Please pray for the repose of the soul of our brother, Fr. Giles Richard Dimock, O.P., who died peacefully at 11:15 p.m. on February 28, 2026, at Rosary Hill Home in Hawthorne, New York.

Richard Beaudreau Dimock was born in New London, CT, on February 24, 1939, the son of Richard Sylvia Dimock and Georgiana Luella (née Beaudreau) Dimock. He was baptized on March 26, 1939, at Sacred Heart Church in Groton, CT. He attended public elementary schools in Groton and Stonington, CT, graduated from Stonington High School, Pawcatuck, CT, in 1957 and enrolled at Providence College. In 1959, he was approved for the Dominican novitiate and entered St. Joseph Priory in Somerset, OH, receiving the religious name Giles.

Fr. Dimock made his simple profession on August 16, 1960, and went on to St. Stephen Priory in Dover, MA, to study Philosophy. He received his BA in 1962 and made his solemn profession on August 16, 1963. He studied Theology at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC, earning his S.T.B. in 1965 and his S.T.L. and S.T.Lr in 1967. In 1967 and 1968, he attended the Notre Dame Summer School of Liturgy.

Fr. Dimock was ordained to the priesthood at St. Dominic Church in Washington, DC, on June 9, 1966, by the Most Rev. Paul Tanner, General Secretary of the National Catholic Welfare Conference. He was assigned to Providence College to teach Theology from 1967-1986, including a year teaching at Ohio Dominican College and the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, OH, from 1975-76, and two semesters at the Angelicum in Rome in 1980 and 1986. In 1985, he moved to Steubenville, Ohio, to join the faculty of the Franciscan University of Steubenville, while living with the Franciscan community in Holy Spirit Monastery.

In 1989, Fr. Dimock was assigned to St. Mary Priory in New Haven, CT, to teach at Holy Apostles Seminary in Cromwell, CT, and to help with the care of his aged parents. After his mother’s death in 1991, he returned to Steubenville, and in 1995 was formally assigned to St. Dominic Priory in Youngstown, OH. At Steubenville, he served as Chairman of the Theology Department and taught periodically at the Steubenville campus in Austria.

In 1998, Fr. Dimock was appointed to the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception and moved to the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC. There, he served as Chairman of the Interprovincial Liturgical Commission, preparing translations of Dominican texts for the Roman Missal. He was made Vice President and Academic Dean of the Pontifical Faculty in 2000. In 2008, he was elected prior of the Dominican House of Studies, where he served for one term.

In 2011, Fr. Dimock was appointed chaplain to the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in Ann Arbor, MI, where he served for one year. In 2012, he went to Charlottesville, VA, to assist at St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish, and in 2014 he was assigned to St. Gertrude Priory in Cincinnati, OH, to assist in the parish and serve as Religious Assistant to a chapter of the Dominican Laity, and to serve the community as lector, and to teach and provide spiritual direction to the Dominican novices. In 2018, he moved to Philadelphia, PA, to join the first Dominican community at St. Patrick’s parish, where he also served as community lector and Religious Assistant to two chapters of Dominican Laity. In early 2021, he moved to Saint Dominic Priory in Washington, DC, where he exemplified faithful religious life to the newly ordained deacons and priests assigned there. In 2023, because of declining health, he moved to Rosary Hill Home to be cared for by the Hawthorne Dominican Sisters until his death.

Through his teaching at Providence College and Franciscan University of Steubenville, Fr. Dimock attracted and encouraged many vocations to the Province of St. Joseph, other religious communities, and the diocesan priesthood. He provided excellent teaching, spiritual direction and example to brothers in Washington and Cincinnati. He published articles and reviews in several periodicals, including Communio, New Covenant, New Oxford Review, Homiletic and Pastoral Review, Spirituality Today and The Thomist. He wrote columns for The National Catholic Register.

His body will be received at Holy Innocents Church in Pleasantville, NY, on the evening of March 5, 2026, with the Office of the Dead celebrated by the Dominican community and visiting friars. His Mass of Christian Burial is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on March 6, 2026, by Very Rev. Allen Moran, O.P., Prior Provincial. Burial follows at All Souls’ Cemetery in Pleasantville.

Eternal rest, grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.
Through the mercy of God, may he rest in peace.

Donations in memory of Fr. Giles Dimock, O.P. may be made to the Dominican Friars Foundation to support the formation of Dominican Friars in the Province of St. Joseph. Checks may be mailed to 141 East 65th Street, New York, NY 10065. God bless you for your generosity!