William J. Kemeza, President of Boston College High School, and the St. Ignatius Award Committee are pleased to announce that Father Richard Conway, class of 1955, of Weymouth, is a recipient of the 2014 St. Ignatius Award, the highest honor bestowed on a graduate of Boston College High School.
On February 14, Captain John H. Danilecki of the Boston Police Department , a 1980 grduate of BC High and himself a winner of the Ignatian award in 2007 introduced Father Doc to an audience of more than 1600 BC High students, alumni, family and friends gathered at the McNeice Pavilion on the Morrissey Boulevard campus.
Danilecki told the crowd how Father Conway was ordained in 1963 and for more than 50 years he has committed his life to serving God and His people in several parishes throughout the Archdiocese. “He has always taken his priestly responsibilities seriously whether as a curate, coach, summer camp organizer, pastor, administrator, or as a community activist.
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“Father Conway” said Danilecki, “ lives his life for others and believes he was put on this earth to try to improve the lives of those less fortunate. For example, when he was a pastor in Lowell, he drove an old 18 wheel trailer truck, picking up used furniture by himself, to distribute to the incoming surge of Cambodian refugees. When he was a pastor in Brockton he immersed himself in a course in Portuguese so that he could serve the majority of his parishoners who were from Cape Verde.
“Presently, even though he is retired, Father is still working daily along with Father Jack Ahern to serve three parishes in Dorchester. He is out on the streets 2 to 3 nights a week, traveling every street within the 60 plus blocks that encompasses Dorchester's Bowdoin/Geneva area. He wears his Roman collar to let the residents know that he is not a person to be feared. He wants the people to know, especially the young gangs, that he is there. He has won the respect of everyone, young and old, Catholic and non-Catholic.
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“Whether someone is sick, needs a job, has a problem in the home, is in jail, whatever, Father Doc, is always there to help.”
The St. Ignatius Award Committee is also pleased to recognize three other men this year: Professor Paul Sally '50 of Chicago, Christopher Small ’62 of Jamaica Plain who also won St. Ignatius awards and William A. MacNeill of Scituate who won the Shields Medal.
The Saint Ignatius Award is given to graduates of Boston College High School who possess: high moral character, selfless dedication to service without expectation of material reward or public recognition, while adhering to the principles of honesty, justice, compassion and the preservation of human dignity. The Shields Medal honors a non-alumnus of the BC High community for his character and service.
Boston College High School is a Jesuit, Catholic, college-preparatory school founded in 1863 for young men in grades 7 to 12 . The school enrolls approximately 1600 students from some 140 communities in eastern Massachusetts.
