Willard William Patrick Roney, O.P., Death, 1988-03-05
![Willard William Patrick Roney, O.P.](http://archives.opcentral.org/assets/PF/Roney.png)
Scope and Contents
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, 1988-03-05
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
Born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on June12, 1909, Willard William Roney was one of the six children of William and Celia Rose McDonald Roney. His entire education was taken "from first to last under Dominicans": elementary and secondary education with the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters at Cathedral Grade and High Schools in Sioux Falls, followed by two years at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island.
Willard Roney entered the Dominican Order on August 4, 1930 and received the habit and religious name of Patrick on August 15, 1930, at St. Rose Priory in Springfield, Kentucky. Following the novitiate and first profession on August 16, 1931, Brother Patrick moved to the Dominican House of Studies, River Forest, Illinois, to study philosophy, achieving a bachelor's degree in 1934. His study of theology was then undertaken at St.
Joseph Priory in Somerset, Ohio, and the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. On June11, 1937, he was ordained to the priesthood at St. Dominic's Church in Washington and then continued theological studies, as well as special courses in Gregorian chant at the Catholic University (1937 to 1938), public speaking at the Curry School of Expression in Bos ton, Massachusetts (summer, 1938), and the Preacher's Institute at Catholic University (1941).
Father Roney was assigned to teach homiletics and chant at St. Joseph Priory in Somerset, 1938 to 1939, and at the Dominican House of Studies in River Forest, 1939 to1940. From 1940 to1948, he was a member of the Northwest Mission Band, which was based at Holy Rosary Priory in Minneapolis. This was followed by another teaching assignment of homiletics and chant at the House of Studies, along with the duties of Assistant Student Master from 1949 to 1951, at which time he was reassigned to St. Rose Priory in Dubuque, Iowa, serving there in the same capacities until 1954.
The challenges of being a pastor filled the next eight years of his life, first at St.
Chrysostom Church in Canton, South Dakota, then at Saint Dominic Church in Denver, Colorado. After three years of service as an associate pastor at St. Joseph Church in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, and then at Holy Rosary Parish in Minneapolis, he requested permission to return to South Dakota so that he could help care for his sister who was bedridden. He was again assigned to St. Chrysostom Church in Canton in 1966. During his term as pastor there, he supervised the construction of a new church and parish center, and in 1972, the name of the parish was changed to St. Dominic.
In 1975, Father Roney was assigned to St. Dominic Priory in Denver (his sister had died in 1972, and he was in ill health), where he remained on limited service until the time of his death. He died on March 5, 1988, while undergoing treatment for cancer. Following a funeral Mass at Saint Dominic Church in Denver on March 9, he was buried in the Dominican plot at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Denver, Colorado.
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
1910 S. Ashland Ave
Chicago Illinois 60608 United States
3122430011
archivist@opcentral.org