What a Year 2022 Has Been!
Brothers in Formation
Move In, Move Over and Move On . . .
Our formation programs have see our friars on the move in 2022
as they continued their journeys of Capuchin life.
We'll take these important events for our life in chronological order!
The Ordination to Priesthood of our brothers David Domanski and Andrew Corriente took place on Saturday, June 11th.
See as postulants, novices and other friars have moved on . . .
Gary Stakem, OFM Cap., 1926-2022
Our brother Gary Stakem, OFM Cap., died peacefully in his bed at St. Augustine Friary, Pittsburgh, at 5:30 A.M. on Tuesday, October 5th, 2022. He was in residence at our Motherhouse Care community since January 2020. At 96, he was the oldest living member of our Province at the time of his passing, a Capuchin friar for 76 years and a priest for 71 years. Although for most of his two years as a resident of St. Augustine Friary Gary’s body weakened, and signs of an increasing dementia would plague him, our confrere’s smile and flashes of memories (always his strong point!) would continue to reveal his kind, gentle and indomitable spirit that never weakened.
Jerome Dunn, OFM Cap., 1934-2022
Our brother Jerome Dunn, OFM Cap., died peacefully just before sunrise on Saturday, September 17, the feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi, at St. Augustine Friary, Pittsburgh. He was 88 years of age when he answered the final call of God who was his strength and his peace.
Jerome was born on August 3, 1934, in Turton, South Dakota, the third of ten children born to his father, John, and mother Julia (Klapperich). Raised to share the hard work of running the family farm, the young man was educated in the public schools of Turton, and after his high school graduation in 1952, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, proudly serving four years on active duty and another four in the Naval Reserve before receiving his honorable discharge. He was employed as a metalworker in Vernon, CA, from 1956 until his admission to St. Fidelis College Seminary in 1960, without a doubt, the oldest of among his classmates.
Chapter 2022 Elects Our New Council
Every three years, we Capuchin Franciscan friars gather to discuss our lives in fraternity and service. During that meeting, called a Chapter, we also elect those who will serve in leadership as Provincial Minister. Four other brothers are elected to serve as his Council.
The Chapter of friars, held from May 23-27, 2022, elected our brother, Robert Marva, OFM Cap., to serve as Minister for this term. Currently serving as Pastor of St. Agnes/Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Cleveland, OH, Br. Bob takes the helm of the Province previously served by our Br. Tom Betz, OFM Cap., who served for the past two terms (2016-2022).
Br. Bob was born on September 26, 1966, in Solon, OH, a member of St. Rita Parish there. An early interest in high school seminary led him to apply to our Capuchin St. Fidelis Seminary in 1980, but the seminary was to close its doors that very year. So, instead, he attended St. Mark Seminary High School in Erie, PA (1980-1984) before studying for the Cleveland Diocese at Borromeo College Seminary of Ohio (1984-1988). After graduating, sensing the call to our Capuchin brotherhood, and after living as a postulant of the community and then receiving the habit of the Order in 1989, Bob professed vows as a Capuchin in 1990.
FROM THE GENERAL MINISTER: Easter 2022
English translation of the Italian Video Message below
Wednesday, April 13, 2022
We present here the Easter message of the General Minister. Let us spend Holy Week and Easter in meditation on the mercy of God and the mystery of Christ crucified and risen. Happy Easter!
Easter Greetings by the General Minister
Pace e Bene, Brothers!
We once again find ourselves fast approaching Easter, the mystery of our Lord's passion, death and resurrection. These days, I think the whole world’s been caught off guard and drawn into something very similar to these dynamics through what has been happening in Ukraine: we wonder how such a thing is possible, how cruel the hearts of men become when they no longer consider their fellow man. How evil we can be – how very evil! The iniquity of evil, what does it bring about? Evil against humanity. I think that even the evil we allow to fester within ourselves is always against humanity. And when we are too focused on ourselves, we go nowhere. Today, in the world, there exists a great evil, but perhaps it is also between us individually.
Capuchin Memories: St. Fidelis High School and College
Our Province of Capuchin Franciscans staffed a High School and College Seminary for 103 years from 1877-1980. Many of our brothers were educated there and came to appreciate the lives of the wonderful (and well-trained!) men who nurtured their knowledge and gave such great examples of faith and goodness.
Our alumni has decided to 'never forget' that story and have created A History of Memories section for the pages of the Alumni webite. Those pages in the coming months will celebrate the history and memories of the people that taught there, worked there, preached there, prayed there, studied there and lived there.
As Dave Schaffner ('81) writes for this initial installment of Memories, "I often get asked about 'the fire. It’s an event so significant in the history of St. Fidelis that, when it’s talked about, it’s just called THE Fire. So when we talked about setting up the History of Memories pages and went through some of the archives, it was clear what should be the first post."
Go back with them and start remembering . . . .
Mario Mastrangelo, OFM Cap., 1931-2022
Our Province suffered a loss when our brother Mario Mastrangelo, OFM Cap., 90, made his transitus to the Lord’s eternal life on Saturday afternoon, February 26, 2022. Health problems have plagued him throughout the past years. Sometimes dampening his spirits but never his kindness, his resolve or his trust in the Lord, his visits in and out of hospital for a range of issues dealing with his diabetes called upon our prayers and support. We became accustomed to his bouncing back and returning to the brothers, but after a final visit by his blood brother, Fr. Nick Mastrangelo, a retired priest of the Diocese of Pittsburgh (PA), Mario succumbed to Sister Death.
Anthony Mastrangelo was born in New Castle, PA on May 3, 1931, the first of three sons born to Nicholas and Concepta (Toscano) Mastrangelo. Having been baptized in New Castle’s St. Vitus Parish, his childhood was nurtured by the immigrant Italian community of the city. Bouncing back and forth between public and parochial schools during his elementary and high school years, 17-year-old Anthony finally landed among our Capuchin Franciscan friars at St. Fidelis High School and College Seminary in Herman, PA, to complete his last two years of high school studies before entering the college seminary.
International Fraternity Formed in the Amazon
St. Lawrence International Fraternity Formed in the Amazon
February 2nd, the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, a.k.a. the Purification of Mary, a.k.a. the Circumcision of the Lord, has tradionally been celebrated in many countries as the Day of Consecrated Life. Pope John Paul II made it a worldwide celebration for the Church in 1997. Our Order, through the work of its Commission for Evangelization and Mission, chose that day to inaugurate a St. Lawrence International Fraternity in the Amazon, part of the General's effort to begin building Saint Lawrence of Brindisi Fraternities throughout the world.
The efforts have been inspired by our former General Mauro Jöhri who wrote in 2014: "We want to try a new path, establishing intercultural fraternities, which in the light of the Gospel and our Constitutions live prayer, fraternal life and mission in an authentic and coherent way. The resource of interculturality will give witness that brothers and sisters from different cultures, if they look to Christ present among them, can live and give of themselves to work together. We are sustained by the certainty that the charism of Francis of Assisi, lived and witnessed, still has so much to say and communicate to the men and women of our time.”
Our brothers in Papua New Guinea Remember & Celebrate
The Lord has blessed us with three brothers who made their Perpetual Vows as Capuchins in the Custody of St. Michael the Archangel on Tuesday, January 25. Our brothers Clement Tarmat, Joseph Umba and Lucas Tamshong professed their vows in Mendi, PNG. Provincial Tom Betz, OFM Cap., was there to witness their commitments.
Jospeh signs his documents wearing his native headdress.
Custody Minister Modest Sangia, OFM Cap., attests to their vows at the altar.
Clement, Lucas and Joseph after the celebration.
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