Father Bernardine C. Kessing, OFM, age 89, a professed Franciscan Friar for 68 years, and a Catholic Priest for 62 years, died Oct. 15, 2022, at St. Catherine of Siena Nursing Home, Caldwell, New Jersey, after an extended illness. In retirement, Father Kessing had previously resided at St. Anthony Friary, Butler, New Jersey, and the […]
If you attend a Major League Baseball game this season you might be surprised to see two men in brown robes dispensing prayers with their chatter. Father Casey Cole, OFM, and Father Roberto “Tito” Serrano, OFM, also known as the Bleacher Brothers, will spend this summer evangelizing at ballparks. Both work in education, Father Cole […]
Father Ronald Pecci, OFM, 71, a Franciscan friar with Holy Name Province for 42 years, 38 of them as an ordained priest, died on April 12, 2022, at Sharon Hospital in Sharon, Connecticut. His full rich friar life encompassed a broad range of ministries that included parish pastor for 12 years at St. Patrick in […]
ST. BONAVENTURE – Tagging along with his grandfather to various job sites a young Jamie Peace came to St. Bonaventure’s campus in the early 1960s. Peace hailed from a family of master stonemasons and the university’s brick and mortar projects kept the crews busy at the time. By the time the Reilly Center was built, […]
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Father Raymond Mann, OFM, 89, a professed friar with Holy Name Province for 68 years and a priest for 62, died on Sept. 23, 2021, at St. Anthony Friary, where he lived for seven years. He spent his religious life mainly in Massachusetts and Bolivia. Father Mann was born on Aug. 26, 1932, in Buffalo […]
Sister Carmen Paris, OSF, who led a ministry of housekeeping for her fellow Stella Niagara Franciscans, died Sept. 27, 2021, at Niagara Hospice House in Lockport. She was 98. The former Teresa Paris was born to Joseph and Tommosina (Gallo) Paris on Oct. 6, 1922, in Steubenville, Ohio. Sister Carmen entered the order of the […]
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Father John Ullrich, OFM, 73, a member of Holy Name Province and a professed Franciscan friar for 48 years – a priest for 45 of them – died on Aug. 13, 2021, at St. Anthony’s Hospital. He spent his religious life in a variety of roles, mainly pastoral work and positions related to Franciscan formation and education. […]