In Remembrance of Fr. Alberto Rodriguez, OP

Fr. Alberto Rodríguez López, OP
December 5, 1945 - March 10, 2023

On March 10, 2023, Father Alberto Rodríguez López, OP, died at MD Anderson Hospital in Houston, Texas. Born in Havana, Cuba, Alberto moved to the United States at the age of 16.  In 1964, he entered the Dominican novitiate in the Province of Bética, Spain.  He professed simple vows on September 23, 1965, studied theology in Seville, Spain, and was ordained a priest on July 3, 1971 in Walberberg, Germany.  After ordination he pursued a doctoral degree at the University of Cologne, Germany, and briefly taught in Seville before returning to the United States in 1977.  From 1977 to 1983, Alberto ministered in parish contexts and in chaplaincies. In 1980, he joined the newly-formed Southern Province of St. Martin de Porres. Between 1983 and 2020, he served as pastor of Holy Cross Parish, in Atlanta, GA and St. Dominic Parish in Miami, FL. His last four years of parish ministry were served at Holy Rosary Parish in Houston, TX, where he was diagnosed with cancer and continued to live until his death. 

Fr. Alberto was proud to serve on the Historical Commission for the Beatification and Canonization of the Florida Martyrs and was involved in the process until his death.  He loved cooking elaborate and delicious meals for his community, family, and loved ones. In his pastoral ministry, Alberto always emphasized adult faith formation. He was a man of deep learning who appreciated especially the history and charism of the Dominican Order and the role of the intellectual life as an essential expression of the Dominican charism.

From 1993-2002, Alberto served as the Prior Provincial of the Province of St. Martin de Porres. Alberto valued the role of lay people in the Church and it was under his leadership that the charter for the Congar Institute was first articulated. As Provincial, he nurtured and encouraged its development until it was approved by the full Provincial Chapter in 2002. Alberto’s love for the intellectual aspect of the Dominican charism, his understanding of the key role of the laity in the contemporary church, and his creativity in nurturing these values through his leadership live on in the mission of the Congar Institute.

"Obituary," Bradshaw-Carter Memorial and Funeral Services, (Tribute for Fr. Alberto Rodríguez López, OP | Bradshaw-Carter Memorial & Funeral Services (bradshawcarter.com): accessed 29 March 2023). Father Alberto Rodriguez, OP, died 10 March 2023