BALTIMORE — Jesuit Father Francis X. Reese passed away Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2018. He was 91.
Formerly in residence at St. Therese Church in Mooresville, Father Reese served the Church for more than 60 years.
Viewing will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 28, at the Colombiere Jesuit Community, 5704 Roland Ave., in Baltimore, starting with a prayer service at 7 p.m. A second viewing will be held from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 29, followed by a 10:30 a.m. funeral Mass at St. Alphonsus Rodriguez Church, 10800 Old Court Road, in Woodstock, Md. Burial will immediately follow in the Woodstock Jesuit Cemetery.
Father Reese was born June 8, 1927, in Philadelphia, the beloved son of the late Edward and May (nee Lynch) Reese. He graduated from St. Joseph’s Prep and attended St. Joseph’s College, where he earned a degree in psychology before entering the Society of Jesus at the Novitiate of St. Isaac Jogues in Wernersville, Pa., in 1950.
Father Reese studied philosophy at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala., and theology at Woodstock College, Md. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 19, 1960, and later earned an M.T.S. from Regis College in Toronto.
After spending his early ministerial years in secondary education at Georgetown Prep, Bishop’s Latin (Pittsburgh), and St. Joseph’s Prep, Father Reese headed to North Carolina in 1978 where he ministered for almost 40 years. His first assignment in the south was retreat work in Hot Springs, followed by service at St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Mars Hill and St. Peter Church in Charlotte.
He returned to Hot Springs in 1989, where he spent 10 years as director of the House of Prayer. By the late 1990s, Father Reese was engaged in Latino ministry and the ministering of the Spiritual Exercises to various communities in North Carolina.
St. Therese in Mooresville became his home in 2011, where he faithfully served the Latino community until his move to St. Claude la Colombiere Jesuit Community in Baltimore in 2017.
Father Reese spent his final year in Baltimore serving as a spiritual director before his death.
He was preceded in death by siblings Dominican Sister Margaret Reese, Dr. Joseph Reese and David Reese.
He is survived by beloved nieces Margaret Williamson, Eileen Roche, and M. Frances Reese, as well as grandnephews and nieces Patrick, Meghan, Kathleen, Eric and Kevin.
Memorial gifts may be made in Father Reese's name to the Maryland Province Jesuits Fund, 8600 LaSalle Road, Suite 620, Baltimore, MD 21286.
Mitchell-Wiedefeld Funeral Home Inc. of Baltimore is in charge of the arrangements.
— Catholic News Herald
Read more about Father Reese's life.