Submitted by: Dan Rich

Rev. Paul B. Rankin CSC

July 4, 1913 - Aug. 2, 2005

South Bend Tribune 8/6/2005

Father Paul Bogart Rankin, C.S.C. died peacefully on Tuesday, August 2, in Holy Cross House, Notre Dame, Ind. He was born on July 4, 1913, in Ancon, Canal Zone, Panama. His parents were Alvin M. and Agnes (Walker) Rankin.

Father Rankin attended elementary school in Cristobal, Canal Zone; Cartago, Costa Rica; Tela, Honduras; and New Orleans, La. His secondary education was in Cristobal, Canal Zone. He graduated with a B.A. degree from Wittenberg College in 1934. He also earned an M.A. in English from Northwestern University in 1937. He entered the novitiate at Rolling Prairie, Ind. on August 15, 1942, and professed his first vows on August 16, 1943. Fr. Rankin studied philosophy at the University of Notre Dame and theology at Holy Cross College in Washington, D.C. He was ordained a priest on June 5, 1948, at St. Mary's Church, Balboa, Canal Zone.

Father Rankin served Christ, the Church, and the Congregation of Holy Cross in numerous assignments. His first assignment was at St. George's, Santiago, where he spent a year. From there, in 1949, he spent the next twelve years at Moreau Seminary as Assistant Superior and then Superior. Fr. Rankin was Superior at Moreau Seminary at the time that it was built. He was greatly loved by many of the seminarians who were there at the time. In 1962 he was transferred to St. Mary's Cathedral, Austin, Texas, where he served as Assistant Pastor.

In 1963 Fr. Rankin moved on to St. Edward's University in Austin, serving as Chaplain. 1964 took Fr. Rankin to Corpus Christi, Texas, where he was Chaplain of Archbishop Curley High School. From 1972 to 1976, Fr. Rankin served as an assistant at Corpus Christi Parish, Corpus Christi, Fla. His next assignment was in 1976, where he served for the next four years at Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Satellite Beach, Fla. He was then transferred to Indialantic, Fla. where he served from 1980 to 1986 at Holy Name of Jesus Parish.

Fr. Rankin entered his retirement in 1986. Spending the next year at Holy Name of Jesus Parish, Indialantic, Fla., then moving on to the Provincial House, Southern Province, Austin, Texas. In 1989, Fr. Rankin entered Holy Cross House, Notre Dame, Ind. where God had blessed him with a ministry of prayer.

Father Rankin had great admiration for Dr. Tomas Dooley. After his mother died, he found in her possessions a copy of the following quote of Dr. Dooley which became one of his favorites: "When the time comes, like now, then the storm around me does not matter. Nothing human or earthly can touch me. A wilder storm of peace gathers in my heart. What seems unpossessable, I can possess, unutterable, I can utter because I can pray. I can communicate. How do people enjoy life on earth if they cannot have God?"

Father Rankin was preceded in death by his parents, Alvin Monroe and Agnes (Walker) Rankin; a sister, Mrs. Anita Rankin Thompson; and two brothers, Mr. Alvin A. Rankin and Mr. Thomas L. Rankin. Father Rankin is survived by several nieces and nephews.

Viewing will be held for Fr. Rankin in the Chapel of Moreau Seminary, University of Notre Dame, on Sunday August 7, 2005, from 3:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. with a prayer service at 7:30 p.m. The funeral Mass will be celebrated at Sacred Heart Basilica, Notre Dame, IN., on Monday August 8, 2005, at 3:30 p.m. Kaniewski Viewing will be held for Fr. Rankin in the Chapel of Moreau Seminary, University of Notre Dame, on Sunday August 7,