The following tribute to the inspiring life and legacy of the Rev. William Tracy, who passed away on April 12, 2018, was written one year ago by Ann Hauprich.

The Rev. William
(Padre Guilherme)
Tracy, CSSR
(Expanded PDF version)

By Ann Hauprich

As a Roman Catholic school student half a century ago, I learned about St. Martin of Tours.

In those days, St. Martin was heralded as a “Patron Saint of reformed drunkards.” In today’s vernacular, he is revered as a “Patron Saint of Recovering Alcoholics.”

The ministries of Saint Monica, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Jude and the Venerable Matt Talbot also brought light into the darkness of alcoholics of bygone eras – and continue to inspire those seeking to recover from addictions today. But in no book have I encountered a “Patron Saint of Recovering Alcoholic Clergy.”

Then it dawned on me that whether or not such a title has ever been — or will ever be – bestowed upon a mortal, the Rev. William Tracy has, by word and deed, exemplified what it is to be the latter.


“Hey, Ma! I just found a priest who speaks Portuguese!”

The announcement by Brazilian exchange student Marcio Melo in the summer of 1972 that he’d bumped into a Roman Catholic missionary from South America on the streets of Ballston Spa, NY certainly got host mother Audrey Hauprich’s attention. And since Mrs. Hauprich is my mother, it simultaneously got mine.

Had that chance encounter between the teen and the padre not occurred, I might never have been blessed with the opportunity to share the padre’s inspiring story inside the covers of The Prayer Lines Behind the Bylines.

It was in the mid-1980s that the Rev. William Tracy, CSSR confessed in what would be the first of our many interviews that he’d had been carrying an invisible – but exceedingly heavy — cross when he met Marcio on that fateful long ago day.

“At the time, I carried with me everywhere I went the shame of being an alcoholic priest,” reflects Father Tracy, who since 1981 has devoted his life to saving members of the clergy from addiction agonies at a pioneering treatment center that leads participants to sobriety through daily therapy and prayer.

In the early days, Father Tracy was timid about discussing the journey that led him to establish Associação Comunidade Vida Nova  (New Life Community) in Curitiba, Brazil.

That changed when the now 87-year-old padre realized that he could not expect people in his hometown to care about his foreign mission unless he came clean about the reasons he decided to make it his life’s work.

“When I celebrated my first Mass on the altar of St. Mary’s Church in Ballston Spa the summer of 1955, I never dreamed that my life’s work would one day include saving the lives – and souls — of priests who, like myself, had become addicted to alcohol,” muses Father Tracy.

“If a businessman who is encouraged to wine and dine his clients has a hard time admitting he has a drinking problem, imagine the anguish of a respected priest who has become a slave to alcohol,” notes Father Tracy, who studied theology, philosophy and psychology after graduating with the Ballston Spa High School Class of 1946.

“The feelings of shame and humiliation experienced by an alcoholic priest are so great that the initial reaction is to strongly deny that there is a problem. To be an alcoholic priest is to go against everything a priest is supposed to be. It’s a heavy cross to carry and the road to recovery is a long one. I was blind for 20 years – never able to see clearly that alcohol was ruining my life and taking the joy out of my priesthood and my life in Christ,” observes Father Tracy.

The Redemptorist priest, who took the first steps to sobriety in 1978 following an intervention by the Rev. Francis Sullivan, Associate Pastor of St. Clement’s Church in Saratoga Springs, said the New Life Community has thus far helped more than 500 members of the clergy (seminarians and nuns as well as priests) plus about 500 lay individuals.

Modeled on “Guest House” near Detroit, Father Tracy’s program is truly a pioneering endeavor because prior to its establishment there had not been any adequate treatment program for ANY alcoholic in Brazil – much less for priests and nuns! Father Tracy hopes sharing his story will help illustrate “how the good Lord prepared me for this mission by allowing me to suffer for 20 years the anguish and despair of my own alcoholism. I didn’t know it then, but the seeds of my new life – a life of sobriety – would be sown when God sent a good and gentle friend to beg me to go for treatment for the disease of alcoholism.”

The multi-tiered treatment center overseen by Father Tracy in conjunction with Sister Irma Terezinha de Jesus Dias, DM, includes a chapel with a view of the beautiful city park, an office, a dining room, and six spacious dormitories with five beds each. Assisting the American priest and South American nun are additional psychologists, physicians, some former patients and volunteers from Alcoholics Anonymous.

Father Tracy is eternally grateful to his late sister, Mary Lou Tracy, who willed the family homestead on McLean Street to him knowing it would ultimately aid his missionary work abroad. Proceeds from the sale of the village property made it possible for a much-needed addition to be built onto the treatment facility in Brazil just over a decade ago.

“Mary Lou willed the property to me knowing the proceeds would be put into the New Life Community. In some ways, New Life is a monument to my sister’s memory. Our biggest challenge now is maintaining sufficient funds to keep the facility going after I’m out of the picture. It’s 30 hours from door-to-door each time I come home, as I do each summer, but mow that I’m an octogenarian, I must also be realistic,” says Father Tracy, who underwent cancer treatments during a return visit several years ago.

Father Tracy is grateful to the Knights of Columbus in Saratoga Springs and others from New York’s Capital Region for supporting the New Life Community. “I have been deeply moved by the generosity of humble people who have made contributions to the cause. Small donations add up and we are very appreciative of all help, no matter how large or small the amount,” says Father Tracy.

Past Saratoga Grand Knight Stephen R. Toussaint says Father Tracy “has long been an inspiration and support to others, not only in his priestly ministry, but also in his founding and sustained direction of a recovery program for priests and other religious persons in their fight against substance addiction in Brazil. Father Bill is a special priest to the Knights of Columbus Council 246 for the untiring efforts he has made but also because he is a Ballston Spa native and member of the Redemptorist (CSsR) Order which provides staff for St. Clement’s Parish.”

Adds Toussaint: “Father Bill is a role model to us all. His personal brand of kindness, sense of humor, positive outlook and most importantly his faith provide all with a sense of the importance of caring for the well-being of others. We are encouraged by his determination and his spirit of hope in the face of many obstacles of daily life. We consider it an honor to give him our support.”

Fellow Past Grand Knight Rich Gorman considers it a special honor to welcome Father Tracy home to upstate New York each summer.

Like Marcio Melo, Gorman was a teenager when he first met the Redemptorist padre in Ballston Spa. “I used to work as a groundskeeper at the village cemetery during my summer vacations and would see Father when he came to say a prayer at his parents’ graves. Father Bill impressed me because he would always take a moment to say a kind word before he left to attend to his priestly duties elsewhere,” recalls Gorman.

It has been an honor for Gorman – and legions of others -- to bear witness to the fact that he still does.


SIDEBAR

While celebrating the 60th anniversary of his Redemptorist ordination in 2015, Father William Tracy shared he was drawn to the order because of its belief “that the saving love of God touches the whole person and calls for the transformation of social injustice into respect for the dignity of all men and women.”

Redemptorists are involved in a broad spectrum of social problems and justice issues around the world, explained Father Tracy. He noted others in his order tackle issues ranging from immigration and refugees to homelessness, poverty, unemployment, workers’ rights, women’s issues, exploitation of child labor, racism, genocide, indigenous peoples, the environment, war and violence, weapons of war and human trafficking.