Fr Virgilio Elizondo, a nationally known professor of pastoral and Hispanic theology at the University of Notre Dame and founder of what is today the Mexican American Catholic College in San Antonio, was found dead in his home on Monday. He was 80.
Fr Elizondo was widely recognised as “the father of US Latino religious thought”. He pursued scholarly work in Latino theology, evangelisation, faith and spirituality, and culture, was the author of many books. He was rector of San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller of San Antonio said in a statement: “I join the priests of the Archdiocese of San Antonio as we are deeply saddened and stunned by the news of the death of Fr Virgilio Elizondo on March 14. This is an occasion for great sorrow, as his death was sudden and unexpected.”
“At this devastatingly sad time for Fr Virgil’s family – especially his sister – as well as his brother clergy, co-workers and friends, we offer our most profound sympathies,” the statement said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them all. I pray for all those who mourn Fr Virgil and for the repose of his soul.”
No details about funeral are arrangements were released.
In May 2015 Fr Elizondo was named secondarily in a lawsuit filed by a John Doe in Bexar County District Court in San Antonio. The suit also named former priest Jesus Armando Dominguez and the San Antonio archdiocese.
The suit alleged that as a boy, John Doe was sexually abused from 1980 to 1983 while he was living in an orphanage and was being mentored by Dominguez, then a student at Assumption Seminary in San Antonio. John Doe claimed that when he went to report the abuse to Fr Elizondo, the priest kissed and fondled him. (more...)
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