Father William B. Davis SSCC
October 09, 1919 - March 13, 2007
View Tribute and Sign Guestbook FAIRHAVEN – The Rev. William B. Davis, SS.CC., died at the Sacred Heart Home in New Bedford, on Tuesday, March 13, 2007. Born in Rochester, NY, October 9, 1919, the son of William B. and Julia (Livings) Davis, Father Davis entered the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (SS.CC.) in 1938, after attending St. Salome’s Elementary School and St. Andrew’s Seminary in Rochester, NY. He was ordained May 18, 1944, at Holy Trinity Chapel in Washington, DC.
Father Davis studied Canon Law at Catholic University in 1945 and received his licentiate in 1947. Serving the Church and his community in a number of capacities, he is primarily remembered as an educator, having taught generations of seminarians. In 1950 he was appointed Superior of the Congregation’s seminary in Washington, DC, which under his leadership moved to Queen of Peace Seminary in Jaffrey, NH.
In September 1967, at the request of the late Bishop Fulton J. Sheen of the Diocese of Rochester, Father Davis became the first religious pastor of the inner city parish, Saints Peter and Paul, where he remained until 1972. He then served until 1977 at Holy Trinity Church in West Harwich, MA, with a mission parish in Dennisport, MA.
Throughout his years as a vowed religious and priest, Father Davis served his community in leadership positions for more than a decade, first as vicar provincial. In January 1977 he was elected provincial. Traveling widely, he went to Indian twice to visit two SS.CC. religious brothers, who were working under the sponsorship of Blessed Mother Teresa. Father Davis returned to parish work in the mid 1980s, after completing a sabbatical year in Mexico City to learn Spanish. He was assigned to the USA Eastern Province Missions in South Texas, later serving at Sacred Heart in Hidalgo, TX.
Until recently, Father Davis, a self-proclaimed “people-person,” resided with the SS.CC. community at the Damien Residence in Fairhaven. Father Bill will long be remembered among the members of his community, not simply as their seminary teacher but as their religious brother, who shared with them the gifts of his call to religious life and priesthood in the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
In addition to his religious family of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, Father Bill is mourned by his sister, Mrs. Rita Walton Heagney; his sister-in-law, Mrs. Rita Vick Davis of Rochester, NY; as well as by six nieces and six nephews. He was pre-deceased by a nephew, Billy Davis, and by his brother, Daniel Davis.
Funeral Information
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, March 17, 2007, at 10:00AM at St. Joseph Church, Adams Street, in Fairhaven. Burial will follow at the SS.CC. Community Cemetery on the Provincial grounds in Fairhaven. Visiting hours will be held Friday from 4:00-7:00PM at the Damien Residence, 73 Adams Street, in Fairhaven. All arrangements have been entrusted to the FAIRHAVEN FUNERAL HOME, 117 Main St., Fairhaven. To LIGHT A CANDLE, SIGN THE MEMORIAL REGISTER, or to consult THE GRIEF LIBRARY, go to www.hathawayfunerals.com. or please telephone 508/994-9471.
Donations Information
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to the Sacred Hearts Missions, 77 Adams Street, Fairhaven, MA 02719.
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