Father Robert P. Hilz, T.O.R., 80, a Franciscan Friar of the Third Order Regular of Saint Francis, died on 30 November 2022 at Saint Francis Friary in Loretto, PA. Born on 25 December 1941 in Youngstown, Ohio, the son of Robert G. and Elsa (Pitassy), he grew up in Toronto, Ohio the eldest of four children. He attended St. Francis of Assisi elementary school where he noted he began thinking about becoming a priest and missionary. Upon graduating from Central Catholic H.S. in 1960, he enrolled in the College of Steubenville where he became more familiar with the Third Order Regular Franciscans.
After two years of studies, he entered the T.O.R. Franciscans in Loretto, Pennsylvania as a postulant in June 1962. He professed simple vows on 1 July 1966 and graduated from Saint Francis College a year later with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. Over the next three years, he remained in Loretto where he completed seminary studies at Saint Francis Seminary and graduated in May 1970. Then, over the course of a few months, he professed solemn vows, was ordained a transitional deacon, and was ordained to the Priesthood on 18 July 1970.
For the next eight years, Fr. Robert taught religion at Bishop Egan High School in Fairless Hills, PA. During that time, he also completed a M.A. in Religious Education at La Salle College. After serving in the Diocese of Trenton’s Office of Religious Education for a couple of years, Fr. Robert was transferred back to Saint Francis College in Loretto where he emersed himself in campus ministry. Then, from 1984 to 1988, he was a Catholic chaplain at Laurel Crest Manor in Ebensburg, PA before being assigned to Franciscan University of Steubenville where he served in campus ministry for nearly a dozen years.
It was during these first several decades of his priesthood that Fr. Robert became deeply engaged in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, a spiritual movement that greatly affected the spiritual lives of many Catholics across the country and world. Wishing to minister more fully in the Charismatic renewal, Fr. Robert spent the next several years serving first as a sacramental minister for a Catholic charismatic community in Dallas, Texas, and then as a supply priest at several parishes in Texas, Arizona, and Louisiana. During this time, he was also a regular participant in countless Charismatic conferences and workshops across the United States and internationally.
After being transferred to Saint Francis Friary in Loretto, PA in 2010, Fr. Robert continued his engagement in the Charismatic renewal and immersed himself in the ministry of healing, reconciliation, and prayer until his final days. During these years, he also served as a chaplain at UPMC Altoona for several years; presided regularly at healing masses across the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown; led bible studies; and provided spiritual direction and pastoral care to various individuals and groups including the “Little Fire Family” – a prayer group that met on a weekly basis at St. Aloysius Parish in Cresson and various other parishes in the Johnstown area.
Fr. Robert is preceded in death by his parents, Robert G. and Elsa, and two brothers James and Thomas. He is survived by his sister Rosemary Kline and her husband Wayne, two sisters-in-law, Susan Allen Hilz and Susan K. Hilz, as well as numerous cousins, nieces and nephews, their spouses and children, and his Franciscan Community.
The Mass of Christian Burial for Fr. Robert was celebrated on 6 December 2022 at St. Francis Friary at Mount Assisi with the Very Rev. Joseph Lehman, T.O.R., Minister Provincial as principal celebrant. After the Mass, Fr. Robert was buried at the Franciscan Friars’ Cemetery, on the campus of Saint Francis University, Loretto.