This article was adapted from a tribute written by Br. Adolf Mugume, C.S.C., Director of Communications for the General Administration of the Congregation of Holy Cross. Its original title was: A Media Pastoral Genius in the Footsteps of Fr. Patrick Peyton’s Rosary Ministry Has Gone to the Lord.
We in the Congregation of Holy Cross and the global Catholic family mourn the passing of Rev. Wilfred “Willy” Raymond, C.S.C., a humble priest whose graced life of ministry has inspired many of us in media ministry. Fr. Willy had a devotion to Mary which was inspired by Venerable Patrick Peyton, C.S.C., who, shortly after Fr. Willy’s ordination, reached over to him, saying, “Young Father, I think our Blessed Mother is calling you to work for her in family Rosary.” Fr. Willy later recounted freaking out upon receiving such an invitation from a renowned spiritual giant of the time.
I personally admired his devotion to Mary and family prayer, much like his role model Fr. Peyton. In the Congregation of Holy Cross’s November 2025 Year of Mission Webinar episode, “Mission Among Families Today,” Fr. Willy spoke of Fr. Peyton, saying, “Peyton was a passionate son of Mary. His love for the Blessed Mother was a central part of his spirituality. He saw Mary as a living, relatable presence and the surest path to Jesus.”
Fr. Willy’s life was marked by passionate fidelity to the mission of family prayer and media evangelization, inspiring many people toward the strategic use of the internet, social media, and mass media as tools to spread the Gospel. After Fr. Peyton’s death, Fr. Willy served in many capacities related to education, mission, leadership, and media for 14 years. These roles included serving in Fr. Peyton’s ministries as the first national director of Family Theater Productions in Hollywood, and later as president of Holy Cross Family Ministries for eight years. A missionary disciple, Fr. Willy drew people close to God in many ways. He shared faith in the Eucharist with families and communities in person, through film and media, and through the many Rosary rallies he led, helping people to encounter God in extraordinary ways.
In September 2010, Fr. Robert Reed, the president of the CatholicTV Network and CEO of iCatholicMedia, wrote of Fr. Willy: “Father Willy is an excellent example and strong model for the many whose lives he touches, especially the young and gifted. He carries on the tradition of Fr. Patrick Peyton, C.S.C., in bringing the message of the Gospel and the tradition of the Church to Hollywood. His unwavering loyalty to the Mother of the Church, the Blessed Mother of God, is an inspiration to all of us who strive to live our Catholic Faith in a society that is often hostile. Father Willy’s personal warmth and dedication to the priesthood is a blessed antidote to that hostility.”
A Life Rooted in Faith and Mission
Fr. Willy lived a life rooted in faith and mission. Born Wilfred Joseph Raymond to Joseph and Lydia (Belanger) Raymond on March 5, 1944, in Old Town, Maine, Fr. Willy was the eighth of twelve children. He entered the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1964 and was ordained a priest in 1971. His academic formation included studies in philosophy at Stonehill College and theology at the University of Notre Dame.
From the beginning of his ministry, Fr. Willy embraced the heart of Holy Cross’s priestly service. He was generous, joyful, and profoundly pastoral. His early assignments included campus ministry, educational leadership, and parish work, all of which shaped his pastoral sensitivity and commitment to the Church’s mission.
Champion of Rosary, Family, and Media Evangelization
Fr. Willy’s unique contribution was his leadership in Holy Cross Family Ministries (HCFM), the apostolate founded by Fr. Patrick Peyton to promote family prayer, especially through media and outreach. Over decades, Fr. Willy became one of the most effective communicators of this mission in the modern age.
He served as national director of Family Theater Productions from 2000 to 2014—a key arm of a ministry that used television, film, and multimedia to bring the Gospel and the Rosary into countless homes. His broad experience in media ministry helped HCFM adapt to changing technology and reach new audiences with the timeless message of Christian unity in prayer. He later served as president of Holy Cross Family Ministries where he touched many lives throughout the world with his pastoral visits to all jurisdictions of the Congregation of Holy Cross. On these visits, he emphasized the foundations of the domestic churches as key to faith formation.
In 2014, Fr. Willy was appointed president of HCFM, a role he served with humility and vision until 2022. According to the Holy Cross Family Ministries blog, under his leadership, the ministry continued to uplift families around the world, offering resources, retreats, prayer initiatives, and digital evangelization rooted in the Peyton charism.
Author, Advocate, and Shepherd of Families
Fr. Willy’s heart for families was also expressed through his writing. In 2024, he authored The Family That Prays Together Stays Together: A Bead-by-Bead Family Guide Through the Mysteries, an accessible Rosary guide designed to help families grow in prayer together. Endorsed by spiritual leaders including Cardinal Seán O’Malley and inspired by the legacy of Fr. Peyton, the book expanded the reach of his pastoral teaching to a wider audience. I am happy his work also inspired my youth ministry “The Infinite Singers” to compose a song about The Family That Prays Together Stays Together.
Listening to Fr. Willy’s reflections, you can’t miss the pastoral touch at their core! He always focused on helping families understand the Rosary not as a ritual, but as a living, breathing prayer that binds hearts to Christ and to each other.
A Legacy of Prayer and Media Evangelization
Throughout his life, Fr. Willy embraced the tools of media not as ends in themselves, but as instruments of evangelization. He believed strongly in the power of prayer to transform homes, heal wounds, and draw families closer to God. This vision was a living continuation of what his friend and role model Fr. Patrick Peyton began decades earlier: a global ministry encouraging family prayer as the foundation for a more peaceful, faithful world. As Mother Teresa said, “a world at prayer is a world at peace.”
Fr. Raymond stood as a bridge between generations, connecting the legacy of the mid-20th-century media ministry with the pastoral needs of the Church in the digital age. It’s no surprise that his last message to the global family of Holy Cross was “Fr. Peyton’s Vision Reimagined: Evangelizing the Modern Family through Prayer and Media.”
Rest in Peace, Fr. Willy
I join the Holy Cross family and the Church to give thanks for the life and ministry of Rev. Wilfred Raymond, C.S.C. Though we grieve his passing, we celebrate a life well-lived in service to the Lord and to families around the world. And we celebrate the inspiring pastoral genius of his life in media ministry in modern times.
Fr. Willy’s witness bears everlasting fruit in the countless hearts that have learned to pray together because he showed them how—through his Rosary rallies and media ministry, building a bridge from the legacy of Fr. Peyton and drawing inspiration from holy people like Mother Teresa.
This is an adaptation of a tribute written by Br. Adolf Mugume, C.S.C., which was published on the Province of East Africa’s blog, provided by the Mission Center, March 2026.
