It was noisy housing that landed Rev. Serafino Bortolotti in the Christian Brothers' residence on the College of Santa Fe campus about 35 years ago. He died there on Wednesday at the age of 87.

After serving for decades in various parishes in northeastern New Mexico, Bortolotti was assigned by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe to be chaplain at the state penitentiary. There he met the brothers, who taught college classes there.

But the places he rented were too noisy, said Brother Brian Dybowski, and he complained about it to the brothers.

"So we asked him if he were willing to get room and board and be our chaplain," Dybowski said. "He was very happy to do that."

That was in 1974. Over the next 3 1/2 decades, Bortolotti served as chaplain for the brothers and became an honorary member of the Christian Brothers family.

"He was a very adventurous person," Dybowski said, citing an anecdote he heard recently about Bortolotti's time in the small village of Villanueva.

"The last thing he did at Villanueva was buy two wrecked cars and put together one that ran," Dybowski said.

Lately, though, he was upset about the disruption at the college, and wished something would be done to save the failing school.

This week, as the brothers prepared to leave the campus — Bortolotti was going to move into a nursing home — for St. Michael's High School, Bortolotti grew ill.

He was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where he died.

Bortolotti was born Feb. 21, 1922 in Italy, according to an obituary in The New Mexican. He was ordained a priest in the Congregation of the Oblates of St. Joseph of Italy in 1947, and moved to the Archdiocese of Santa Fe in 1966. He retired in 1989.

As for the rest of the Christian Brothers who lived on the campus, two have already left for Lafayette, La., Dybowski said, and five are moving to St. Michael's.

Contact John Sena at 986-3079 or jsena@sfnewmexican.com.