Rev. William R. Ribando, C.S.C., died on September 9, 2011, at Holy Cross House in Notre Dame, Ind. He was 73 years old.
Fr. Ribando was born on August 17, 1938, in Williamsport, Pa., to Dorothy and William Ribando. A 1956 graduate of Williamsport High School, Fr. Ribando joined the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1958 and graduated from Stonehill College, Easton, Mass., in 1961 with an A.B. in Philosophy. He earned his Bachelors and Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome at the time of the Second Vatican Council. After four years of study, he was ordained a priest on December 19, 1964. Fr. Ribando later obtained a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Catholic University of America in 1970.
In 1965, Fr. Ribando was assigned to teach at Notre Dame High School in Fairfield, Conn. He then joined the faculty at King’s College, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., in 1966 and taught there until 1974, when he was elected Provincial Superior of the then Eastern Province of Priests and Brothers. While serving as Provincial, Fr. Ribando visited the Holy Cross Missions in Bangladesh, India, Chile and Peru, as well as ministries in the United States. He returned to King’s College in 1983, where he resumed teaching and served several times as chairman of the Theology Department. His teaching, which focused on ecclesiology, was marked by strong ecumenical commitments. He remained at King’s College, serving as the Manus Cooney Distinguished Professor of Humanities until 2007, when he entered Holy Cross House.
Fr. Ribando is survived by his mother; brother, Robert (Cheryl) Ribando of Charlottesville, Va.; and his three sisters: Kay Tighe of Mountain View, Calif.; Paula Ribando of Hershey, Pa.; and Dorothy (Donald) Kinsman of Fort Thomas, Ky. He is also survived by several nieces and nephews. Fr. Ribando was preceded in death by his father, William Ribando.
Viewing and a wake service for Fr. Ribando were held in the Chapel of Mary on the campus of Stonehill College on Tuesday, Sept. 13. The funeral Mass was Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2011, also at the Chapel of Mary.
