Bertin Roll, OFM Cap. (1916-2015)
“Mothers rule the world.”
“Mothers rule the world. They guide the destinies of homes. This is why God is relying on mothers to keep Christ in the world by keeping Him in their hearts and homes.” — Fr. Bertin Roll
Today, May 28, is the anniversary of the ordination of the late Father Bertin Roll, OFM Cap. in 1947.
“Bert,” as he was known to his confreres, died in 2015 at age 98.
He was a priest for 68 years and, prior to retirement, held just one assignment for 62 years: Director General of the Archconfraternity of Christian Mothers. Known for his oratory, he traveled the country for decades, always in a Chevrolet, logging thousands upon thousands of miles to preach to Christian moms, his trunk filled with hundreds of copies of the book “Mother Love”—and his ever present golf clubs. In his words, he always came home, “sane, sober, and single.”
I knew him the last four years of his life. We met often at Pittsburgh’s St. Augustine Friary just to chat, with the occasional lunch at a nearby restaurant.
In 2023 I had the privilege of writing a brief biography for “Gathered Fragments,” the annual journal of the Catholic Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Past issues of the journal are hosted by Duquesne University’s Scholarship Collection. You can find Father Bertin’s bio here. There you’ll meet a priest with a contagious sense of humor who was a pioneer televangelist, and master of all contemporary media: film, radio, and print. And a pretty good golfer.
Any idea what his handicap was?