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Archdiocesan Priest, Rev. Arthur J. Olsen, Dies

Rev. Olsen was Associate Pastor of St. Emily Parish in Mt. Prospect

Chicago, IL (October 24, 2017) – Rev. Arthur J. Olsen passed away unexpectedly on October 16, 2017 at St. Benedict Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Niles, where he was recovering from surgery. Rev. Olsen was most recently the associate pastor of St. Emily Parish in Mt. Prospect. He was 53 years old.

Rev. Olsen was born in East Orange, New Jersey, on September 24, 1964. He attended Divine Infant Jesus School in Westchester and Proviso West High School in Hillside. Rev. Olsen went on to study at Northwestern University in Evanston earning a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism in 1986 and attended the University of St. Mary of the Lake / Mundelein Seminary, receiving a Bachelor of Sacred Theology in 1997. He was ordained into the priesthood on May 22, 1999 by Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago and celebrated his first Solemn Mass at Divine Infant in Westchester on May 23, 1999.

A very good writer, Rev. Olsen pursued a career in journalism after graduating from Northwestern and became a news reporter in Pennsylvania.

“Rev. Olsen had worked as a newspaper reporter, but he said that he suddenly recognized his call to the priesthood while attending Christmas Midnight Mass,” said Richard Nash, Chaplain at Presence Saint Benedict Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. “It was a true calling of the Holy Spirit to make a radical change in his life.”

After priesthood ordination, Rev. Olsen served the Archdiocese in a number of parishes: He started as a deacon at St. John Brebeuf Parish in Niles in 1999 and was named associate pastor of that parish the same year. In 2004, Rev. Olsen became associate pastor of St. Mary Parish in Lake Forest, while in 2007 he moved to St. Hilary Parish on California Avenue in the same role and served there until 2014. Rev. Olsen had been associate pastor of St. Emily Parish in Mt. Prospect from July 2014 to March 2017.

“When you saw a purple PT Cruiser, you knew he was there,” said Rev. Dan Brandt, a classmate of Rev. Olsen and Chaplain of Chicago Police Department. Rev. Dan remembers Rev. Olsen as joyful, very smart, friendly priest who showed his enthusiasm for anything related to his alma mater.

“He was one of the best priests I worked with: sociable, likeable – everybody liked him,” said Rev. Ronald Navoy, pastor emeritus of St. Emily Parish in Mt. Prospect. “He could have a conversation about anything.”

Rev. Michael Trail, associate pastor at St. Damian Church in Oak Forest, lived with Rev. Olsen for six months in 2014 at St. Hillary Parish while he was in seminary and described him as a priest who “loved to be there for his people.”

Visitation hours will be from 10 to 11 a.m. at St. Emily Parish Catholic Church, 1400 E. Central Road, Mt. Prospect on Friday, October 27 followed by a Funeral Mass at 11 a.m.

Rev. Ronald Navoy will be the main celebrant and interment will take place at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside.

Rev. Olsen is survived by his father, Arthur, Sr., and siblings, Lori Baker, Erik, John and Chris Olsen.