Mary, Seat of Wisdom, Park Ridge (1987-1996). She was assistant principal at St. Domitilla, Hillside (1985-1986), and cared for a family member in River Forest (1999-2003).
Sister Cecilia is survived by a sister, Joan Hill, and a brother, Frank Davis.
-
Fr. John Farley
Divine Word Father John “Jack” Farley, 90, died Nov. 17.
Born in Massachusetts, he entered the Society of the Divine Word in 1946 and professed religious vows in 1952. He was ordained a priest in 1960.
Despite his wish to serve overseas, after ordination, he was assigned to serve as assistant mission director for the Mission Office at Techny. He was editor of Missionary Youth magazine and director of the Latin America Office of the Divine Word Mission Office for 11 years.
He led a Divine Word Seminary in Perrysburg, Ohio, for five years before returning to Techny as director of programs and being charged with renovating the former St. Mary’s Seminary, turning it into Techny Towers Conference and Retreat Center and creating Divine Word International, a museum that featured missionary work around the world and believed to be the only museum of its kind.
In 1980, upon completion of the renovation, he asked for a pastoral assignment and served as a retreat director in Massachusetts; as a seminary director in Washington, D.C.; and as a staff member for a parish renewal program with assignments in Nigeria, Ghana, India and the Philippines.
Father Farley retired in Techny in 2015.
He is survived by his twin sister, Notre Dame Sister Joan Farley.
-
Fr. Richard Thibeau
Divine Word Father Richard Thibeau, 93, died Nov. 17.
Born in New York, he began his studies with the Divine Word Missionaries in 1943; professed vows in 1949; and was ordained to the priesthood in Techny in 1957.
For the first three decades of his priesthood, he served as pastor, teacher and overall general contractor in the United States, finding new ways to use the society’s buildings.
In 1988, Father Thibeau received his first foreign mission assignment, which took him to Cuernavaca, Mexico, where he served in an administrative capacity and built several parishes. Father Thibeau also provided pastoral care for the Zapotecas people in the Sierra Juarez Mountains. For this assignment, he needed more than his knowledge of Spanish; he learned Zapotecan, the language of the indigenous people.
During his years in San Juan Bautista Parish in San Juan Yaeé, Oaxaca, he was the only priest for a population of about 7,000, and he recognized the need for a medical facility. To reach the nearest hospital, residents had to travel five hours down the mountainside. To remedy this problem, Father Thibeau built Our Madonna of the Rosary Medical Center in Oaxaca.
In 2016, Father Thibeau moved to Divine Word Residence at Techny and continued his missionary ministries. From a distance and well into his 90s, he supported missionary projects in Mexico, including Instituto Infantil Teresita School in Morelos.
-
Fr. Richard Woods
Dominican Friar Richard John (John Francis) Woods, 81, died Nov. 19 in Tallaght, Ireland, where he had been hospitalized for several months due to brain and neck injuries resulting from falls.
Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, he entered the Dominican novitiate in 1962 and professed simple vows in 1963. He earned bachelor’s (1964) and master’s (1966) degrees from the Dominican House of Philosophy at St. Thomas Priory in River Forest, and made his solemn vows in 1966.
In 1969, he was ordained to the priesthood after earning a master’s degree in theology from the Aquinas Institute of Theology in Iowa.
Following his ordination, Father Woods began doctoral studies at Loyola University Chicago, receiving a Ph.D. in the philosophy of religion in 1978. Among many other awards and honors, he received the honorary Master of Sacred Theology from the Dominican Order in 2000.
He taught at numerous institutions throughout the United States, including the Institute of Pastoral Studies of Loyola University Chicago and, from 2000-2022, Dominican University in River Forest. From 1991-1997, he was also a visiting tutor and lecturer at Blackfriars Hall, the University of Oxford, England.
Father Woods was a prolific producer of books articles, and lectures in professional journals and societies. His interest in and contribution to scholarship included spirituality and mysticism, sexuality, the Celtic harp (which he played masterfully), Celtic studies, the occult and Meister Eckhart. He also wrote or contributed to five volumes of fiction.
Sign up for our email newsletter
Advertising