Etemal Memory: Very Rev. Ronald Kovac
Tuesday, August 11, 2026
JOHNSTOWN, PA - [Diocesan Chancery] -- With profound sadness the Diocesan Chancery announces that + Very Rev. Ronald Kovac, reposed in the Lord on August 3 at the age of 90.
Fr. Ron was born and raised in Binghamton, New York. He graduated from Binghamton Central High School in 1954 and from college in 1958 and subsequently became a pharmacist for over 30 years. He served in the U.S. Army from 1959-1962.
Fr. Ron was a later vocation in our Diocesan Diaconate Program. He was tonsured a Reader, ordained a Sub-deacon and then ordained a Deacon in 1987 after completing the Diaconate Program. After finishing further studies at Christ the Saviour Seminary, he was subsequently ordained a Priest on the Feast of our Lord’s Transfiguration on August 19, 1991 at his home parish of St. Michael’s in Binghamton by His Eminence, Metropolitan Nicholas of blessed memory. He celebrated his first Divine Liturgy the following Sunday, August 25, 1991 in his home parish. He is survived by his sister, Shirley Robilotto.
Fr. Ron served parishes both in his capacity as a Deacon for a number of years (and was appointed Metropolitan Nicholas’ second Deacon for a period of time), and then as one of our Diocesan Priests. He served St. Mary’s Church in Dickson City, St. John’s Church in Nesquehoning and filled in, in multiple Parishes, when needed. He was subsequently assigned as the Resident Priest/Prefect of our Seminary, remaining in that position for roughly 10 years.
In the course of his Diaconal studies it became apparent that Fr. Ron was being called to not remain a permanent Deacon of the Diocese. In writing about his own vocation, when applying to the Diaconal Program, the prospective Deacon wrote that he would “...hope to be of service to the church through the Diaconate in the following way:...to serve the people, the parish priest and God to the best of [his] ability…in assisting the priest in the Liturgy and other services…to help in the visiting of the sick in hospitals and homes…[and to be] ready to assist in the…teaching of children [in Sunday school]. One of his professors, in evaluating then Seminarian Ron, at the end of the semester wrote the following, “...I also strongly recommend him as a candidate for ordination to the Holy Orders because of his dedication, loyalty, and sacrifice in completing the program.” What began for him as a Deaconal ministry crystallized eventually into a calling to the Holy Priesthood.
In talking with those who knew him, Fr. Ron is remembered as someone whom you could not, not love! He was totally loyal to his Bishop and to the Diocese and never asked anyone for anything, but rather gave of himself freely. He was truly a Seminary priest, respected and loved by the seminarians themselves. He didn’t just keep the Seminary going in the administrative sense, but as a kindly and good man, was an example for the seminarians of what they were striving to become. He is remembered also for being a phenomenal prosphora maker as a priest who loved doing all the different aspects of his priestly ministry. As a dutiful son, he eventually requested permission to be relieved of his position at Seminary, in order to take care of his aging mother, and eventually retired in 2013 at the age of 77.
As his vocation to the Holy Priesthood was crystallizing, when he had returned to Seminary, to pursue further studies, he wrote the following. In his own words, you will see the movement of the Holy Spirit in the heart of a man who was committed to serving God and others.
…but I find that I have grown. I know now I came here [to Seminary] because God wanted me here at this time of my life, with these men that I live with. I came here to grow in my relationship with my fellow seminarians and with the priests that I have come in contact with. I have come here to have a more personal relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. I have come here for Jesus to show me, and lead me into the priesthood, and to give me the knowledge of His word, so that I may continue to bring it to the people. I came here to be shown that I am a sinner and that Jesus forgives me of whatever I have done in my life. I came here for Jesus to show me what I have to do in trying to follow His footsteps. I came here to find out that His life and my life will run parallel to each other. It will be difficult at times, but it will also be joyous, and satisfying. I came here to be a servant of Christ, to learn to love my God with all my heart, soul and body, and to love my brothers. I write this from my heart and not my head. God love you.
This from a man already advanced in years, in wisdom and in career. A late vocation we would call him typically. But Fr. Ron wasn’t late. He was formed in God’s time, in God’s way. In this way his vocation crystallized at the right time, when he himself was ready to see and accept what God was calling him to. In describing his “late” vocation Fr. Ron wrote these words,
...After much prayer, and discussions, I enrolled at Christ the Saviour Seminary in 1988. It was exactly 30 years since I had last been to school. But the next three years were the best of my life. I was encouraged by the young men who were with me at the Seminary, as they made me feel thirty years younger. They were there for me, as well as the Metropolitan and the teachers. I was called to be a priest, and I am glad that I heard the call.
There are no late vocations. Only vocations. God grant blessed repose to the soul of this “late” vocation.
The faithful are kindly asked to remember in prayer the newly departed Fr. Ronald, as well as his sister Shirley.
“In Blessed Repose, grant eternal rest, O Lord, to your newly-departed Priest + Father Ronald and make his memory eternal! Vicnaja jemu pamjat!