The Rev. Robert Michael "Rocky" Kearns, an activist Josephite priest who had headed two West Baltimore parishes and been an early supporter of Baltimore United in Leadership Development, died Saturday of cancer at a hospital in Mobile, Ala. He was 72.
Father Kearns was born and raised in South Boston, the seventh of eight children. After graduating from Nazareth High School in 1950, he entered the Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, the Josephites, a Roman Catholic order whose work is largely with the African-American community.
In 1963, he earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from St. Joseph Seminary in Washington and was ordained a Josephite priest.
Father Kearns attended the University of Minnesota and Loyola University in Chicago, where he earned a master's degree in urban studies in 1966.
"From 1968 through 1982, his assignments were in the District of Columbia, where his leadership was well-known and respected," said the Rev. John F. Byrne, a Josephite priest and friend.
Father Kearns came to Baltimore in 1983 when he was named pastor of St. Pius V Roman Catholic Church in West Baltimore. He then became area pastor for both St. Pius V and St. Peter Claver parishes.
After 1990, Father Kearns focused only on St. Peter Claver.
"His pastoral efforts helped the city and church reach some major advances in the rehabilitation of housing for the poor in Baltimore," Father Byrne said. "He was active with BUILD [Baltimore United in Leadership Development] and its spinoff, Build Enterprise Nehemiah Development Corp, a housing initiative."
Father Kearns was also actively involved with the Catholic Committee for Urban Parishes, the Baltimore Urban Parish Study and Planning Process, and many other diocesan and civic organizations.
He had served as president of Quarter Way Houses Inc., which operates substance abuse centers in Govans and on Maryland Avenue.
"He was one of the early religious leaders who got his congregation involved with BUILD," former Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke said yesterday. "He was a tireless advocate for improving the quality of life along the Pennsylvania Avenue corridor. He truly believed that things could get better."
He described Father Kearns as having a "magnetic personality" and said that "people were always drawn to him because of his work."
He recalled Father Kearns' wide and welcoming smile.
