BRYN MAWR, Pa. — James Hynes, OFM, 57, a professed Franciscan friar for 32 years and a priest for 28, died Nov. 1, as a result of a heart attack. James had been living in Bryn Mawr since the summer when he began a sabbatical.
Funeral Services
Visitation is today from 2-5 and 7-9 p.m. at St. Patrick-St. Anthony Church, 285 Church Street in Hartford, Conn., where James had been pastor for nine years. A Wake service is planned for 8 p.m. Kevin Daly, OFM, will preside and the eulogy will be given by Dennis Tamburello, OFM; both are classmates of James.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Nov. 6 at St. Patrick-St. Anthony Church. Provincial Minister John O’Connor, OFM, will be the principal celebrant, and Kevin Mullen, OFM, another classmate, will preach the homily. Interment will be on Nov. 8 at 11:30 a.m., at St. Bonaventure Cemetery, Main Street, Allegany, N.Y.
Western New York Roots
James was born July 31, 1951, in Buffalo, N.Y, the youngest child of the late Thomas and Gertrude Hynes, and was baptized Aug. 19, 1951 at Holy Family Church in Buffalo. He attended the parish elementary school and graduated in 1969 from Baker-Victory High School in Lackawanna, N.Y.
After attending Villa Maria College in Buffalo and Rosary Hill College (now Daeman College) in Synder, N.Y., James entered the pre-novitiate program of Holy Name Province in 1974, completing his undergraduate education at St. John’s University in New York. He was received into the Franciscan Order at St. Bonaventure University in Allegany, on June 25, 1975, by Finian Kerwin, OFM. On June 12, 1976, he professed first vows at St. Francis Friary, Brookline, Mass., before Charles Finnegan, OFM.
Following his profession, Jim was assigned to Queen of Peace Parish in West Milford, N.J., as a pastoral associate while engaging in theological studies at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Darlington, N.J., receiving his master of divinity degree in 1980. He professed solemn vows as a Franciscan on July 21, 1979, at St. Francis of Assisi Church on West 31st Street in New York City, before Charles Finnegan, and was ordained to the priesthood on May 10, 1980, in St. Camillus Church, Silver Spring, Md., by Bishop Frank Rodimer of Paterson, N.J.
An essay by Jim about why he joined the friars appeared in a 1997 issue of The Anthonian, the publication of St. Anthony’s Guild. It can be found on the Province’s Web site in the “Our Friars” section of the “Who We Are” page.
Leadership Roles
Jim spent his deacon year (1979-80) as a member of the retreat team at St. Francis Retreat Center in Rye Beach, N.H., where he continued to serve following his ordination. In 1982, he became coordinator of retreats and vicar of the friar community there, and, in 1984, he became associate novice master and vicar at St. Francis Friary in Brookline, Mass. From 1986 to 1990, Jim served as guardian of Holy Cross Friary in the Bronx, N.Y., where he was director of the postulant program.
From 1990 to 1999, he was guardian and pastor of Holy Name of Jesus Parish on West 96th Street in New York City. From Aug. 1, 1999 until July 31, 2008, he was guardian and pastor of St. Patrick – St. Anthony Parish in Hartford, Conn. This summer, Jim began a sabbatical leave, to work on a master’s degree in church administration at Villanova University near Philadelphia, Pa.
Jim is survived by his brothers, Edmund of Depew, N.Y., and John of Buffalo, N.Y., and sister, Patricia Browne, and six nephews and nieces. Condolences may be sent to his sister, Mrs. Thomas Browne, 1165 West Arnold Drive, Lakeview, NY 14085
A memorial Mass in the Buffalo area will be celebrated at a later date.
The photo behind the photo above shows Jim with Trudi White, a staff member of the Hartford parish.