Noted Jesuit Priest James Royce Dies

The Rev. James Royce, a Jesuit priest who did ground-breaking work in the field of addiction studies, has died. He was 81.

Father Royce, a native of Spokane, died Saturday at Providence Hospital, one day after undergoing hip replacement surgery, said Paul Blake, a spokesman for Seattle University.

The cause of death was undetermined Monday, he said.

Father Royce was a professor emeritus of psychology and addiction studies at Seattle University.

He developed and taught what is believed to have been the nation’s first standard college course on alcoholism in 1950.

In 1971-72, he did a series of ground-breaking television programs on alcoholism in Seattle.

A vigil was scheduled for today at Campion Hall Chapel on campus. A funeral Mass was scheduled for Wednesday at St. Joseph’s Church with burial Thursday at Mount St. Michael in Spokane.