Rev. Frederick W. Bush

Father Frederick W. Bush, a priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester for more than six decades, went home to the Lord on December 8, 2017, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. He was 91 years old. Father Bush was born a child of Roy F. and Irene (Toomey) Bush on June 7, 1926. He grew up in Rochester’s Blessed Sacrament Parish and attended Blessed Sacrament School, later attending the former St. Andrew’s Seminary and then St. Bernard’s Seminary. He was ordained at Sacred Heart Cathedral on June 2, 1951, by The Most Reverend James E. Kearney, fifth Bishop of Rochester. During his many years of ministry, he served as assistant pastor of St. Patrick, Elmira (1951-1954); St. John the Evangelist, Greece (1954-1961); Holy Cross, Rochester (1961-1965); and St. Mary, Rochester (1967-1971). He also served as a spiritual director at St. Bernard’s Seminary from 1965-1967. Father Bush was the long-time pastor of the Church of the Holy Spirit, Penfield, from 1971 until he was granted senior-priest status in June, 2001. As a senior priest, he lived at St. Mark Parish, Greece, until he moved to the Sisters of St. Joseph Motherhouse in Pittsford. While in Penfield he became a 4th Degree Knight of Columbus and became active in the Penfield Kiwanis Club where he served as President for one term . He is survived by his sister, Dr. Mary T. Bush, PhD; numerous cousins; and his Diocesan family, who mourn his loss. Calling hours will be held on Tuesday, December 12, 2017, at the Sisters of Saint Joseph Motherhouse, 150 French Road, beginning at 4:00 p.m. and concluding with Vespers at 7:00 p.m. On Wednesday, December 13, 2017, Father Bush will lie in state at the Church of the Holy Spirit, 1355 Hatch Road, Webster, from 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m., followed by the Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 a.m., with The Most Reverend Salvatore R. Matano, Bishop of Rochester, as the principal celebrant, and Father Thomas M. Erdle as homilist. Burial at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery will follow.