Rev. Roger D. McAuliffe

Rev. Roger D. McAuliffe, S.J. In Los Gatos, CA on Sunday, September 17, 2006, at age 87, of respiratory complications. He had just celebrated his 70th year as a Jesuit. Roger was born in San Francisco of Irish immigrant parents and attended St. Ignatius College Prep. He entered the Jesuit Novitiate at Los Gatos, following his graduation from St. Ignatius, along with eight other St. Ignatius classmates. This was the era when Catholic immigrant families were the main sources of vocations, for young men and women, into religious orders within the Catholic Church. He was ordained a priest in S.F. in 1949. As a young Jesuit Roger taught English and Latin at Loyola High School in Los Angeles and philosophy and religion at U.S.F., but his longest assignment was a 23-year stint at Santa Clara University where he served as teacher of religion and chaplain of students and athletics. He once remarked that his time at Santa Clara was his happiest and most productive assignment. A side benefit as chaplain of athletics was accompanying some very good basketball teams on their road trips. In 1967 he served a term as president of the West Coast Athletic Conference. In 1975 he began the second phase of his priestly ministry with a year at the Jesuit Retreat House in Azusa, CA and then several parish assignments. He served as both associate pastor and pastor at St. Ignatius parish in Sacramento, as associate pastor at St. Finn Barr parish in San Francisco and for 13 years, as associate pastor at St. Francis Xavier parish in Phoenix. Declining health brought him to retirement at Los Gatos in 1992. Fr. McAuliffe was a very dedicated Jesuit priest who took a deep interest in the spiritual development of his students and parishioners. Letters from former students and parishioners attest to how deeply he touched many people and families. He was recognized as a good, systematic teacher. And, he was instrumental in helping many young persons discern their vocations, including some who entered the Jesuits. From soon after his ordination, he was plagued by a very painful back condition that, in spite of several serious operations, would be a burden he had to carry for the remainder of his life. This he did with remarkable perseverance, continuing to serve as a dedicated priest. He is survived by two of his sisters Eileen Cruickshank and Mary Podielski; his brother-in-law Kenneth Linhares and several nieces and nephews. Vigil at 7:30 PM, Monday, September 25, Mass of the Resurrection at 10:00 AM, Tuesday, September 26, both at Sacred Heart Jesuit Center, Los Gatos. Committal will follow at Santa Clara Mission Cemetery, Santa Clara. Arrangements by Darling & Fisher Chapel of the Hills in Los Gatos