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David Adam Edward Balla, O.P., Death, 1979-08-02

 Series
Identifier: PF - Edward Balla
David Adam Edward Balla, O.P.

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

This collection contains personal materials relating to friars after they have left the order, passed away, or transferred to another province. Each friar's file contents are mostly limited to their novitiate records, canonical assignments, historically important correspondence, and a small number of personal items if desired upon their passing. Within the broader collection, each Friar is sorted as a series.

Friars with particuarly substantial historically important papers or items outside of the scope of the Personal Files are placed within a dedicated collection under their name.

This collection is a work in progress and any use of these files requires the explicit permission of the Provincial. Contact the Archivist to discuss access or inquire about friars that may not been cataloged yet.

Dates

  • Creation: Death, 1979-08-02

Conditions Governing Access

Requires explicit permission from Provincial to access any records. Contact the Archivist for more information.

Conditions Governing Use

Can only be accessed upon written permission of the Provincial. Contact the Archivist for further details.

Biographical / Historical

At noontime, August 2, 1979, Father David Balla died suddenly of a heart attack while driving to visit friends on the south side of Chicago. Emergency measures provided by the Chicago Fire Department Paramedics were incapable of reviving him, and he was pronounced dead on arrival at Chicago' Mercy Hospital. Following services at St. Pius V Church in Chicago, he was buried in the community plot at All Saints Cemetery, Des Plaines, Illinois, on August 4.

Adam Edward Balla was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 12, 1907. He attended Cyrus McCormick public school and St. Casimir's parochial school and then began high school studies in the evening program at Harrison High School while working in the Chicago office of the New York Life Insurance company. After graduating from Aquinas High School in Columbus, Ohio, he continued with college studies at Providence College and entered the Dominican novitiate on August 11, 1931, at St. Rose Priory, Springfield, Kentucky, where he was assigned David as a religious name and made his first profession on August 16 of the following year. Philosophical studies followed at the Dominican House of Studies in River Forest, Illinois, and theological courses at St. Joseph Priory, Somerset Ohio, and at the Dominican House of Studies, Washington, D.C. He was ordained to the priesthood at St. Dominic's Church in Washington on June 16, 1938.

Father Balla was first assigned as an associate pastor at St. Dominic's Parish in Detroit, Michigan, and, after two years, as an associate pastor at St. Dominic's Parish in Denver, Colorado. In 1942, he was assigned to Holy Trinity Parish in Chicago, which served as home base for him for the next six years while he worked as a preacher on the Mission Band and as a chaplain in the United States Army. During his tour of duty with the Army, he also taught at San Juan Letran High School in Manila.

When Father Balla returned to the States in 1948, he was assigned to Holy Rosary Priory in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and then to St. Dominic's House in Denver, Colorado, as his residences while serving Once again as a 1Mission Band preacher. In late 1960, he was

appointed chaplain at St. Joseph Hospital in Osmond, Nebraska, where he served until 1963 when he was named chaplain at Rosary Hill Convalescent Home in Justice, Illinois.

In the fall of 1977, Father Balla moved from Justice, Illinois, to serve first as an associate pastor at St. Elizabeth Parish in Robinson, Illinois, and then as a substitute chaplain at the Sisters of Charity Motherhouse in Nazareth, Kentucky. In 1978, he joined the community at St. Rose Priory, Springfield, Kentucky, where he helped with duties in the local parish until a severe cardiac condition forced him to curtail his activities and to return to Chicago, where he resided at St. Pius V Priory until the time of his death.

Extent

From the Collection: 1 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

From the Collection: Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Archives of the Province of St. Albert the Great, U.S.A. Repository

Contact:
1910 S. Ashland Ave
Chicago Illinois 60608 United States
3122430011