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June 9, 2022Fr. Robert Alan Burns, OP was born in Oak Park, IL on September 9, 1934. He died peacefully in Tucson, AZ on June 6, 2022.
Faced with multiple opportunities including two different law schools and a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox, Fr. Bob entered the Dominican novitiate for the Province of St. Albert the Great in August 1954. On August 30, 1954, he professed simple vows and on August 31, 1958, he professed solemn vows. On June 3, 1961, he was ordained to the priesthood. He joined the Province of St. Martin de Porres in 1979.
Fr. Bob received many degrees including an M.A. in Philosophy in 1958, an M.A. in Theology in 1962, and a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in 1970. In 1998, the Master of the Order, Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP, conferred the honor of Master in Sacred Theology on Fr. Bob.
Fr. Bob began his ministerial career at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque serving from 1962-1966 as Campus Minister, Chaplain, Acting Pastor, Procurator, and Professor of Theology. In 1963, he taught Medical (psychiatric) ethics at Nazareth Hospital. In 1970, Fr. Bob began what would become his career, Professor of Theology at the University of Arizona in Tucson, where he founded the Department of Religious Studies. He would serve at the University until May 2016. Fr. Bob also wrote many books.
Fr. Bob is preceded in death by his parents, Veronica Curran Burns and Harold Burns, and his siblings, Harold Burns, Jr. and Nancy Costello. He is survived by his brother, Richard.
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Funeral Arrangements
June 14, 2022
Funeral Mass at 10:00 AM
St. Thomas More Newman Center
1615 East Second Street
Tucson, Arizona 85719
In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Southern Dominican Province
P.O. Box 8129, New Orleans, LA 70182.
Click here for a high-resolution image of Fr. Robert Burns, O.P.
