Priest Who Disclosed AIDS Infection Dies

A Jesuit priest who told his parishioners a year ago that he had contracted AIDS from another man died Wednesday.

Father Peter Davis, 43, was believed to be the first priest actively serving in a U.S. Catholic parish to say publicly that he had contracted acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Davis celebrated Mass on Christmas Eve at a Portland hospice where he had been staying since October.

“We had accepted the fact that his death was inevitable, but it is always difficult to say goodby,” Father Frank Case, administrator of the Oregon Jesuit Province, said. “Peter accepted the inevitable and, in fact, embraced it. He faced his death with a great deal of peace, and he told me that he was very curious to see what lies on the other side.”