The Congregation of Holy Cross is celebrating jubilee years for a number of priests around the world, including six who served or still serve at the University of Portland. Rev. Thomas Bill, C.S.C., and Rev. Joseph Browne, C.S.C., are celebrating 60 years since ordination; Rev. James Connelly, C.S.C., Rev. Richard Rutherford, C.S.C., and Rev. James Lackenmier, C.S.C., celebrate 50 years since ordination; and Rev. Randall Rentner, C.S.C., celebrates 25 years since his ordination.
Fr. Bill joined the UP faculty as a philosophy professor in 1962, and retired in 1990. For many years he was involved with the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, starting in 1969. He now resides at Holy Cross House in Notre Dame, Ind.
Fr. Browne spent 22 years on The Bluff, serving as director of the Wilson W. Clark Library and as both a department chair and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Fr. Browne is a certified professional parliamentarian, a contract bridge enthusiast, and a recipient of the University’s James Culligan award for outstanding service. He is retired and resides at Holy Cross House in Notre Dame, Ind.
Fr. Connelly came to Portland in 1993, following a thirteen year career as archivist for the Indiana Province of Holy Cross at Notre Dame. He has taught church history at Notre Dame, King’s College in Pennsylvania, and Alokolum National Seminary in Uganda. Fr. Connelly helped initiate the annual Holy Cross history conference, and now serves as Religious Superior at Holy Cross House in Notre Dame, Ind.
Fr. Lackenmier has taught high school in Connecticut and Massachusetts, and served for 25 years at King’s College, Wilkes-Bare, Pa., including 18 years as president. His board memberships include the Stonehill College board of trustees and the University of Portland board of regents. He is presently a Provincial Council member of the USA Province of the Congregation of Holy Cross.
Fr. Rutherford joined the theology department at UP in 1976, and retired in 2012. Fr. Rutherford has been a liturgical consultant to the Archdiocese of Portland and National Conference of Catholic Bishops, as well as a key figure in the design of the University’s Chapel of Christ the Teacher. His book, The Death of a Christian: The Order of Christian Funerals, was published in 1990 and is the definitive work on the Church’s revised funeral rites. He has recently been leading expeditions to the ancient Roman city of Pollèntia near Alcúdia in Mallorca, Spain, to conduct archeological research.
Fr. Rentner came to Portland in 2010, and served in the student affairs division. Prior to coming here, Fr. Rentner taught high school and served as an assistant hall director and an assistant vice president for student affairs at Notre Dame. He now teaches at Holy Cross High School in Flushing, N.Y.
For more information contact the Congregation of Holy Cross office at 8024 or doll@up.edu.