Obituary of Rev. Bradley K. Arturi

Rev. Bradley K. Arturi, a Catholic priest of the Opus Dei Prelature, died in New York City on August 4, 2025, at the age of 90, while attending a theology course. 

Fr. Bradley was born in Chicago, Illinois, on November 9, 1934, to Albert and Rose (Cappetta) Arturi, the youngest of their three children. He graduated from Austin High School, on Chicago’s West Side, in 1953.  He majored in chemistry at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), graduating in 1957.

After converting to the Catholic faith at age 18, he met and joined Opus Dei while he was a student at IIT.  Upon  graduating, he moved to Rome in 1957 to pursue ecclesiastical studies and lived alongside St. Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei.  He completed a Doctorate (J.C.D.) in Canon Law at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) and was ordained a priest on August 5, 1962.

Returning to the United States that year, he became a chaplain at Windmoor, an off-campus student residence near the University of Notre Dame. Over the next six decades he served as a chaplain for Opus Dei centers in Milwaukee, Washington, D.C. and New York.  During his years in Washington, he also taught chemistry at Cathedral Latin School, Mackin High School, and The Heights School.  In New York, he worked for many years in the Opus Dei Information Office, where he provided information and encouragement to thousands of men and women seeking to learn how to discover and serve God in their daily activities.  For several decades, while living in New Rochelle, NY, he made monthly trips to central New York State to provide pastoral care to people there.

Fr. Bradley was known for his priestly zeal, his cheerful disposition, and his matter-of-fact approach to life.  He was beloved as a confessor, preacher, teacher, and spiritual director, who gave himself generously to many souls over the years without slowing down even as he grew older and more physically limited.  He spoke flawless Spanish and he was often asked to serve the Hispanic community. In his leisure time he was a dedicated student of military history with a special interest in the Second World War. He also enjoyed his occasional visits to the zoo.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Agnes Church (143 East 43rd St., New York, NY) on Saturday, August 9 at 10:30 a.m.  The Mass will be preceded by a wake in the church beginning at 9:00 a.m.

The burial will take place immediately after the funeral at Gate of Heaven Cemetery (10 West Stevens Ave, Hawthorne, NY 10532).  For those not attending the burial a reception will be held in the St. Agnes Church hall immediately after the Mass.

Memorial donations may be made to Woodlawn Foundation at 56 Harrison St., Suite 401, New Rochelle, NY 10801.