Reverend Raymond Michael Utz

REVEREND RAYMOND MICHAEL UTZ

The Reverend Raymond Michael Utz, S. T. L., J. C. L., M. A., age 90, departed this life on December 24, 2025 with full faith in the Lord Jesus' promise of eternal life. He was a priest of the Diocese of Pittsburgh for some 62 years. He was born July 29, 1935, the son of his late parents,Raymond Franklin Utz and Marion Gertrude Murray. He was brother of (the late) James Paul Utz (the late Maria) and uncle to (the late) Raymond Josef Utz and to James Karl Utz (Diane). He was great uncle to Jennifer (Lawrence) White, Erika Ann (Kevin) McConnell and James Patrick Utz. He was great-great uncle to Anna, Abigail and Colton White and to Maria Theresia McConnell. He was himself the great nephew of Margaret Murray Rooney and the godson of Margaret Rooney Laughlin. Also survived by many cousins in the Utz, Murray and Rooney families. Raymond Utz attended Saint Peter Grade School (North Side) and North Catholic High School (Troy Hill). Seminary studies began at Saint Meinrad (Indiana) and continued at Saint Vincent (Latrobe. Theological studies were at Saint Mary (Baltimore), completed with the Licentiate degree in theology. Graduate studies in philosophy were done at Duquesne University and Notre Dame University. For his formation in things Catholic, he was always grateful to his parents and to the Sisters of Mercy, the Brothers of Mary, the monks of Saint Benedict and the Sulpician Fathers.

Bishop John Wright ordained Raymond Utz to priesthood at Saint Paul Cathedral on May 4, 1963. First Solemn Mass was celebrated at Saint Peter Church. Newly-ordained Father Utz was assigned as Assistant Pastor at Holy Innocents Parish, Sheraden. It was during this assignment that the Second Vatican concluded and gave the Church the great opportunity for intensive and extensive renewal. It was the singular privilege of priests of that time to bring the Council to the people in the pews. As Executive Secretary of the diocesan Worship Commission, Father Utz played a significant role in helping clergy and laity to celebrate the reformed rites of Mass and sacraments. In August 1970, Bishop Vincent Leonard sent Father Utz to the Pontifical Lateran University, Rome, for a Licentiate degree in canon law. His dissertation - "Constitutionalism and Church Order" - explored the possibilities of new forms of church governance.

Returning from Rome in 1972, Father Utz was appointed Secretary of the Tribunal, the diocesan court which dealt principally with marriage annulments. In the spirit of the Vatican Council that judicial work was carried out as pastoral ministry to the divorced. During his years in diocesan service, Father Utz was administrator pro tem of Saint Rita Parish, Whitaker; in residence at Saint Therese, Munhall; served as chaplain at the Motherhouse of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, Baden; resided at Saint Peter Parish, South Side. For the ten years of his diocesan assignment, Father Utz assisted Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Bosco as his master of ceremonies for over a thousand celebrations of the Sacrament of Confirmation as well as the many other liturgical and pastoral events on the episcopal schedule. These years also offered many opportunities to assist parish's Sunday worship. These years as well afforded occasions to give presentations in parishes and schools on topics of liturgy, scripture, theology and canon law. As chairperson of the Spiritual Activities Committee of diocesan Holy Name Society, Father Utz proposed to Bishop Wright a program to enhance appreciation of the Holy Thursday Chrism Mass and to increase participation in its celebration. That proposal centered on lay persons receiving the newly-blessed Holy Oils from the bishop for return to their parishes. Father Utz also prepared the first prayer-service for the "Seven Church Visits" - a renewed devotional practice which still continues.

Bishop Leonard appointed Father Utz the seventh Pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Shadyside, in July 1982. The eight years of priestly ministry there was for him a great honor and challenge. He was ever in awe of Sacred Heart's monumental church, the quality of its liturgy, the list of outstanding priests who ministered there, the long-time presence of the Sisters of Charity, educational programs for some thousand students from pre-school to high school for girls, RCIA, comprehensive programs of adult education, a social; service ministry begun in the depression, publishing a Sunday Bulletin decades before that would be common practice, cordial relations with Calvary Episcopal Church long before ecumenism became normative, supporting East End Cooperative Ministry and all the good works in the Shadyside community especially church-outreach to AIDS patients. Father Utz credited so much good at Sacred Heart to the genius of Father Thomas Francis Coakley, its legendary Pastor. Father Utz saw the Sacred Heart tradition as outstandingly "being Church and doing Church". Hoping to provide continuance for the parish's high school ministry as declining enrollment occurred, he initiated with the diocese the process which ultimately led to the opening of Oakland Catholic High School. While his connection to the beginnings of Oakland Catholic was not widely known, he actually led Bishop Wuerl out of his opposition to establishing the first diocesan-sponsored high school for the education of young women.

Father Utz served Saint Susanna Parish, Penn Hills, as Administrator/Pastor from July 1990 to June 1998. And with the parishioners there he shared a remarkable experience. As Sunday, August 22, 1993, dawned, Father Utz found a just hours-old infant boy at the rectory's front door. He had been placed there by his desperate parents. Father Utz eventually came to meet the parents and understand their difficult situation, He thanked them for choosing life. A marker at the rectory door commemorates the event by proclaiming: "From God LIFE - To God GLORY"

A leave of absence following the Saint Susanna appointment allowed time for family and for some travel. A trip to Tibet fulfilled a boyhood dream. On the promenade roof of the Potala, the Dalai Lama's palace in Lhasa, Father Utz celebrated the simplest of Masses with a bit of bread, wine from an airplane miniature and the transforming words of the eucharistic prayer from memory.

After returning from leave, Father Utz served for a short time as Parochial Vicar at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Carnegie, His final assignment for four years was as Administrator of Saint Felix Parish, Freedom, Beaver County. Since retirement in June 2005, Father Utz resided at the Cardinal Dearden Center and the Saint John Vianney Manor. Both residences offered the company of confreres and the kindness of staffs. Retirement was happy because of regular opportunity for ministry in many parishes, celebrating TV Masses at Saint Mary of Mercy Church and Saint Paul Cathedral, liturgy at the Motherhouse of the Sisters of Mercy, at Villa de Marillac and Antonia Hall care facilities. There were often positive comments about his preaching. In the forward to a doctoral dissertation, the author paid a grateful tribute for "...opening my eyes to the beauty of a liturgy well-celebrated...". As has been his family's custom, funeral rites were private. Burial beside his parents was in Christ our Redeemer North Side Catholic Cemetery. Arrangements entrusted to WILLIAM SLATER II FUNERAL SERVICE, Scott Twp. (412-563-2800) Since this is the only public statement there will be, it recounts some of what Father Utz cherished. And its conclusion is something he wrote to mark the occasion of his golden jubilee of Ordination. "I prayerfully thank our heavenly Father for any good which has come to others from my part in the ministry the Church does in the Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ." In death, Raymond Michael Utz entrusts himself to the Church's prayer for God to grant him a merciful judgment that he may share the resurrection of Christ Jesus, Lord and Savior. Amen! Alleluia!