Father George Nicholas “Nick” Rice, a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Louisville and founder of Mass of the Air, died on Dec. 30. He was 84 and had served as a priest for more than 58 years.
Father Rice, a native of Lebanon, Ky., attended St. Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology and was ordained to the priesthood on May 20, 1967. He founded Mass of the Air, the weekly television production of the Sunday liturgy, in 1977. He served as the executive director until he retired from that ministry in 2016.
In a story about his retirement from that television ministry, Father Rice said he started it after learning his father, who was homebound, was watching non-Catholic religious programming because there wasn’t Catholic content available.
Mass of the Air continues today, airing Sundays on WDRB at 10:30 a.m., on WBKI at 9 a.m., WNKY at 10 a.m. CST and on the Faith Channel at 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Broadcasts are also available on the Mass of the Air website www.massoftheair.com and its YouTube channel.
In parish ministry, Father Rice served as pastor of St. Margaret Mary and Our Lady of Lourdes churches. He served as an associate pastor of St. Lawrence, Epiphany, St. Patrick and St. Frances of Rome churches.
He also led several offices and ministries in the archdiocese as director, including the Vocation Office, Diaconate Office, Office of Religious Education and the Communication Office.
Father Rice served as president of the National Federation of Priests’ Councils and served on the archdiocese’s college of consultors.
He served on several boards and committees, including the WHAS Crusade for Children grant selection panel. He was also a panelist for the “Moral Side of the News” program.
Father Rice is survived by his brothers Joseph (Linda), Garland (Robin) and Paul Rice (Lora); and sisters Sue Ellen Rice Ford, Nancy Rice Edelen (Moe), Donna Rice Hardin (Steve), Teresa Rice and Karen Rice Cothran.
Visitation will be held Jan. 5 at St. Margaret Mary Church, 7813 Shelbyville Road, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Vespers will begin at 7 p.m.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Jan. 6 at St. Margaret Mary at 10 a.m.
