by Moira Cullings
moira.cullings@theleaven.org
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — On paper, it would seem like Deacon Robert Gerard Rooney has already accomplished a life’s dream.
He spent 30 years enjoying a flourishing law career.
But a different vocational path nagged at him throughout that time — one that is now coming to fruition.
“There’s a healthy dose of struggling with my own worthiness to do this,” said Deacon Rooney.
“My prayer is that however [God] wants to use me, I’m open to that and I’ll be a willing vehicle to serve in whatever capacity I’m asked to serve,” he said.
Deacon Rooney, 60, was ordained to the transitional diaconate by Archbishop Emeritus Joseph F. Naumann on May 17, 2025, at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Kansas City, Kansas.
He and two other men will be ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Shawn McKnight on May 23 at Most Pure Heart of Mary Church in Topeka.
Family life
Rooney was born in Kansas City, Missouri, to Don and Marie Rooney, the third of five children.
He grew up with his older brothers John and Don, who are now priests, and his younger brother Joe. The Rooneys’ firstborn child, Mary Rose, died soon after birth.
The family moved to a farm near Queen of the Holy Rosary Church in Bucyrus when Rooney was in fourth grade.
He attended Bucyrus Elementary School (now closed), Louisburg Middle School and Louisburg High School.
Growing up, his father worked as a CPA, and he and his brothers helped around the farm.
“I look back and think what a great way it was to grow up,” said Rooney, “because not only were we in nature all the time, but it taught us responsibility at a young age.”
Powerful encounter
Rooney attended the University of Dallas, where he studied politics and political philosophy.
His experience studying abroad in Rome during his sophomore year and an encounter he had with Pope John Paul II sparked his interest in the priesthood.
“There was a holiness and a peace like I’d never seen in anybody’s face before,” said Deacon Rooney of the now-saint.
Another time, while attending a Pentecost Vigil Mass celebrated by the pope, he watched after the recessional as he made his way back to the altar where the Missionaries of Charity were.
“Out steps Mother Teresa,” recalled Deacon Rooney. “She knelt down in front of him, and he blessed her. And then he helped her up, and he knelt down, and she blessed him.
“The place had cleared out, and here I am being able to witness this beautiful moment — arguably two of the most important saints of our time.
“It was a beautiful time.”
Driven to serve
Rooney wasn’t ready to commit to the seminary while in college and instead went to law school at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., after graduation.
He began practicing law in 1992 and had a successful career as a litigator and trial lawyer.
The first part of his career, he worked in medical malpractice litigation. The remainder was focused on environmental law and toxic tort defense litigation.
Rooney started seminary studies after his first year of law school but decided to step away.
“I felt called to help people,” said Deacon Rooney. “I felt called to do a lot of the things that a priest does, but not necessarily those things that only a priest can do.”
He entered seminary again in 2004 but was asked to take time away due to concerns about his uncertainty.
His plan was to be gone for a year. But not long after he returned home, his father had the first of a series of strokes, and he needed to care for both of his parents.
“The year away turned into 14 years away,” said Deacon Rooney.
It was the support of Archbishop Naumann that ultimately brought Rooney back on the path to priesthood.
Fulfilling the call
Archbishop Naumann encouraged Rooney to attend Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Massachusetts, which is for seminarians 30 years and older. He entered in 2022.
Deacon Rooney sees the value his own professional experience will bring to his priestly ministry.
“Some of [my] cases were so big that they would’ve shut companies down,” he said. “It’s a different type of empathy, but you empathize because there may be thousands of people who get affected.”
His advice for men and women of any age who feel called to religious life is to speak with their parish priest and vocations director.
“Discernment isn’t supposed to happen on your own,” said Deacon Rooney. “It’s not supposed to be decided before you talk to the vocations director. It’s his job to help people get some certainty in their decision.”
He looks forward to the new ways he’ll serve as a priest.
“I have a real, deep appreciation for the sacrament of reconciliation — that it’s where people in pain meet God,” he said. “And what an amazing role the priest is asked to have in that place.”
Deacon Rooney hopes to remind the people he’ll encounter that they’re made in the image of God.
“If I could help people see who they are and how much they’re loved and what that means for their own dignity and the dignity of everybody around them,” he said, “that’d be pretty awesome.”
