Fall River priest who served from the Scholarship City to Cape Cod has passed away

A priest who served for decades across the Fall River Diocese has died.

83-year-old Reverend Horace Travassos of Fall River passed away on June 21, 2026.

According to the Fall River Diocese, Father Travassos, a Fall River native, was a graduate of Msgr. James Coyle High School, Taunton, and Providence College.

He taught for a short time at Bishop Stang High School, North Dartmouth, before entering St. John’s Seminary, Brighton, to prepare for the priesthood.

He was ordained a priest on May 12, 1973, by Bishop Daniel A. Cronin and was assigned as parochial vicar at St. James Parish in New Bedford. From 1976 to 1983 he served as assistant chancellor for the diocese then returned to parish ministry as a parochial vicar, first at Corpus Christi, East Sandwich, and later St. Patrick’s, Somerset.

He was appointed rector of St. Mary’s Cathedral in 1988 and director of the Diocesan Office of Family Ministry and Family Life Center. In 1997 he was named pastor of St. William Parish in Fall River and in 2000 was appointed to Our Lady of Grace Parish in Westport.

According to an obituary, a vigil service will be held on Tuesday from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at the Oliveira Funeral Home, South Main St. Chapel, 2064 South Main St., Fall River, MA 02724,

His Funeral Mass will be held Wednesday, at 10 AM at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption, Second St., Fall River. Interment in Saint Patrick Cemetery will be private.