Fr. David E. Schlaver, CSC
December 5, 1942–December 10, 2022
NOTRE DAME, Ind.—Fr. David E. Schlaver, CSC, 80—former editor and publisher of Ave Maria Press—died on December 10, 2022, at Holy Cross House.
He was born on December 5, 1942, in Kewanee, Illinois, the oldest of three children of Clarence and Elizabeth (Cronau) Schlaver. He graduated from Notre Dame High School in Niles, Illinois, in 1960. In 1966, Schlaver graduated with a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame, where he heard God’s call to the priesthood. He entered the Congregation of Holy Cross' Sacred Heart Novitiate in Jordan, Minnesota, on August 15, 1963; professed final vows on April 9, 1969; and was ordained a priest on December 18, 1971. Schlaver earned a master's degree in theology from Notre Dame in 1969 and a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Michigan in 1979.
Schlaver served as editor and publisher at Ave Maria Press for ten years, from 1984 to 1994. His other ministries included stints in Notre Dame; St. Michael Community in St. Louis, Missouri; Casa Santa Cruz in Phoenix, Arizona; Holy Cross Mission Center; parish ministry in Saco, Maine; and Bangladesh. He moved to Holy Cross House in 2022.
Schlaver is survived by his brother, Paul J., his sister, Marcia L. Steffens, and his many nieces and nephews.
The funeral Mass will be at 9:30 a.m. EST on December 16, 2022, at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame. The service will be live-streamed at https://livestream.holycrossusa.org. Burial will be in the Holy Cross community cemetery at Notre Dame. Kaniewski Funeral Home, South Bend, Indiana, is in charge of the arrangements.
