Fr. Patrick Render, CSV

by | May 3, 2018 | Meet a Viatorian

Fr. Patrick Render, CSV, first met the Viatorians when he was a student at the former Spalding Institute in his native Peoria, Illinois. They made such a strong impression that he entered the community after graduation in 1959 and professed his first vows in 1960. Looking back during a 2022 interview, Fr. Pat reflected, “From the day I entered novitiate, I felt like I belonged. I felt received, accepted, welcomed, affirmed.”

Fr. Pat Render (left) and Associate Pat Mahoney (right), confer in 1969 in the Dean’s office at SVHS

After joining the community, Fr. Pat completed his undergraduate degree at Loyola University before graduate studies at Catholic University of America, Northern Illinois University, and the University of North Carolina in Charlotte.

His first pastoral assignment came in 1968: Dean of Men and religion teacher at Saint Viator High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Fr. Render would remain there for 15 years, eventually stepping into administration to serve as principal and president.

His leadership qualities drew his confreres to elect him as their Provincial Superior, a role he held for two terms, or eight years, from 1984 to 1992. After serving in leadership, Fr. Render returned to pastoral ministry, first as pastor of St. Joseph Church in Springfield for five years, then St. Thomas More in Henderson, Nevada, for 14 years, St. Viator Parish in Chicago for five years, and finally, after a few years’ break, his current role as parish administrator of St. George in Bourbonnais, Illinois.

Fr. Render led St. Thomas More for 14 years as pastor

Fr. Render continues to serve as a leader among the Viatorians, on various committees and in various terms on regional leadership and formation teams. He continues to look for ways to animate the Viatorian charism in community life, spirituality and mission, including service as Director of Novitiate for men in initial religious formation.

One way Fr. Pat puts it is that we’re serious and passionate about raising communities of faith. “These become special relationships. We try to be relatable, easy to be with,” Fr. Pat said. “In welcoming us to dinner, you don’t have to set a special table. People welcome us to join the family at their table. People value that humanity and our ability to be relaxed, not always playing out roles.”

Fr. Pat remembers seeing the faculty of Catholic schools where he ministered shifting from mostly religious women and men to a mix that included more and more lay people as teachers by the early 1970s. In a way that evolution helped him anticipate what awaited in Viatorian association, which was established in the 1990s and grew in the following decades. “After 25 years, many associates have become leaders of the Viatorian Community, and I see this as our future,” Fr. Pat said. “No matter how many or few religious professed there will be, there will be a far greater expansion of the Viatorian charism, carried by lay men and women, into a variety of places in the world, that may or may not be Viatorian institutions.”

More on Fr. Pat from Viatorians.com:

Updated by Associate Dan Masterton on January 13, 2026.