Father Gerard T. Broccolo, 87, died Aug. 10. He was a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago; former pastor of Ascension, Oak Park; and the founder of the archdiocesan Office for Divine Worship.

Born in Chicago, he attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before pursuing theological studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, followed by graduate studies in liturgy at the Pontifical Institute of Liturgy of St. Anselm, also in Rome.

He was ordained in Rome in 1964.

He was assistant pastor of St. James, Highwood; St. John Brebeuf, Niles; and St. Martha, Morton Grove. He also started and led the Office of Divine Worship for almost 20 years and was on the faculty of the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary from 1968 to 1972.

He was associate pastor of St. Sebastian Parish and St. James, Arlington Heights, and was pastor of Ascension, Oak Park.

In 1991, Father Broccolo moved to Pittsburgh to work with the Sisters of Mercy to make their healthcare system. In 1997, he moved to the headquarters of Catholic Health Initiatives in Denver. He was a resource for ministry formation for the Office of Personnel Services and served as a consultant on liturgy. He retired in 2006.

Father Broccolo was Father William J. Stenzel’s spiritual director for more than 20 years. “He taught me and most of the diocese’s priests how to implement the reforms of the Second Vatican Council,” Stenzel said. “He was in Rome during the years of the council studying theology and brought his doctorate in theology home to Chicago, teaching the rest of us how to do it and what it meant.”

Stenzel added that he “did not know one guy who ever had him in class who can’t quote verbatim things we learned from him.”

Father Broccolo wrote “Spiritual Renewal of the American Priesthood” (1972), as well as numerous articles for Chicago Liturgy Training Publication and other periodicals.