Press Release

Reverend William M. Kennedy, retired educator and pastor, died Thursday, September 19, 2013.

Fr. Kennedy was born on July 4, 1940 in Dayton, Ohio. He did his preparatory studies at St. Gregory Seminary in Mt. Washington and studied theology at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary of the West, then in Norwood.  He was ordained a priest on May 29, 1971 by Archbishop Paul F. Leibold at St. Peter in Chains Cathedral, Cincinnati.

He received his first assignment in June 1971 as assistant pastor of St. Andrew Parish, Milford, and part-time teacher at St. Gregory Seminary.  He served as pro-tem assistant pastor at St. Teresa of Avila Parish, Cincinnati, in 1973 before being appointed in August 1973 to full-time faculty member at Saint Gregory Seminary.

In March 1975, Fr. Kennedy was appointed administrator of St. Ann Parish, Williamsburg, while continuing as a faculty member at St. Gregory Seminary.  In August 1977, he was appointed dean of St. Gregory Seminary.  He became pastor of St. Peter Parish, New Richmond, in July 1980 and dean of the St. Martin Deanery in July 1983.  Fr. Kennedy was appointed pastor of St. Ann Parish, Groesbeck, in February 1987 and reappointed in February 1993.  In July 1999 he was appointed pastor of Assumption Parish, Mt. Healthy, where he served until his retirement in 2011. Upon retirement, he resided at St. Mary Parish, Cincinnati, until his death.

Most Reverend Dennis M. Schnurr, Archbishop of Cincinnati, will celebrate the funeral Mass at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24, at St. Mary Church. Burial will follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery at Assumption Parish, Mt. Healthy.