Msgr. Pekarcik, Diocese Liaison to Catholic Hospitals, Dies at 67

Msgr. Joseph Michael Pekarcik, a Roman Catholic priest who was a liaison for the Diocese of Orange to the Catholic hospitals in Orange County, died Wednesday after a lengthy illness. He was 67.

“Everybody here liked him very, very much. He was an excellent chaplain,” said Sister Mary at St. Catherine’s Military School in Anaheim, where Pekarcik was chaplain from 1979 to 1982. “He was a vital part of this school.”

After various assignments in Los Angeles, Pekarcik was appointed director of health and hospitals for the Diocese of Orange in 1978 by the late Bishop William R. Johnson. He held the position until his retirement in 1989.

In addition to his duties at St. Catherine’s, he was also a chaplain at St. Jude Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in Yorba Linda.

Pekarcik was ordained in Los Angeles in 1947 by the late Cardinal Timothy Manning. He received a master’s degree from Catholic University in Washington, and also did postgraduate work at Immaculate Heart College and USC.

His first assignment as a priest was in San Pedro at Mary Star of the Sea Parish. After active duty as a chaplain in the Army from 1954 to 1957, he became a high school principal in the Los Angeles Archdiocese at Fermin Lasuen, Bishop Montgomery, St. Bonaventure, Santa Clara and Alemany high schools.

A vigil is scheduled for Friday at 8 p.m. at Holy Spirit Church in Fountain Valley. Mass will be said at 9 a.m. Saturday at the church.

Burial will be in All Soul’s Cemetery, Long Beach.