Father Richard Orlinski, 78, of Hammond, passed away May 18, 2026. He was born July 19, 1947, in East Chicago, the son of Zygmund and Jen (Mazur) Orlinkski. After graduating from St. Mary School in Griffith, he attended the seminaries of St. Lawrence in Mt. Calvary, Wis. and Innsbruck (Seminary) in Austria.
A former member of the Marriage Tribunal, Father Orlinski served at parishes in three of the four counties in the diocese. Following ordination at his home parish of St. Mary, Griffith, Father Orlinski served at Notre Dame, Michigan City; Our Lady of Grace, Highland; St. Catherine of Siena, Hammond; St. Paul, Valparaiso and St. Francis Xavier, Lake Station.
Father Orlinski had been pastor at Sacred Heart, LaPorte; St. Catherine of Siena; and St. Mary, Hammond, prior to its closing. No stranger to serving multiple parishes, he became the pastor of St. John Bosco in 1998 and, in 2009, accepted the pastorate of St. Joseph in downtown Hammond.
Father Jeff Burton first met Father Orlinski about 25 years ago. Father Burton was heading to Chicago for the day, and he needed an early Sunday morning Mass, so he went to the former St. Mary of Czestochowa in Hammond.
“I remember him being a great storyteller and a homilist who really knew his people and how to connect the Word to their lives,” he said.
The majority of Father Orlinski’s priesthood was spent in parishes with schools. He was a product of St. Mary in Griffith and really believed in the power of Catholic education to form the next great generation of disciples. Father Burton noted that Father Orlinski was the pastor of St. Catherine of Siena and later St. John Bosco during some very lean years. The economic fortunes of northern Lake County were faltering, demographics were changing, Mass attendance was falling and school enrollment was plummeting.
“In an era when we saw many parochial schools close, Father Rick doubled down,” Father Burton said. “He knew that if we stopped forming disciples today, there’d be no church tomorrow. He invested in his school and he invested in children. In so many ways, without his dedication to the mission, the renaissance we’re experiencing today at St. John Bosco would never have been possible.”
Father Burton added that Father Orlinski also had a special place in his heart for those who live on the margins of society. As the president of the Interfaith Alliance, he was instrumental in ensuring that a new federal courthouse would be built in Hammond, rather than constructed in the more affluent parts of southern Lake County. Father Burton believes that stemmed from his philosophy that “if you were going to serve the people, you had to be close to people.”
“The people here will long remember him for his gentleness and how much he loved them,” Father Burton said. “Even in his retirement, every Christmas, he’d anonymously bankroll gifts for families through our Giving Tree program. He was a good man and a good priest.”
Lourdes Egnatz, office staff for over 20 years, agreed, stating Father Orlinski will be remembered for his quiet manner and the way he cared about his parishioners and people in general.
“He was an intelligent, insightful, kind, gentle, caring man of strong faith,” Egnatz said. “Someone you could confide in.”
Parishioner Gerald Doughty recalled that the pastor often told parishioners that when a person dies and goes to heaven, there are still “strings” attached to those still on earth who have been affected by the deceased.
Those “strings,” he said, remind us of experiences and interactions we had with the deceased and continue to influence us even after their passing.
“St. John Bosco parishioners will continue to feel Father Rick's presence well into the future,” Doughty said. “His wisdom, compassion, spirituality and profound love for the Hammond area will live on in us.”
Funeral services for Father Orlinski will be held at St. John Bosco, 7113 Columbia Ave., Hammond, beginning with the Rite of Reception of the Body on Tuesday, May 26, at 4 p.m., followed by visitation until 7 p.m. Evening prayer will begin at 7 p.m.
Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 27, following morning prayer at 10 a.m. Interment will take place at St. John-St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Hammond.
