Father Anthony Traynor, a beloved priest of the Diocese of Sacramento for almost 62 years, died on May 27 in Citrus Heights, where he resided for the past few years. He was 87.
Father Traynor, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Sacramento from October 1988 to October 2004, retired on October 28, 2004 and was named pastor emeritus of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish.
Bishop Jaime Soto will preside at a private funeral Mass and burial on Wednesday, June 17. Because of the coronavirus pandemic and the restriction on public gatherings, a memorial Mass will be celebrated in the future when restrictions are lifted. The memorial Mass will be held at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Sacramento.
Prior to serving at Our Lady of Lourdes, he was pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Auburn from December 1980 to October 1988 and of St. John Parish in Quincy from November 1971 to December 1980. He served as assistant pastor of St. Mel Parish in Fair Oaks from October 1969 to November 1971; of St. Joseph Parish in Marysville from September 1965 to October 1969; of Saints Peter and All Hallows Parish in Sacramento from September 1962 to September 1965; of Immaculate Conception Parish in Sacramento from March 1959 to September 1962; and of Sacred Heart Parish in Red Bluff from October 1958 to March 1959.
He also served as Newman Club chaplain at Yuba College from 1965 to 1969 and chaplain to Sacramento County firefighters and airport workers from 1989 to 2004.
A native of Ballieboro, County Cavan in Ireland, a town of 1,500 people, Father Traynor was the seventh of seven sons born to Matthew Traynor and Kate Mary Clarke. He attended St. Anne National School in Ballieboro, which was operated by the Irish government. After primary school, he entered St. Patrick College boarding school in Cavan, 20 miles away from his home. After graduation, he enrolled in St. John’s Seminary in Waterford.
During his six years of seminary studies, he met Leo McAllister and Jim Mulligan as friends and seminarian McAllister urged them to apply to be seminarians for the Diocese of Sacramento. All three became seminarians for the diocese.
Father Traynor was ordained to the priesthood on June 17, 1958 in the Waterford Cathedral by the bishop of the diocese.
After a couple of months with his family, he left in September 1958 from the port of Cobh, Ireland, for a week’s trans-Atlantic voyage to New York. After visiting with cousins in New York, he traveled to Sacramento by train.
Father Traynor served for nine years as pastor of St. John Parish in Quincy. He recalled in a 2013 interview with Father John Boll, diocesan archivist, that the winters were cold and dangerous, especially the drive to St. Anthony Mission Church in Greenville.
At age 71, Father Traynor decided to retire. He purchased a mobile home and lived in a mobile home park. In August 2013, he moved to the Priests’ Retirement Village in Citrus Heights, where he would be closer to his brother priests and share more fully in the community life. Later he moved to Brookdale Senior Living residence in Citrus Heights.
On the 50th anniversary of his ordination in 2008, Father Traynor reflected in The Catholic Herald that one of his favorite Scripture passages is Luke 18:18, when Jesus speaks to the rich man who has asked him how he can inherit eternal life. At the end of the passage, Peter says to the Lord, “We have given up our possessions and followed you.” Jesus answers: “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God who will not receive back an overabundant return in this present age and eternal life in the age to come.”
“I suppose I could have considered another vocation besides the priesthood, perhaps in the business world where God’s abundant generosity could also have been known to me,” Father Traynor wrote. “But I am grateful that I chose to be a priest and that God’s generosity has been revealed to me everywhere in my ministry.
“I have met thousands of wonderful people in my ministry over the past five decades and I feel privileged that I’ve been able to help many of them. This could never have happened if the Lord hadn’t called me to priesthood. I am grateful that he called me, and especially that I listened to his call and followed him. I have had a very happy life serving in this diocese.”
Father Traynor is survived by nieces and nephews, Shirley Traynor, Bryan Traynor, Helen Traynor Smith, Valerie Ann Traynor, Colette Carey, Geraldine Donnelly, Anthony Traynor, Vincent Traynor and Terence Traynor.