Obituary: Bradley, Rev. Robert Ignatius, S.J.
Age 89
Robert Ignatius, S.J.
(05/15/1924 - 12/20/2013) Returned peacefully to God in his sleep December 20, 2013, at the Jesuit Center, Los Gatos, CA, at age 89 after a short illness.
He was born and raised in Spokane of a pioneer family.
He was the son of banker Joseph Bradley and Muriel (Wicks) Bradley, one of eight children in a Catholic family that produced four priests.
Fr.
Bradley graduated from Gonzaga High School in June 1941 and immediately entered the Society of Jesus at their Novitiate in Sheridan, OR.
He studied philosophy at Mount St. Michaels, earning a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in history.
In 1949-1950, Fr.
Bradley taught history at Gonzaga University, where he coached the debate team and was yearbook advisor.
From 1951-1952, he taught Latin and history at Gonzaga High School, served as director of forensics and yearbook moderator, and led the debate team to win three statewide championships.
Fr.
Bradley was sent to Louvain, Belgium, for his theology studies, and was ordained to the priesthood on August 15, 1955.
He received a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Columbia University and taught history in the College of Arts and Sciences at Seattle University, where he became dean.
In the late 1960s, he accepted a position as professor of theology at St. John’s University, Long Island, NY, and became chaplain for the newly founded Catholics United for the Faith (CUF), serving for 30 years.
Fr.
Bradley left St. John’s in 1981 to teach theology at the Notre Dame Institute in Arlington, VA, now the Graduate School of Christendom College, Front Royal, VA. Every summer, he was director of the Catechetical Institute at Our Lady of Peace Monastery in Beaverton, OR.
While teaching in Virginia, Fr.
Bradley served as chaplain to the Monastery of the Poor Clares in Alexandria and also worked with the Legion of Mary there.
After a year in Rome, he received a Sacred Theology Doctorate from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum) in 1988.
He moved to Texas in 1996 where he accepted an adjunct faculty position in theology at the University of Dallas Institute for Religious and Pastoral Studies and taught there for several years while serving as a priest in the Diocese of Austin, where the bishop assigned him to the St. Joseph Latin Mass.
He also taught theology at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton, NE for the Fraternity Society of St. Peter.
Fr.
Bradley retired from active ministry in late 2011, working as a spiritual advisor in Austin until November 2013.
During his years in Austin, Fr.
Bradley inspired six young men to enter the seminary, and helped many young people enter the Church, drawing them from the University of Texas to his Sunday Latin Mass liturgies at St. Mary’s Cathedral.
He was an inspiration and role model to countless men and women throughout the United States.
Fr.
Bradley was preceded in death by his parents, brothers Joe, Bill, Fr.
Richard, S.J.,Don and his sister, Honey Gal Kilmartin.
He is survived by brothers, Frs.
Jack of Los Angelus and Ted of Spokane, as well as many nieces and nephews.
A special thank you to Dr. Betty Bosarge of Spicewood, TX, for her excellent care during his final years.
A vigil service will be held Wednesday, January 8, 2013 7:00pm at the Jesuit House Chapel, on Gonzaga University campus.
The Funeral Mass will be January 9, 2013 11 a.m. at the same location.
He will be buried close to his brother Dick at the Jesuit Cemetery at Mt.
St. Michaels, Spokane.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Fr.
Bradley’s name to the Society of Jesus or the Monastery of the Poor Clares, 2505 Stonehedge Drive, Alexandria, VA 22306.