Rev. Ernest Latko

The Rev. Francis "Ernest" Latko, 93, of Bradley, died Friday (Dec. 12, 2008). A memorial Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Saturday at Maternity BVM Catholic Church in Bourbonnais. The Rev. Richard Pighini will officiate. A memorial presentation and eulogy will be presented by James Paul.Interment will be held in the Provincial Cemetery of Assumption BVM Church in Pulaski, Wis., in the spring. Clancy-Gernon Funeral Home, Bourbonnais, is in charge of arrangements.The Rev. Latko ministered at St. Joseph Church, St. Lawrence, and St. Clare House of Prayer. He was born April 12, 1915, in Chicago, the son of Peter and Mary Wilczak Latko. He attended Phil Sheriden and Immaculate Conception elementary schools. His secondary education was received at St. Bonaventure Minor Seminary in Sturtevant, Wis. After graduating in 1933, he entered the novitiate of the Franciscan order in Pulaski, when the Assumption province was still a commissariat. There he was invested in the friars' habit and given his religious name of "Ernest."After his profession of vows in 1934, he began the study of philosophy at St. Francis College in Burlington, Wis., where he also pronounced solemn vows in August 1937. He began his theology studies at Lourdes Seminary, Cedar Lake, Ind., and completed at St. Mary of the Angels in Green Bay, Wis. He was ordained in Green Bay on June 18, 1942, by Bishop Paul Rhode.After his ordination, he was sent for higher studies at Laval University in Quebec, Canada. He pursued doctoral studies, receiving a licentiate in sacred theology (STL) and later, in 1949, a doctorate in sacred theology (STD). In 1945, he was assigned to the faculty at Lourdes Seminary in Cedar Lake, Iwhere, over the next eight years, he taught patrology and dogmatic theology. He also served as secretary of the Provincial Council of Studies, Seminary Vice Prefect of Studies, Master of Clerics, Friary Chronicler (1951) and Vicar (1952), and Provincial Prefect of Studies (1954).From 1959-1969, he served as director of the Seraphic Institute of Theology at St. Francis College in Joliet, a master's degree program in theology. In 1969, he became a full-time professor at St. Francis College (later called Joliet College in 1978). He also directed the Franciscan Educational Conference for several years as president.He moved to Bradley and took on two part-time teaching jobs, one at Governors State University and the other at Kankakee Community College. In 2006, he published a novel titled "It Happened in the Vatican," a story of faith and integrity against the forces of deception and intrigue in the papal palace.Surviving are two nieces, Audrey (Don) Berns of Matteson, Maxine Wachowiak of Dalton; great-nieces and great-nephews; and close friends, including Jim and Janice Thomas.One brother, Joseph, is deceased.

Rev. Ernest Latko

April 12, 1915 - December 12, 2008