Jesuit Father Joseph P. Lacey, who spent more than two decades as pastor of St. Alphonsus Rodriguez in Woodstock and 22 years as a missionary in India, died March 28 at the St. Claude La Colombière Jesuit Community in Baltimore. He was 85.
Born in Philadelphia, he attended St. Joseph’s Preparatory School before entering the Society of Jesus at the Novitiate of St. Isaac Jogues in Wernersville, Pa., in 1958. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Loyola Seminary in Shrub Oak, N.Y., and later studied theology at De Nobili College in Pune, India. He was ordained in 1971 at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Jamshedpur, India, and professed final vows in 1977.
During his years in the Jesuit Province of Jamshedpur, Father Lacey served as teacher, minister, pastor, spiritual director and religious superior. He taught English and religion, guided young Jesuits in formation and spent eight years ministering to people suffering from leprosy.
Dee Papania, parish life director of St. Alphonsus, worked alongside Father Lacey for 21 years since he became pastor of St. Alphonsus Rodriguez in January 1999. She credits him with reshaping the parish’s future.
“Father Lacey was a visionary,” she said. “He knew he would be the last full-time Jesuit pastor we would have because of the shortage of priests. It was his dream to keep the parish running and to continue the Jesuit charism.”
Jesuits have served St. Alphonsus Rodriguez since 1889. Recognizing the changing landscape of priestly ministry, Father Lacey proposed a new model: a lay parish life director supported by a part-time sacramental minister. Archbishop William E. Lori approved the plan. St. Alphonsus is currently the only parish in the Archdiocese of Baltimore led by a layperson. Father Lacey was the parish’s first sacramental minister, transitioning from pastor in 2018.
Papania remembers Father Lacey as a man of deep prayer and profound kindness.
“He accepted people as they were,” she said. “He always assumed a person was doing the best they could. He was never judgmental, just compassionate and caring.”
His prayerfulness shaped every major decision, including one of his largest undertakings: the construction of a more-than-$3 million parish center. Because he was able to gain so much support for the project, the parish paid off the 10-year mortgage in just three years. He also oversaw the renovation of the church in 2016.
Among his most cherished contributions were the Ignatian Retreats in Daily Life, which continue year-round to support adult spirituality. He also helped start the parish’s Knights of Columbus council and served as its longtime chaplain.
In a 2015 interview with the Catholic Review, Father Lacey expressed his love for the parishioners of St. Alphonsus Rodriguez and praised their willingness to work together.
“St. Alphonsus is unique in my experience in that there is no pettiness, people protecting their own turf and sniping at what others are doing,” Father Lacey said. “It’s a remarkable parish with a wonderfully generous, collaborative spirit.”
According to Papania, Father Lacey’s ties to India enriched parish life in Woodstock. Visiting Jesuit colleagues came every other summer, and the parish financially supported their ministries by helping build schools, wells and churches in the Jamshedpur Province.
“It became a very personal connection,” Papania said. “We received letters and cards from the children. There are wells in the jungle named after St. Alphonsus because of this parish.”
The parish, home to about 550 families, also benefited from Father Lacey’s support of the preschool established in 2009. Seeing unused classrooms during the week, he encouraged the creation of a preschool as both a service and an evangelizing opportunity. It has since become one of his legacies.
Laura Munns, business manager at St. Alphonsus and a parishioner since 2001, remembers his warmth vividly. Father Lacey baptized all four of her children and guided them through their sacraments.
“He was always welcoming,” she said. “It didn’t matter if you came to church dressed up or with children screaming. He just wanted you to be there. He wanted church to feel like home.”
Even after his retirement in 2019 due to health reasons, parishioners continued to call regularly to check on him, Munns said.
“He touched so many lives,” she said. “He was loved dearly.”
Jesuit Father Brian O’Donnell and Jesuit Father Ron Anton will preside at Father Lacey’s funeral April 7, at St. Alphonsus Rodriguez. A viewing will begin at 10 a.m., followed by Mass at 11 a.m.
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