Fr. Roland Calvert, OSFS, died on March 5, 2024, in Toledo, Ohio. His parents were Dora Feehly Calvert and Paul Calvert. He grew up in Providence, a small village in Northeastern Maryland. He attended Kenmore Elementary School and Elkton High School. In June 1954 he entered the Oblate Novitiate at Childs, MD only a few miles from where he grew up. He took his first vows as an Oblate of St. Francis de Sales in September 1955 and was ordained a priest on February 6, 1965.
His ministry was evenly divided between education and chaplaincy. For 22 years, Fr. Calvert was in education and ministered primarily as a high school teacher, but he also worked as a part-time college and adult education lecturer. The other 22 years of his ministry he served as Chaplain for the Dominican Sisters at their Motherhouse in Adrian, Michigan (1987-2009). He also served for two years (1982-84) at St. Pius X Parish in Toledo, Ohio. He gave a number of Salesian parish retreats from Los Angeles to Long Island, as well as in Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey, Maryland, and Canada. He edited "Bondings," the magazine of the Toledo-Detroit province, from 2012 to 2024.
Fr. Calvert's passions included the arts and social justice. His Master's degree from the Catholic University (D.C.) in 1970 was in Musicology/Music Education. He prepared students for high school musicals and choral performances for years at schools in Philadelphia, Jackson, Michigan, and North Dakota. His B.A. was also from C.U. in 1960, majoring in philosophy. Additional academic work included a Master's degree in Theological Studies and four summers at Notre Dame University in Indiana for film study. In the 1970s he served as Social Justice Coordinator for the Toledo-Detroit Province of Oblates and as Chaplain for the Dignity chapter in Toledo serving GLBTQ Christians from 1977-2007. He has supported the work of Bread for the World, Unbound, and many other social justice groups.
He is survived by his brother Charles and his sister-in-law Karen. He was preceded in death by his parents and brothers David and Donald.
Visitation for Fr. Calvert will occur from 2:00 – 3:50 PM on Tuesday, March 12, at the Adrian Dominican Motherhouse in St. Catherine Chapel. Immediately following the visitation, a funeral Mass will be celebrated at 4:00 PM at St. Catherine Chapel.
Interment will be at Cherry Hill Cemetery in Cherry Hill, MD at 10:00 AM on March 23, 2024. Fr. Calvert will be buried next to his parents, brother, and grandmother.
If you would like to donate to the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales in memory of Fr. Calvert, please click here.
