Holy Spirit Church in Annandale was filled with mourners Jan.
27 as Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde and more than 70
priests from the Arlington and Richmond Dioceses offered the
funeral Mass for Father Frank J. Ready.
A Knights of Columbus honor guard escorted the bishop and
Father Ready’s coffin to the altar.
Father Lee R. Roos, pastor of All Saints Church in Manassas
who served with Father Ready at St. Agnes Church in
Arlington, was the homilist and called Father Ready “a
brother to all of us.”
In emotional closing remarks, Bishop Loverde called Father
Ready “a man of enduring hope.”
The bishop said that we will miss his earthly presence, but
we will see him again.
Interment was at Fairfax Memorial Park.
Many of the priests and laity of the diocese who served with
Father Ready at his many parishes were saddened by his
passing.
“Along with the clergy, religious and laity, who form this
diocesan Church of Arlington, I am profoundly saddened by the
death of Father Frank J. Ready” said Bishop Loverde. “God’s
word reminds us that we have not here a lasting city but
urges us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, Our Savior and Our
Lord, Who has gone before us to prepare an eternal dwelling
for us in His Father’s House.
“Father Ready was a person of quiet yet deep faith; he put
his trust in Christ Jesus, so our fervent prayer is that our
blessed Lord will give him eternal life and peace.
“Father Ready served so faithfully God’s people in both the
Diocese of Richmond and our own Diocese of Arlington as an
associate pastor; pastor of several parishes, three of which
he founded and developed: the Church of St.
Thérèse in Chesapeake, Nativity in Burke and
Sacred Heart in Manassas,” Bishop Loverde said. “His wise
counsel and ever faithful presence strengthened the Diocesan
Council of Catholic Women as their chaplain, the Knights of
Columbus in Virginia as the associate state chaplain, the
women and men living the consecrated life as the vicar for
religious, and our entire diocesan family as a vicar general.
He was gentle, patient and unfailingly kind, reflecting the
Lord Jesus in his priestly life and ministry.
“I shall personally miss his service and his counsel,” the
bishop said. “Our united prayer accompanies him into the
house of the Lord. May he rest in peace and intercede for us
still on pilgrimage.”.
Father Roos called Father Ready “a dedicated priest who
wanted to help others and bring them closer to God,” “He
enriched both our rectory living and our parish life.”
Father Ready was born June 8, 1930, in Nantick, Mass., the
only child of Frank and Mary Ready. After his mother’s early
death, his father married Doris Raymond, and they had one son
and three daughters. Father Ready and his siblings grew up
largely in Fitchburg, Mass., where he was an altar server at
St. Bernard Church.
He entered the seminary for the Maryknoll Fathers, but
transferred to the Richmond Diocese, which then included all
of Virginia and some counties in West Virginia. He was
ordained by Richmond Bishop John J. Russell May 11, 1959.
He served as associate pastor of St. Bede Church in
Williamsburg, 1959-60; St. Bridget Church, Richmond, 1960-62;
St. Vincent Church, Newport News, 1962-65; and St. Michael
Church, Annandale, 1965-70.
Also for the Richmond Diocese, he was on the faculty of St.
John Vianney Seminary from 1960-62, and worked as executive
director of Catholic Charities from 1962-65.
He was the founding pastor of St. Therese Parish, Portsmouth,
1970-73; Nativity Parish, Burke, 1973-84; and Sacred Heart
Parish, Manassas, 1984-95. In 1995, he was appointed pastor
of Holy Spirit Church in Annandale where he served until
2005.
He served as dean of Deanery V, 1991-95, and dean of Deanery
II, 1997-2003. He was named to the diocesan college of
consultors in 2000 and vicar general for pastoral services in
2005.
He served for many years on the board of directors of the
Arlington Catholic Herald.
In 2013, he became vicar general emeritus with retired
status. In retirement, he continued serving as coordinator of
spiritual formation, moderator of the diocesan Peace and
Social Justice Commission, member of the diocesan presbyteral
council, chaplain to the Arlington Diocesan Council of
Catholic Women and associate state chaplain of the Knights of
Columbus.
“Father Ready was dedicated to the Arlington Diocesan Council
of Catholic Women and a wonderful moderator and spiritual
director. “But most of all (it was) a privilege for all of us
to have known him,” said Liz Schiavone, president of the
Diocesan Council of Catholic Women.
