Bill Brennan S.J.
May 14, 1920 - August 11, 2014

News came today that Father Bill Brennan S.J. had died. Since he was 94 it should have been of no surprise to me but it was and really saddened me. A mutual friend, Jerry Zawada OFM and I had recently visited Bill in the Jesuit retirement home. Although his body was mostly paralyzed, his mind was clear. I remember we had an active conversation with two other elderly Jesuits, one who had spent a long time in the Vatican and the other many years in Africa. We talked about many topics including one of Bill’s favorite, woman’s ordination.

Bill was a strong advocate of women priest and at his last visit to the vigil at Fort Benning with SOAWatch had con-celebrated Mass with another mutual friend, Janice Sevre-Duszynska, a woman Catholic priest. For this Bill got in trouble with the religious order and Rome and was restricted. After he became paralyzed it was not much of a problem.

He got permission last year to attend the May 1st celebration for immigration rights with Hispanic community. I was going to go with him in a handicap van but found out, that with his large wheel chair, he needed a special kind of van for which he was not signed up for. With the help of the minister at the Jesuit retirement home we arranged for his ability for such a van. At a mutual Jesuit friend’s funeral, right after Bill turned 94, I said I would, for his birthday present, arrange for his attendance at a community event. But I got busy and never did it.

I have many wonderful memories of Bill. One is we were sitting at a restaurant in Columbus, near Fort Benning, waiting for time to board the bus back to the Atlanta airport. Due to a rainy day people got to the busy early and they were ready to leave when they noticed we were not on the bus. They called. At the time, Bill had a walker with a seat. I remember racing in the rain pushing Bill seated in the walker across a parking lot to get to the bus. We made it in time, without a spill.

Bill lived a full life with a passion for justice for all that he practiced. The Jesuits do not realize how many lives Bill touched since they scheduled his funeral visitation and mass in a chapel in the retirement home that could not possibly hold the people I expect that will be there, from all walks of life, all races, poor, middle class, rich, young and old.

Bill was a person who lived his conscience.

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