As last year concluded, members of Holy Name Province looked back on 2020 with mixed feelings. The year brought moments of joy, but also feelings of wistfulness and loss as the Province mourned the passing of 15 friars.
As with the start of any new year, 2021 brings feelings of hope and sentimentality, with friars of this 120-year-old Franciscan fraternity reflecting on the past and looking ahead to the future.
This year, 30 friars are preparing to mark major anniversaries of their religious life with Holy Name Province. Eleven will be celebrating profession anniversaries, while 10 will commemorate anniversaries of ordination.
The Provincial Administration plans to recognize friars later this year for their golden and silver jubilees of profession. The event will be a combined celebration of 2021 and 2020 jubilarians since the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the Province from honoring last year’s jubilarians with the traditional Mass at St. Francis of Assisi Church on West 31st Street, and the reception afterward.
“We hope to be able to celebrate our brothers and their milestone anniversaries in person at some point this year,” said Provincial Secretary Michael Harlan, OFM. “Last year created unprecedented challenges with most events being either canceled or held virtually. The Provincial Council will make a decision about the jubilee date as soon as is feasible.”
This year, Robert Norton, OFM, a native of Brooklyn, New York, who is stationed in Paterson, New Jersey, is marking 50 years since he professed his first vows as a Franciscan friar in August 1971.
Three other friars are marking 25 years since their first profession are: Michael Jones, OFM, a native of Allegany, New York, who is stationed in Tampa, Florida; Steven Patti, OFM, a native of Everett, Massachusetts, who is stationed in New York City, and Carlos Sarmiento Diaz, OFM, a native of Chimbote, Peru, who is stationed in Lima, Peru.
Among the other friars who are marking major anniversaries of religious life in 2021 are:
| 60 Years Professed | 70 Years Professed | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Carnevale, OFM Timothy Dauenhauer, OFM Gerald Mudd, OFM Francis Soucy, OFM Michael Joyce, OFM |
Peter Fiore, OFM Ignatius Smith, OFM |
| 25 Years Ordained | 50 Years Ordained | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francis Di Spigno, OFM Lawrence Ford, OFM Francis Kim, OFM John Leonard, OFM Paul Lostritto, OFM |
John Anglin, OFM Brian Cullinane, OFM Michael Duffy, OFM Alfonso Guzman, OFM Thomas Hartle, OFM Christopher Keenan, OFM James Patrick Kelly, OFM Dominic Monti, OFM Richard Mucowski, OFM James Nero, OFM Andrew Reitz, OFM Daniel Riley, OFM Xavier Seubert, OFM Patrick Sieber, OFM |
In Memoriam
Holy Name Province lost 15 friars to Sister Death last year, with some deaths attributed to COVID-19. The deceased friars ranged in age from 58 to 91 and had served in diverse ministries as educators and missionaries, and retreat leaders and parish priests. We mourn their loss, but we also celebrate their lives and good works among the people of God. The deceased friars are
- Gerard Lee, OFM, who died at age 78 on Feb. 28 in Pompton Plains, New Jersey.
- Thomas Ennis, OFM, 85, Feb. 29 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- Romuald Chinetsky, OFM, 90, March 10 in Albany, New York.
- Frank Waywood, OFM, 91, March 21 in Dobbs Ferry, New York.
- Alan Von Kobs, OFM, 74, April 9 in New York City.
- William DeBiase, OFM, 87, April 11 in Philadelphia.
- Martin Bednar, OFM, 83, April 20 in Dobbs Ferry.
- Gerald Dolan, OFM, 89, April 21 in Albany.
- Donnon Murray, OFM, 89, May 29 in Tokyo, Japan.
- Charles Finnegan, OFM, 88, June 9 in Caldwell, New Jersey.
- Christopher Posch, OFM, 58, July 5 in Silver Spring, Maryland.
- Valerian Vaverchak, OFM, 87, Aug. 31in St. Petersburg, Florida.
- Conrad Harkins, OFM, 85, Aug. 31 in Dobbs Ferry.
- Capistran Heim, OFM, 86, Sept. 24 in Albany.
- Glenn Humphrey, OFM, 76, Oct. 9 in St. Petersburg.
— Jocelyn Thomas is the director of communications for Holy Name Province.
Editor’s note: profiles of friars who marked jubilees of their profession in the past 10 years can be found in the Friar News section of the News and Events page of the HNP.org website.
Related
- “Commemorating Jubilarians and Remembering Deceased Brothers” — Jan. 9, 2020, HNP Today
- “Five Friars Commemorate 65th Anniversary of Profession” – Sept. 9, 2019, HNP Today
- “Province Congratulates Friars Marking Anniversaries in 2019, Remembers Those Who Died Last Year” — Jan. 7, 2019, HNP Today