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fr. robert j. o'shea dies oct. 20

Father Robert J. O’Shea died Oct. 20 at Rosewood Care Center in Swansea. Father O’Shea, 71, donated his body to science.

A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Friday Oct. 30, at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Shiloh. Bishop Edward K. Braxton will be principal celebrant and homilist.

“The death of Father Robert J. O’Shea brings renewed sadness to the heart of our diocese, still mourning the untimely death of Father Thomas Stout, just one month ago,” Bishop Braxton said.

“Father O’Shea served the Church as a priest faithfully for forty-six years. He brought the joy and hope of the Gospel into the lives of so many people during those years. Many of those to whom he brought Jesus Christ through Word and Sacrament during nearly five decades of ministry, join me and his brother priests in praying for him today. We give thanks to God for the gift of his humble, selfless service.”

Father O’Shea was born Nov. 5, 1937 in Chicago to Lawrence Patrick and Helen Therese (nee Kinsella) O’Shea.
He attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago and St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, Ill.
He was ordained a priest June 1, 1963 by Bishop Albert R. Zuroweste.

He received a master’s degree in education in 1968 from St. Louis University.

Over the years, Father O’Shea served as an associate at St. Mary’s in Trenton, St. Mary’s in Centralia, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Herrin and Holy Spirit in Carterville, SS. Peter and Paul in Waterloo and a temporary associate at St. Patrick’s and St. Phillip’s parishes in East St. Louis. During his ministry he was also a counselor at Althoff Catholic High School in Belleville from 1965-1976; at Assumption High School in East St. Louis in 1977 and at Gibault Catholic High School from 1978-1982 where he was also a pastoral minister.

He was a pastor at St. Phillip’s from December 1977 to June 1978 and at Immaculate Conception on Kaskaskia Island from November 1987 to April 1988.

He was a chaplain at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Belleville, St. Ann Healthcare in Chester and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Breese.

Father O’Shea retired in 1992.

He was preceded in death by his parents, a sister, Betty O’Shea; his brother Lawrence in infancy; and a number cousins.

He is survived by cousins in Illinois Florida, California and Arizona.