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Archdiocesan Priest, Rev. Ronald J. Gollatz, Dies

Fr. Gollatz was most recently Pastor at Transfiguration Parish in Wauconda, Ill.

Chicago, IL (April 23, 2018) – Rev. Ronald J. Gollatz, 72, died on April 17, 2018. He was most recently the Pastor of Transfiguration Parish in Wauconda, Ill., from 2007 to 2016 at which time he retired.

Fr. Gollatz was born on April 5, 1946 in Chicago. He attended Our Lady of Help of Christians School and Quigley North, both in Chicago. He earned a bachelor’s degree at DePaul University in Chicago in 1968 and a master’s degree in Divinity at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary in 1972 in Mundelein, Ill.

Fr. Gollatz was ordained to the priesthood on May 10, 1972 by John Cardinal Cody, Archbishop of Chicago, and celebrated his first Solemn Mass at Mary, Seat of Wisdom Church in Park Ridge, Ill., on May 13 of the same year.

After ordination to priesthood, Fr. Gollatz served the archdiocese in a number of roles. He started as assistant pastor of St. Celestine Parish in Elmwood Park, Ill. (1972-77); he then served as associate pastor of St. Bride Parish on Coles Avenue in Chicago, St. Martha Parish in Morton Grove, Ill., St. Emily Parish in Mt. Prospect, Ill., and St. Gilbert Parish in Grayslake, Ill.

Additionally, Fr. Gollatz served as pastor in the following three parishes: St. Thaddeus Parish on Harvard Avenue in Chicago, St. Francis de Sales Parish in Lake Zurich, Ill., and Transfiguration Parish in Wauconda, Ill., where he ministered until his retirement in 2016.

“The two of us were fortunate enough to retire at the same time and in the same location,” said Rev. John A. Jamnicky, one of Fr. Gollatz’s 16 classmates and former pastor of St. Raphael the Archangel Church in Old Mill Creek, Ill. “But he retired only from administrative responsibilities; he never retired from being a priest – always available in northern Lake County. We lived together, served together and both retired together.”

Rev. Arturo J. Pérez-Rodríguez, also a classmate and former director of Kolbe House, remembers Fr. Gollatz as a dedicated priest. “He would always try to help people feel welcome in the Church so that he could accompany them in their journey.”

“Fr. Ron Gollatz was a classmate, a prayer group member, and an inspirational pastor,” said Msgr. Patrick Pollard, former director of Catholic Cemeteries. “Ron was a thoughtful and compassionate minister to his parish staff and to his parishioners; he was imaginative in his homilies and wrote with great skill and poetry.”

Rev. Robert F. Tonelli, former pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Wilmette, remembers his classmate as a great cook and a gentle, selfless person. It was through the monthly prayer group that Msgr. Pollard mentioned that Fr. Tonelli had the opportunity of knowing Fr. Gollatz better for the past 40 years and appreciate his artistic side.

“Ron was most happy when he was serving God’s people,” observed Rev. Paul Burak, a classmate of Fr. Gollatz who will be the homilist during the Funeral Mass.

Visitation hours will be 1 – 9 p.m. on Monday, April 23, 2018, and Funeral Mass will take place on Tuesday, April 24 at 11 a.m. All funeral services will occur at Transfiguration Parish, 348 W. Mill Street, Wauconda, Ill.

Bishop George Rassas will be the main celebrant, and interment will take place at St. Joseph Cemetery in River Grove, Ill.