Former Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish Pastor Dies at 81

EAST AUSTIN, TX -- Father Bill Elliott, longtime pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe parish in East Austin, has died at the age of 81.

According to an obituary, Elliott passed away in hospice care in Canada on Feb. 3.

Father Elliott was a tireless advocate of home preservation against gentrification on the East Side as an extension of his religious service, at a time when the brisk activity of commercial development had just begun.

According to a funeral home notice, the priest was on the front lines in battling the more corrosive side effects of gentrification leading to displacement of residents -- many of them members of his flock during his time as pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe from 1991-2001.

His cause was fueled at having witnessed mass displacement of residents in his hometown of Saint John in the 1950s to accommodate commercial development. The fight to preserve homesteads turned out to be a prescient one, as the same pattern is now being seen in East Austin.

“He also fought hard for the East End Austin neighborhood to keep it affordable and well served by the city,” the funeral notice reads. “He never forgot the dismantling of the East End of Saint John and did not want to see that happen to the East End of Austin.”

Born Nov. 11, 1934, Father Bill was one of five children born to a couple in the East End portion of Saint John, a Canadian city on the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River.

From there, he would embark on a ministry that began after being ordained a priest in 1961 as a member of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.

His first assignment as a freshly minted priest was ministering to members of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada known as the Nootka tribe until 1965.

He would go on to serve in Peru (1966-77) as a pastor and leader in the development of parish cooperative centers and agricultural co-ops; at the Oblate Retreat Center in San Antonio (1979-85); and as pastor of Holy Family Parish in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he served until 1990.

In Corpus Christi, he is credited with “...greatly expanding the parish, fostering family-based religious education and setting up numerous base communities,” his narrative reads.

It was after his service in Corpus Christi that he arrived in East Austin, where he was to make an indelible mark.

“With a passionate and prophetic spirit, he brought new life to the original Hispanic parish of Austin, increasing its size, facilities, outreach and Christian life especially through RCIA, family-based religious education, social ministry and active lay ministry,” the notice reads.

In the Catholic nomenclature, RCIA is short form for the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, a process for prospective converts to the faith above the age of infant baptism.

As word spread of the death of the priest -- affectionately dubbed “Father Bill” by members of his flock, mourners took to the funeral website to post their condolences and tributes. Scrolling through them yields a sense of how the late priest genuinely touched parishioners throughout the course of his long ministry.

“Father Bill was an amazing man,” wrote Christine Tulk. “When he spoke, everyone listened. He had such amazing stories to tell and was so energetic,” she added, noting the priest baptized both of her children.

Tammie and John Arseneault conveyed the certainty of Father’s Bill’s touching of many hearts, elevating the lives he touched as a result of his ministry.

“Truly a man who changed the hearts of many, including our family,” the couple wrote. “We are all better people just to have known Father Bill and to have been touched by his words. So, so grateful that we experienced such an amazing human being, priest and friend.”

David Ocasio, meanwhile, proclaimed thanks for the priest’s penchant for social justice issues in a fast-gentrifying part of the city.

“Thank you, Father Bill, for coming to our lives preaching the good news and standing up for our rights here in East Austin,” Ocasio wrote. “Although you have gone from Austin many years ago, your shadow lingers here in Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, and will remain forever.”

Elliott is preceded in death by his parents and brothers, John, Douglas and Frederick. He is survived by another brother, Don Elliott, of Saint John and several nieces and nephews.

A funeral mass is scheduled in St. Joseph’s Church in New Brunswick, Canada, on Feb. 9 with burial at St. William’s Cemetery in Canada.

>>> Photo courtesy of Fundy Funeral Home