Priest jumps off bridge in Rhode Island

Telegram ^ | September 11, 2009 | Linda Bock

[NYer]

The Rev. Dennis J. Rocheford, 60, who became pastor at St. Ann Parish in North Oxford July 1, jumped to his death in Rhode Island yesterday morning, according to Rhode Island State Police.

“Our focus is on prayers for him, for his family and for his friends,” Raymond L. Delisle, spokesman for the Diocese of Worcester, said this morning.

Rev. Rocheford, a longtime military chaplain, was on leave from St. Ann's and also had been serving at the Chapel of Hope at the Navy Base in Newport, R.I., according to Mr. Delisle.

About 8 a.m. yesterday, state police in Rhode Island received a report that a man had jumped from the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge. In addition to Newport and Rhode Island State Police, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Jamestown Navy-Marine Corps responded.

Authorities recovered the man's body in the water below the bridge. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to Rhode Island State Police Capt. James Swanberg. He said the man who jumped off the bridge was identified as Dennis Rocheford.

The Newport Bridge is the largest suspension bridge in New England and spans Narragansett Bay, connecting Newport and Jamestown.

Rev. Rocheford had been on a leave of absence from St. Ann's but still lived in the parish rectory when he was not at the Navy base. He was previously pastor of St. Theresa's Parish in Blackstone and for a time served as a priest assigned to assist clergy of the Diocese of Worcester charged with sexual misconduct.

Rev. Rocheford was born in South Weymouth and attended schools in Worcester. He graduated from South High School in 1967. He joined the Marine Corps and did a tour of duty in Vietnam. He attended St. John's Seminary in Brighton and was ordained a priest at St. Paul's Cathedral in Worcester by Bishop Bernard J. Flanagan in 1977. Rev. Rocheford's first assignment was to St. Camillus Parish in Fitchburg as associate pastor in 1977.

Other parishes in Central Massachusetts that he was appointed to include Sacred Heart in Hopedale in 1981 and St. Joan of Arc in Worcester in 1985. He studied Spanish at a seminary in the Dominican Republic before being appointed to St. Joan of Arc. Rev. Rocheford returned to military service in 1987. When he returned to the area in 1998, he was appointed to St. John the Evangelist in Clinton. In 2001, Rev. Rocheford was appointed administrator of St. Theresa's in Blackstone and became pastor in 2002.

[NYer]

Prayerful ping!

[Senator Goldwater]

When he returned to the area in 1998, he was appointed to St. John the Evangelist in Clinton.

As in Clinton, Maryland. My old parish back in the day.

[muir_redwoods]

Poor man, no one knows the demons we all deal with. It’s sad to see a permanent solution to a temporary problem. RIP

[BigCinBigD]

May God rest his soul. And may he find the peace in eternity he sought in life.

[fatima]

Dear God,Prayers for his family and friends.

[AKA Elena]

The most sincere prayers filled with HOPE for this Servant of God who felt all was lost! We may never be entitled to know what devils persued him, but we can pray that they are banished away from any other who has given so much!

[LdSentinal]

RIP.

[fini]

Wow! I knew him. He was my battalion chaplain in the late 80s. He was the best chaplain that I ever served with (and there were many over a 20 year period). Before becoming a priest, he served in Vietnam during Tet as a radio operator (a billet that was certain to make you a high value target in combat). He had more combat ribbons than most officers that served during the same period. He was the kindest and gentlest person I ever met that had backbone made of iron. Everyone that came into contact with him admired him and sought his advise. I cannot imagine what would cause him to do this, but it must have been significant.

[NYer]

Thank you for the testimonial on Fr. Rocheford. The Vietnam war took a serious toll on many. Could this have been a latent reaction? If you learn more, would you please ping me? Would appreciate it.

[x]

As in Clinton, Maryland. My old parish back in the day.

There's also a parish by the same name in Clinton Massachusetts, and that's probably the one they're referring to.

Coincidence?

Where the Clintons are involved, who can say?

[fini]

Thank you for your concern. If I find out I will send you a note. I could write pages on things that he did or said that made him stand out from the others. But I will sum it up by saying that whenever a bunch of us from the old days talk about him we all are unanimous in saying that he was the best. If Viet Nam was the cause, he hid it well. As I mentioned earlier, he was a radio operator during Tet and the officer he carried the radio for later became a general (a very good general by the way), so I don't think his problem was related to anything he did in Viet Nam. He was a Franciscan, so he took a vow of poverty and he lived it- his car was literally falling apart. Several years later I say him at Parris Island (one of two Marine Corps Boot Camps). He was just as humble and kind as he was while in 3rd Bn 8th Marines (He also had a very good sense of humor). I just pray that: 1) there was a chemical imbalance (which made in unstable); and most importantly 2) God takes mercy on his soul.

[gman992]

Why do people think it is always Vietnam?

[trisham]

The poor man. How very, very sad.

[annalex]

God have mercy on his soul.

Lord, we ask not to count the suicide against this brave man.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, amen.

[trisham]

Thank you so much for sharing your memories of Rev. Rocheford.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Sad. RIP.

[TASMANIANRED]

Prayers lifted.

[Oratam]

How very sad. He sounds like he was quite a guy. He looks the way priests looked in movies from the '40s and '50s. In fact, he looks a little like the actor Pat O'Brien.

May God have mercy on his soul.

[Domestic Church]

Prayers going up for him. RIP.