Donald McClarey, The American Catholic: For his entire life Captain Humbert Roque ‘Rocky’ Versace was on a mission. His first mission was as an Army Ranger. His second mission was to be a Catholic priest and to work with orphan kids. He had been accepted to a Maryknoll seminary but then fate intervened. The son of Colonel Humbert J. Versace from Puerto Rico and his wife Marie Teresa Rios Versace, a novelist and poet who, among many other books, wrote The Fifteenth Pelican on which the TV series The Flying Nun was based, Rocky was an unforgettable character. A graduate of West Point in 1959, he was an Army Ranger and a soldier as tough as they come. He had an intelligence of a high order as demonstrated by his fluency in French and Vietnamese. He loved to laugh and have a good time. At the same time he was deeply religious and a fervent Catholic. In short, he was a complete man. Read full story here.
