Reverend Robert “Bob” E. Carney, Jr., a 'tireless advocate for the marginalized' passes on

Reverend Robert “Bob” E. Carney, Jr.

Father Bob Carney was born on May 30, 1943 in Penns Grove, New Jersey, one of eight children born to Margaret Peak and Robert Carney.  During the Vietnam era he served in the military for four years in Alaska. Bob then worked as a bartender and waiter in St. Louis until he was called to the priesthood at the age of 40. He joked that his years as a bartender and waiter were where he got his talent for hearing confessions.

To fulfill his calling, he attended Pima Community College from 1984 to 1985 and then studied at both Cardinal Stritch College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corner, Wisconsin from 1986 to 1990. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in May of 1990 from Cardinal Stritch College and in February of 1990 he was ordained to the Diaconate at the Chapel of Sacred Heart School of Theology. He was ordained as a priest for the Diocese of Tucson by Most Reverend Manuel D. Moreno, D.D., Bishop of Tucson, at St. Augustine’s Cathedral on June 1, 1991.  He served as Parochial Vicar at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Casa Grande, Arizona; as associate and then Pastor at St. Luke Parish in Douglas, Arizona; and then in-residence at St. Francis de Sales Parish in Tucson, Arizona.

Fr. Carney was a tireless advocate for the marginalized, especially the migrant population of southern Arizona. A favorite ministry was washing the feet of those who participated in the Migrant Walk, a week-long 76-mile trek from Sasabe to Tucson, Arizona commemorating the lives of those migrants who have died and calling for immigration reform. 

Fr. Carney is survived by his brother Frances “Frank” Carney of Vail, Arizona along with numerous nieces and nephews.