20 April 2023

On October 13, 1927, a son was born to Alexander and Angeline (Cwiok) Fabish in Chicago, Illinois. They named him Aloysius. Between 1933 and 1946 he attended St. Stanislaus elementary school in Chicago, John Mills public school in Elmwood Park, Illinois, St. Ferdinand in Chicago, St. George High School in Evanston, and Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago.

On June 24, 1946, Aloysius entered the Dominican novitiate In River Forest, Illinois, and received the habit at the hands of The V. Rev. Edmund Marr, O.P. At that time, he was given the religious name of Raphael. Br. Raphael was simply professed on June 25, 1947, again by Fr. Marr, O.P.

From September of 1947 until June of 1950 Br. Raphael studied at the Dominican House of Studies in River Forest. He studied philosophy at DePaul University, 1949-1950. On June 25, 1950, Br. Raphael was solemnly professed in the hands of Fr. Edmund Marr. He then spent a year of studies at John the Baptist Convent in Ottawa, Canada.

After returning to the United States Br. Raphael began theological studies at Aquinas Institute of Theology in Dubuque, Iowa, which continued to 1954.

On May 26, 1953, he was ordained a priest at St. Rose Priory in Dubuque by Archbishop Loras Lane.

Fr. Fabish’s ministerial life was quite varied. From 1954-56 he served as Associate Pastor at St. Albert the Great Parish in Minneapolis, Minnesota, followed by a term as Associate Pastor at Holy Name Parish in Kansas City, Missouri (1956-59). Fr. Fabish then assisted in the Diocese of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with residence in Canton, South Dakota. He then had two more turns as associate pastor at Nativity Parish in Compton, California (1963-66) and St, Pius V Parish in Chicago (1966-76).

Following his parochial ministries Fr. Fabish served as a rural missionary in Mexico (1976-1991). He was then in the Chaplain’s residence at St. Anthony Continuing Care Center, Rock Island, Illinois and then St. Joseph Home in Palatine, Illinois. He was always a quiet man and reserved in speaking of himself.

In 2003 Fr. Fabish went into Limited Service at St. Pius V Priory. In 2019 he became a resident of Resurrection Life Center until his death on April 20, 2023. His funeral was at St. Pius V Priory in Chicago on April 25, 2023, and interment at All Saints Cemetery, Des Plaines, Illinois.