Conrad W. Loftus, OFM

1927 – 2008

Fr. Conrad Loftus, OFM, was born on May 3, 1927 in Bridgeport, Conn., and baptized William James. He entered St. Joseph’s Seraphic Seminary in Callicoon, N.Y., where he studied from 1944 to 1948. Fr. Conrad was received into the novitiate at St. Bonaventure Friary, Paterson, N.J., in 1948, professing first vows one year later. He made his solemn profession in 1953 and was ordained in 1954.

After ordination, he was temporarily assigned to St. Francis of Assisi Parish in New York City, where he served during the summer of 1955. That September, he transferred to Siena College, Loudonville, N.Y., where he briefly taught English. From 1956 to 1962, Fr. Conrad served as a member of the Province’s Mission Band. He then served as chaplain at Fitzsimmons Army Hospital in Denver.

In January 1963, he entered the chaplains’ school in Brooklyn, N.Y. From June 1963 to July 1965, he was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C., and then to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Between 1965 and 1974, he served in Korea, Vietnam, Washington and Germany, and at Fort Bragg.

In 1977, Fr. Conrad was assigned division chaplain for the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea. For several years, he served as chaplain and taught soldiers in multiple locations throughout Korea. He retired in 2003 to Denver after serving Fitzsimmons Army Hospital for eight years. Two years later, he moved to St. Anthony Friary, St. Petersburg, Fla. In 2006, he transferred to Holy Name Friary, Ringwood, N.J.

He died there on Jan. 2, 2008. Fr. Conrad was 80 years old, a professed friar for 58 years and a priest for 53 years.