The Missionaries of the Precious Blood announce the 60th anniversary of Fr. William Delaney, C.PP.S.
Fr. Delaney, a native of Oakland, Calif., was definitively incorporated on August 15, 1957, and was ordained on June 8, 1963.
Fr. Delaney has been active in parish and education ministries and in leadership during his years as a priest.
After his ordination he served in Oklahoma; at St. Anthony Church in Detroit; and St. Barnabas in Alameda, Calif.
In 1964, he was appointed an instructor at Del Bufalo Seminary in Liberty, Mo., and in 1965 became a member of the Kansas City Province, then the Province of the Pacific. He was appointed head of the religious education department at Cardinal Newman High School in Santa Rosa, Calif., and later served as the faculty house superior and the principal.
Fr. Delaney served as provincial secretary from 1970–74.
For many summers, Fr. Delaney studied at the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University in Chicago. In 1970, he received a master of religious education degree.
From 1977–90, Fr. Delaney was the associate pastor then pastor of St. Anthony Church in Manteca, Calif. He also served two terms on the provincial council.
Fr. Delaney also ministered at St. Agnes Parish, Los Angeles, as pastor (1990-2001), and St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Los Angeles, beginning in 2001. He returned to St. Agnes as senior pastor in 2005, accepting the position of pastor pro tem in 2014.
In 2015, Fr. Delaney retired to Sonnino Mission House in Berkeley, Calif. Later, he moved to Mercy Retirement Center in Oakland.
Fr. Delaney’s commitment to social justice, to the poor, and to community organizing has influenced countless generations in the parishes where he served and in the community members who have followed him. Fr. Delaney understood that a good shepherd not only cares for those who are in his parish but also leads them out into the world to make a difference in the neighborhood where they live.
Fr. Delaney learned the language of the people he accompanied and became a bridge over the barricades that separated them. The spirit of the Gospel of justice and peace has guided his ministry and has left a legacy of hope in the people and the places where he has served.