Tag Archives: Denominations

St. Vincent Strambi, C.P.

Posted on by
2

Today Passionists remember St. Vincent Strambi, C.P. His faithful witness during a time of religious persecution continues to be relevant and inspirational today. 

Born at Civitavecchia, Italy on January 1, 1745, he felt called to the diocesan priesthood at an early age. Before his ordination he was named rector and professor within his seminary, Montefiascone. While on his ordination retreat, he met St. Paul of the Cross and immediately determined to become a Passionist. St. Paul of the Cross had to struggle with his parents who thought that the Congregation of the Passion was beneath the dignity of their son. Vincent’s iron will prevailed and he remained with the Passionists. Paul of the Cross named him professor of theology, patristics and preaching. He was the first to write a biography of St. Paul of the Cross and to explain in print, the meaning of the Passionist charism. Much against his will, he was promoted to the Office of Diocesan Bishop of Macerata and Tolentino in 1801 by Pope Pius VII.

La batalla de Torentino por Vincenzo Milizia

Attempts were made to separate him from the Catholic Church by the invading French. In 1808 he refused to take an oath of allegiance to Napoleon Bonaparte. Expelled from his diocese in 1808, he returned in 1814. In 1815, Napoleon’s troops attempted to retake Italy, but were defeated at the Battle of Tolentino. In retaliation, they set their sights on Macerata. Vincent Strambi confronted General Joachim Murat and stared him down. Throughout his administration, he was extremely loyal to Pope Pius VII. From 1808 to 1823 Strambi lived like a vagabond while at the same time acting responsibly toward his diocese from afar. He resigned his post in 1823 only to be recalled as prelate in the Apostolic Palace of Pope Leo XII. When Leo became mortally ill, Strambi offered his life for the recovery of the pope. He died the following day, January 1, 1824. Pope Pius XII canonized him in 1950 as a public act of appeal to all the bishops of Eastern Europe who were under threat of separation from Rome by Communist governments. In his own way, after his death he appears as an ecumenical figure of Christian unity.

- Fr. Jerome Vereb, C.P.

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

Father John J. O’Brien, C.P. (1941-2010)

Posted on by
Reply

Father John J. O’Brien, a Passionist priest, died after a brief illness at the University of Connecticut Medical Center on October 15, 2010.  He was 69 years old. He is survived by three sisters , Kathleen Henderson, of Rockville Centre, NY; Maureen Collins, of Bluffton, SC; and Ellen O’Connor, of Freeport, NY – one brother, Kevin O’Brien, of Savannah, GA, and three nephews, Ken, Tom,  and John Henderson. Eldest son of the late John O’Brien and Kathleen Castiner O’Brien, Father O’Brien graduated from Cathedral High School in Brooklyn, NY in 1959. After earning an Associate’s Degree at Cathedral College, he entered the Passionist Community in 1961. He professed vows as a Passionist in 1962 and was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Edgerton Clark in 1969, having earned a Master’s Degree from St. Michael’s Seminary in Union City, NJ.  In 1977, Fr. O’Brien earned a second Master’s Degree in Liturgical Studies from St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN.

Father O’Brien engaged in retreat ministry at the Passionist retreat centers in North Palm Beach, FL and West Hartford, CT from 1970 to 1978. After serving as a member of the itinerant preaching band, he was named pastor of St. Gabriel’s Parish in Brighton, MA in 1980. He served as formation director for Passionist students at the pre-novitiate and theologate levels from 1983 to 1990. For most of the past twenty years, Father O’Brien ministered in Massachusetts, at Calvary Passionist Retreat Center in Shrewsbury,  St. Malachy’s Parish in Burlington, Sacred Heart Parish in Lexington, and as a professor of Theology at Anna Maria College in Worcester and Blessed John XXIII National Seminary in Weston.  He earned his Doctorate in Theology from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology in 2002.

Father O’Brien was the author of a number of publications in theology, including articles on liturgy for scholarly journals and entries in the New Dictionary of Sacramental Worship, the New Dictionary of Catholic Spirituality, and the Collegeville Pastoral Dictionary of Biblical Theology. In 2005, he published a book on the renowned Catholic labor activist, Monsignor George Higgins, entitled George G. Higgins and the Quest for Worker Justice (Sheed & Ward). He was also an active member of a number of professional societies, including the North American Academy of Liturgy, the Catholic Historical Society, Pax Christi, and the International Merton Society.

