Bill Barry, S.J. A great Jesuit priest, dear friend and valued mentor has died: William A. Barry, S.J. Bill was 90 years old when he died at the Jesuit infirmary at Campion Center in Weston, Mass., on Saturday. He was a towering figure in Catholic spiritual circles, a pioneer in the practice of spiritual direction and a revered spiritual master. What I, and the Catholic Church, owe him is beyond measure. And he has been with me, in a sense, from the moment I entered the Jesuits. When I was a first-year novice in the old New England Province in 1988, I had no idea how to pray. What was supposed to happen when I prayed? How did you start?