Aldo Grasso, O.S.J.

Rev. Aldo Grasso, O.S.J., a Roman Catholic priest of the Congregation of the Oblates of Saint Joseph, passed away peacefully at the age of 100 on Tuesday night, August 1, 2017 at the New Bethany Residential Care & Skilled Nursing Facility, Los Banos, CA. The son of Giovanni and Giuseppina (Piano) Grasso, Father Grasso was born on July 4, 1917 in Calosso (Asti), Italy. He entered into the seminary formation program of the Congregation of the Oblates of Saint Joseph at the young age of thirteen, eventually ordained a priest on June 18, 1944 in the Cathedral of Asti by the late Most Reverend Umberto Rossi, Bishop of Asti. Fr. Grasso served in various capacities in Italy before being sent in 1948 by his religious superiors as a missionary to the United States. After serving briefly among the Italian immigrants of northeastern Pennsylvania, he was transferred to California where he would spend approximately the next sixty years of his life and priesthood as a hospital chaplain in San Diego; assistant pastor of St. Mary's Church, Sacramento; and pastor of Our Lady of the Assumption Church, Tomales Bay (Marin County). In 1980, he was transferred to Santa Cruz where he was appointed provincial superior of the Oblate California Province and rector of the Shrine of St. Joseph. During his residency in Santa Cruz he also diligently served for many years the Italian-Catholic community of the San Jose area until his retirement. In March of 2014, due to advanced age and infirmity, he was transferred to the New Bethany Facility, Los Banos, where he was faithfully assisted by the Franciscan Hospitaller Sisters of the Immaculate Conception and nursing staff until his death. He was preceded in death by his parents and eight siblings, including, in 2014, his brother, the late Rev. Enrico Grasso, a priest of the Congregation of St. Joseph (Murialdo Fathers) of Turin, Italy. A public viewing will be held this Saturday, August 5, from 10:00 - 11:00am at the Shrine of St. Joseph, Guardian of the Redeemer, West Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz. A Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 11:00am, celebrated by Very Rev. Paul A. McDonnell, O.S.J., provincial superior of the Oblates of St. Joseph (USA province). Final interment will be at Holy Cross Cemetery, Santa Cruz.