Fr. Robert Tucker

Father Robert Tucker was born on May 21, 1952 and was 68 years old. He took his first vows on June 25, 1975 and was ordained priest on October 16, 1982.

He was currently living in Chicago (United States of America). He belonged to the Province USA.

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing (Ps 23:1)

Slightly after 1:00 pm today, January 23, Fr. Bob Tucker, SCJ, died. He was 68. Originally from Detroit, MI, he was professed in 1975 and ordained in 1982.

In recent years, Fr. Bob had struggled with a respiratory disorder that led to a lung transplant last July. He was unable to fully recover from the transplant and moved into palliative care shortly before his death. Fr. Quang Nguyen, SCJ (vice provincial superior), Fr. Jim Schroeder, SCJ, (a member of his community at Sacred Heart at Monastery Lake) and Mary Balistreri (province director of healthcare) were with him when he died.

Fr. Bob’s most recent assignment was with the province formation team. He was instrumental in overseeing the move of the program from Chicago to Sacred Heart Monastery in Hales Corners. Prior to that, much of his life was devoted to parish ministry.

His first assignment was at St. Cecilia parish in San Antonio in 1982. From there he went to his hometown of Detroit, serving at his childhood parish of St. Rose of Lima. He also ministered in Milwaukee, and in Houston at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St Matthew parishes. Before moving to Chicago, he served as a member of the pastoral team that serves much of northern Mississippi through Sacred Heart Southern Missions.

In 2017, he reflected on his vocation:

“My call to religious life was nourished by the Priests of the Sacred Heart who came to my home parish in the inner city of Detroit. It was then that my love for liturgy began to grow. I often reflect on the Gospel passage proclaimed when I took my first vows with the congregation 1975: ‘While Jesus was with them at table, he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him… They said to each other, ‘Where not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way opened the scriptures to us?’ (Luke 24:30-32).

“Throughout my 42 years as a member of the Priests of the Sacred Heart I have recalled and reflected on this passage often. I see in this passage what our baptism and our life as SCJs calls us to do; that is to listen and to reflect on God’s Word speaking to our hearts. In order that we may come to know Jesus in the breaking of the bread. Recognizing Jesus in the breaking of the bread sends us forth to be prophets of love and servants of reconciliation.

“As a priest, I have had the pleasure of celebrating the wonder of the love of the heart of Jesus in the celebration of the Mass. I have ministered as a priest in San Antonio, Detroit, Milwaukee, Houston and in northern Mississippi.

“It is a privilege to be with our religious students and candidates in their journey as they discern their calling in life to be a member of the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart. My hope is that we will discover hearts burning within us as Christ speaks to our hearts and that we will come to know him in the breaking of the bread and to know him in the faces of our brothers and sisters. Because, as Numbers 81-82 in our Constitutions challenges us: ‘the Eucharist has its effects on all that we are and do… and who unceasingly throws us back onto the streets of the world in the service of the Gospel.’”