Deceased Friars
Fr. Angelus Shaughnessy, 1929-2018
Our confrere Angelus M. Shaughnessy, OFM Cap., passed to the Lord's eternal life on Friday, March 2, 2018, in his 89th year, after more than 67 years in vows as a Capuchin friar and 62 years a priest. He was preceded in death by sisters Mary Elizabeth (Roth), Sr. Mary Cecilia (Anna Mae) CDP, Irene (Murray), Pauline (Adams Cucinelli) and Josephine (Laman), and by brothers Fr. Sigmund (John Joseph) OFM Cap., Paul and Joseph. He is survived by sisters Regina (Sykes) and Bernadette (Higgins), and brother Bernard.
Matthew Edmund Shaughnessy, fourth son and ninth child of John and Anna (Spang) Shaughnessy, was born on November 16, 1929, in Rochester, PA, and baptized at St. Cecilia Church by Capuchin pastor Fr. Hugh Rauwolf, OFM Cap., on November 24th. After attending St. Cecilia Grade School, he entered St. Fidelis College and Seminary in Herman, PA in 1947.
Province gathers for December Ordinations
Our brothers Roshan Anthonypillai, OFM Cap., and Reynaldo FrÃas-Santana, OFM Cap. (above) were ordained as friar-priests in Pittsburgh, PA, by Bishop David Zubik who shepherds the diocese there. of Pittsburgh, PA. The celebration took place on Saturday, December 9. Both men will be headed to our Custodies: Fr. Reynaldo will minister in Utuado, PR, to assist one of the areas most damaged by the recent hurricane, and Fr. Roshan will be serving in Papua New Guinea.
Fr. Mark Pattock and WYD 2013
The following article was published in the Pttsburgh Tribune Review. It highlights our brother Mark's work with the group from St. Mary Parish in Herman, PA, who experienced World Youth Day 2013 in Rio de Janiero, Brazil.
___________________________
Rio trip promises spiritual enrichment
for Herman teen, youth worldwide
By Rick Wills
Published: Saturday, July 20, 2013 , 9:00 p.m.
Updated: Friday, July 26, 2013
Holly Schnur's first trip out of the country will be to Rio de Janeiro, where she will attend World Youth Day, a large gathering of Catholic youth.
“I am so excited. I cannot wait. I think it will be a shock. It's going to be very spiritual and very tiring,†said Schnur, 18, of Herman, one of 15 pilgrims from St. Mary of Assumption Church in Herman who will attend the massive event.
Christmas & Carols with the Novices
We wish all of you a Merry Christmas season, and we have a special treat to share. Our Capuchin novitiate community in Santa Ynez, CA, produced this Christmas reflection in prayer and music, and we're happy to share it with you all. May you be blessed at this special time in our lives of faith, and may you know the peace and goodness of our God who walks - and sings - among us . . .
Investiture 2019
Our newest novices were invested in their Capuchin habits in July, the official beginning of their Novitiate year of discernment before making their vows of poverty, chastity and obediience.
Brothers from our Province of St. Augustine were on hand for the occasion. Brs. Jim Froehlich (Director of the Interprovincial Pre-Novitiate Program) and Br. Bill Gillum (Assistant Director, and on the formation team at Capuchin College in DC) accompanied the group to their new home in Santa Ynez, CA, to join the friars from all the Provinces of the NAPPCC (the Capuchin Conference of North America & the Pacific) who have novices present this year. Other Provincial friars included Br. Phil Bernier (Assistant Novice Director), Br.Bill Talentino (Novitiate team member) and Br. Raf Anguiano (Vocation Director).
Prayers and blessings go out to our novices Matt Lontz, Mehari Worku, Sebastian Rojas, Tony Rivera, Simon Falk, Steve Cantwell, Carl Schulz and to Alexander Santana from the Capuchin Stigmata Province who joined the group for the Postulancy year in Philly. You'll see each of them in the photos below . . . .
Allan Wasiecko, OFM Cap. (1942-2025)
The video of the Wake Service held for our brother Allan
on Sunday evening, February 2, 2025, appears here.
The Funeral Mass celebrated on Monday, February 3, 2025, appears here.
Our brother, Allan Wasiecko, OFM Cap., passed to the Lord’s eternal life on January 30, 2025 at a residential rehabilitation center in Pittsburgh, PA. He was 82. Allan was at the Center following a successful surgery to repair a broken femur he suffered from a fall at our St. Augustine Motherhouse on January 17th. His passing was not entirely expected, though health issues and increased memory loss weighed him down in his final years among us.
Born on October 19, 1942, to Stephen and Helen (Pack) Wasiecko in Pittsburgh, PA’s Mt. Oliver district, Allan entered St. Fidelis High School Seminary in Herman, PA, in 1955 and was invested as a novice in 1962, making his first profession of vows to our way of life on July 14, 1963. He was given the name Br. Donan, but he returned to his baptismal name when permitted to do so in 1968. Donan was part of the largest class of young men ever to join the community in one year, the height of the vocations boom in the 20th century. 25 young men joined him in professing vows that year, and 18 of the them went on to priesthood ordination following theology studies at Capuchin College in Washington, DC, on October 19, 1968 (which just happened to be Allan’s 26th Birthday!). Classmates included our confreres John Bednarik and Gene Emrisek. Other brothers would precede him to the “eternity fraternity:” Gary Powell (+1994), Ed Judy (+2003), future bishop Bill Fey (+2021) and Jerome Dunn (+2022).
Colman Studeny, OFM Cap. (1934-2024)
See the end of the article for livestreaming links of our brother's Wake and Funeral Mass are below . . .
Our brother, Colman Studeny, OFM Cap., passed to the Lord’s eternal life on Friday. October 18, 2024, at our motherhouse, St. Augustine Friary, in Pittsburgh, PA, less than a month after celebrating his 90th birthday. He had been in residence there since 2022 when he retired from his work as a missionary in Papua New Guinea.
Born to Leo and Germaine (Koehler) Studeny on September 28, 1934, he was given the name James at his baptism at Resurrection Parish in Pittsburgh and also where he was to attend the parish grade school. In 1948, James entered St. Fidelis High School Seminary in Herman, PA. Sadly, within six weeks of his arrival there, the young freshman suffered the unexpected loss of his older brother Leo, Jr.
When he was ready to move on to the novitiate year after his second year of college and recieve the habit of the Order, this was his highlight in the 1953 edition of the school's Yearbook, the Skullcap . . .
Read more about our brother Colman and his life on a mission . . .
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