Fr. O’Brien’s body will be received at the Immaculate Conception Monastery at 3PM on Tuesday, October 19th. The wake will be held from 3PM to 8PM in the Public Chapel at the monastery.A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Immaculate Conception Church in Jamaica, NY on October 20, 2010, with interment at the Passionist monastery cemetery.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Father John C. Ryan, C.P. (1920-2010)

Posted on by
Reply

Father John Chrysostom Ryan, a Passionist priest, died after a brief illness at Immaculate Conception Monastery, Jamaica, New York on Friday, October 15, 2010.  He was 89 (AGE: born 28 December 1920). Son of the late Henry Ryan and Jennie (Murrin) Ryan. Uncle of Eileen Huettl of Mays Landing, New Jersey, and brother-in-law of Margaret Ryan of Mays Landing, New Jersey. A native of Union City, New Jersey, Father Ryan graduated Saint Michael High School in 1938. He attended Holy Cross Preparatory Seminary, Dunkirk, New York from 1938-1940. He professed vows in the Passionist community at Saint Paul of the Cross Monastery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1941. He received a B.A. in philosophy at Saint Ann Monastery, Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1943 and an M.A. in theology from Saint Michael Monastery, Union City, New Jersey and was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop James McNulty, the bishop of Newark, New Jersey, at Saint Michael Monastery, Union City, New Jersey in 1948.

Father Ryan was assistant novice master and director of Passionist students at Saint Michael Monastery in Union City, New Jersey and at Saint Ann Monastery in Scranton, Pennsylvania from 1949-1953. He preached parish missions and retreats from 1953-1956. He then served as assistant retreat director at Mother of Sorrows Retreat Center, West Springfield, Massachusetts from 1956-1958. He was vice-rector of Saint Gabriel Monastery, Brighton, Massachusetts from 1958-1959 and rector of Saint Michael Monastery, Union City, New Jersey from 1959-1965. After serving three years in Passionist leadership, he was reappointed rector of Saint Michael Monastery in 1968. From 1971-1974 he conducted parish missions and retreats. He was assistant treasurer for the Passionist province from 1974-1980 He also served as assistant retreat director at Cardinal Spellman Retreat Center, Riverdale, New York from 1980-1982.

Father Ryan was elected rector of Saint Ann Monastery. Scranton. Pennsylvania in 1982 and then served as pastor of Saint Joseph and Saint Michael Parish, Union City, New Jersey, from 1984-1990. In 1990 he moved to Immaculate Conception Monastery in Jamaica, New York. He served as assistant treasurer .for the Passionist province from 1991-1993. He then returned to Immaculate Conception Monastery where he lived from 1993 until his death.

Visiting hours are from 3 to 8 PM on Monday, October 18, 2010. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at Jamaica Monastery Choir Chapel on Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at 11 A.M.  Interment will be at Holy Cross Cemetery, North Arlington,

Enhanced by Zemanta

News from St. Peter’s Parish in Greenville, NC

Posted on by
Reply

Dear Brothers and Friends,

I would like to share some information with all of you.?`?Yesterday, we realized a dream that had been hoped for over the past number of years. We opened Pope John Paul II Catholic High School in Greenville, NC. The freshman class consists of 23 students. The vast majority are graduates of St. Peter’s. A grade will be added each year with increasingly larger classes until the school reaches the 9-12 configuration with about 100 students per grade. Last March, the diocese officially announced that this new high school would be opened in the fall. Land had been purchased nearly 8 years ago consisting of 63 acres adjacent to St.Gabriel’s church property for this first Catholic High School east of Raleigh. Classrooms are being rented from St.Gabriel’s Church until a new separate facility is built. Construction should begin within the year. So many parents had hoped for such a school. It is becoming a reality.

May I also inform you of our grammar school here at St. Peter’s. We opened yesterday with an enrollment of 558 students pre-k to 8th grade. There are 97 others, mostly non-parishioners, on the waiting list. Our school has no debt and receives no subsidy from the parish. In fact with the development office, it is setting up endowments to assure that all Catholics who wish to attend are able to receive a Catholic education. It is regarded as one of the finest schools in our state.

We had a successful Mission Trip in July and stayed at the Retreat House in Pittsburgh for 8 days. Joe Farris, our youth minister, arranged for our teenagers to live at St. Paul’s and go throughout the city on 21 different work projects in serving the poor and needy. 121 of our teens attended accompanied by 26 adults including myself. I was deeply touched by our young people and their prayerfulness. I do hope and pray we get vocations from these people. The Raleigh diocese has been campaigning for more priests. This year they have 22 seminarians with about nine more in a discernment process.

We open our new R.C.I.A. classes this Thursday, feast of Bl. Dominic Barberi. This past Easter our parish received 43 candidates into the Catholic Church. We are expecting an even bigger class this year. Many protestants are joining our church. Hence, we are praying to Bl. Dominic. God is blessing this ministry.??Art Schneider, whom some of you know, finished his first year of studies for the deaconate. Bishop Burbidge approved him this week to proceed toward becoming a deacon. That will be another blessing for our parish.

Lastly, today we initiate a new web site. We just got it up and running and will be adding all sorts of things over the next days. Please visit our web site at:   www.saintpetercatholicchurch.org . Keep us in your prayers down here in the southern missions!

Father Justin Kerber, C.P.

Enhanced by Zemanta