Photo Caption: Msgr. Duncan was chaplain and director of the Newman Foundation at the University of Illinois in Champaign from 1943 to 1998. His funeral will be Jan. 11 in LaSalle.

Msgr. Edward J. Duncan, PA, chaplain and director of the Newman Foundation at the University of Illinois in Champaign from 1943 to 1998 and a “monumental figure” in Catholic campus ministry around the country, died on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012, at San Diego Hospice Care Center at Glenbrook in Carlsbad, Calif. He was 96.

A funeral Mass has been scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 11, at St. Patrick’s Church in LaSalle. Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, will be principal celebrant and the homilist will be Msgr. Gregory Ketcham, current chaplain and director at St. John’s Catholic Newman Center.

Burial was to be in St. Vincent’s Cemetery, LaSalle. A memorial Mass at St. John’s Catholic Chapel on the university campus in Champaign will take place at a later date.

“Msgr. Duncan’s influence will be felt at St. John’s Catholic Newman Center in perpetuity,” said Msgr. Ketcham on Wednesday. The original Newman Hall building, built in 1928, was dedicated in Msgr. Duncan’s honor during ceremonies in 2008 on his 93rd birthday.

Msgr. Ketcham called Msgr. Duncan — who served as diocesan director of campus ministry for four decades — “one of the giants and legends of the presbyterate of the Diocese of Peoria,” adding “we’re so indebted as a Newman community for his 54 years here.”

Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 10, at the Hurst Funeral Home, 650 Fifth St. in LaSalle.

Born in LaSalle on Sept. 7, 1915, to Walter and Velma Marie (Twomey) Duncan, he attended St. Patrick’s School in LaSalle and St. Bede Academy in Peru before earning a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Holy Cross College in Worcester, Mass., in 1937.

Theological studies took Msgr. Duncan to the Canisianum at the University of Innsbruck and the College American in Sion, Switzerland. World War II forced him to return to the U.S. and The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he received a licentiate in sacred theology in 1941.

Ordained to the priesthood at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Peoria on June 8, 1941, Msgr. Duncan ministered as parochial vicar at St. Malachy’s in Rantoul and Immaculate Conception in Streator. He also served briefly as chaplain at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria before returning to Catholic University to earn a doctorate in sacred theology.

CAMPUS MINISTRY ‘LIFE’S WORK’
Upon his return to the diocese in 1943, Msgr. Duncan was named chaplain of St. John’s Catholic Chapel and director of the Newman Foundation at the University of Illinois. He devoted the rest of his priestly life to the Newman ministry.

The Newman Foundation was on shaky ground financially when Msgr. Duncan arrived, but through his hard work and vision it grew to be a national model for Catholic campus ministry. It remains the only Newman Center in the country with on-site housing for students in a Catholic faith-based environment.

The introduction of a 2001 biography of Msgr. Duncan called “A Campus Ministry” by Patrick J. Daly begins with this quote from Father Richard Mullen, now a senior priest of the diocese:

“When the history of this Foundation is written, it will have to be recorded that Father Duncan inherited a near corpse, breathed health and vitality into it, and has kept it running efficiently ever since.”

For decades, Msgr. Duncan was a fixture on the sidelines as head chaplain for University of Illinois student-athletes. Former University of Illinois director of athletics Ron Guenther called Msgr. Duncan “an icon and an integral part of our athletic program for more than 50 years who provided spiritual guidance to countless Fighting Illini student-athletes.”

A past chaplain of the Newman Clubs of America, he served as the national chaplain of the John Henry Cardinal Newman Honorary Society for many years.

He received the National Achievement Award in Education from The Catholic University of America in 1974 and the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Medal, granted by Pope Paul VI in recognition of outstanding service to the church, in 1977.

Pope John Paul II named him a prelate of honor with the title of monsignor in 1990, and a protonotary apostolic — the highest level of monsignor — in 2000.

Msgr. Duncan was also honored in the Diocese of Peoria’s “Rooted in Faith” capital campaign when an endowment fund was created in his name to help Newman ministry around the diocese.

He served as vicar of the Champaign vicariate from 1974 to 1991.

When he announced his retirement in late 1997, Msgr. Duncan told The Catholic Post his greatest satisfaction had been the academic and spiritual advancement of the young people around him.

“I’ve lived with young people for 55 years,” he said, seeing Catholic students at the University of Illinois through the changes of Vatican II and tense periods of wars. He said he hoped to be remembered as a “good priest” who was present for students and “inspired them to be active, faithful Catholics.”

He maintained a house in Champaign following his retirement, but recently moved to California.

He is survived by a brother, Raymond, in Denver, Colo., as well as nieces and nephews.

Memorials may be made to St. John’s Catholic Newman Center, 604 E. Armory Ave., Champaign, IL 61820.