Rev. Brian W. Connolly PhD Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

On Wednesday, May 16, 2018, Rev. Brian W. Connolly, PhD, age 89, at UPMC Mercy Hospital. Son of the late William J. and Margaret E. (O’Brien) Connolly; survived by cousins, including Jim (Marge) O’Brien, Kathleen (Ray) Gaugler, Tom O’Brien, Jack (Marge) O’Brien, and Giles Armstrong. Father Connolly was raised in Bellevue. He attended Assumption and St. Francis Xavier elementary schools and later North Catholic High School. He attended St. Vincent College in Latrobe and St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore. He earned advanced degrees and a doctorate in English Literature from the University of Pittsburgh and later attended Oxford University in Oxford, England, for post-doctoral studies and Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, for studies in Spiritual Direction. Father Connolly was ordained on June 4, 1955 by Bishop John Dearden at Saint Paul Cathedral, Pittsburgh, PA. He began his ministry in Pittsburgh as parochial vicar of St. Basil Parish in Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood and St. Francis de Sales in McKees Rocks. For 42 years, Father Connolly was a professor of English literature at Xavier University in Cincinnati until his retirement in 2003. After his retirement he assisted with weekend Masses at St. Joseph Church in North Bend, Ohio where he served for 23 years. He was also an adjunct lecturer and spiritual director at Pontifical College Josephinium in Columbus, Ohio. He most recently resided at Marian Manor. Father Connolly was loved by his students. In an evaluation, one of his graduate students said “I feel that I now have a more profound appreciation for literature. As a non-traditional student, I wish that such appreciation would have developed in earlier years.” Visitation will be held Sunday, May 20, 2018 from 2-4 and 6-8pm at the Lawrence T. Miller Funeral Home, Inc., 460 Lincoln Avenue, Bellevue. Additional visitation Monday will be from 8:30 until 9:30 am at the Church of the Assumption, 45 N. Sprague Avenue, Bellevue, followed by Mass of Christian Burial at 10 am. Burial will follow in Christ Our Redeemer Cemetery, Ross Township. Memorials may be made to St. Paul Seminary, 2900 Noblestown Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15205.

Rev. Brian W. Connolly PhD

May 29, 1928 - May 16, 2018