leaven summer/fall 2000

1

The biographer of Pope John Paul II dis-cussed the lessons to be learned from his papacy at the annual commencement of Saint Vincent Seminary on May 12. Mr. George S. Weigel, Jr., received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree in recognition of his contribution to the understanding of the role of religion in public life. He is a Roman

CommencementAddress On

John Paul II’s Papacy

(Continued on 4)

Seminary Launches $6.1 Million Capital CampaignAt the Saint Vincent Seminary Alumni

and Planned Giving Associates Banquet on October 3, Board of Regents Chairman John C. Marous, Jr. announced the launching of a $6.1 million capital campaign to meet several needs resulting from years of enrollment growth and program enhancement. The cam-paign can be divided into four components: construction, program development, student financial assistance and the library.

The first goal of the campaign is to prepare the Seminary infrastructure to meet the needs of a decade of increasing enrollment and to allow for technological advancements in its classroom buildings. Thus, a $3,650,000 construction goal will include $1,970,000 for renovation of one dormitory hall and the construction costs of a new housing wing.

“We completed the construction of 22 additional rooms for housing in the fall of 1997,” said Saint Vincent Archabbot Douglas R. Nowicki, O.S.B., Seminary Chancellor.

(Continued on Page 3)

In This Issue . . . Capital Campaign .................1, 3, 6Commencement Talk ...1, 14-15, 17Fr. Kurt Belsole Named.................2Bishop’s Breakfast ........................2Hispanic Ministries.................... 4-5Campaign Divisions ......................6Fr. Kram Honored ..........................7Diaconate Ordination ....................7New Seminarians Arrive ...........8, 9 Seminary Calendar........................9Fourth Year Practicum ............... 10Scholarship Dinner .....................10Sr. Cecilia on Commission.........10New Seminary Group Photo...... 11Cardinal’s Visit....................... 12-13Degrees Awarded .................. 16-17Tribute Gifts ........................... 18-19Dr. Hahn at SVS ...........................19New Artwork.................................19News and Notes..................... 20-24New Organ ...................................24

recently-approved Saint Vincent Master Plan 2000 calls for the renovation of Leander Hall, where most of the diocesan seminarians reside, and the construction of a new housing

Photos of Francis Cardinal Arinze’s visit to Saint Vincent

Seminary - pp. 12-13

Mr. John C. Marous, Jr.Campaign Chairman

Bishop Nicholas C. DattiloCampaign Vice Chairman

“But they were quickly filled with new students as a result of steady growth in our Seminary enrollment.”

In order to meet the additional housing needs caused by continued growth, the

Dr. George Weigel

Kickoff!

2

Leaven Summer/Fall 2000 Volume 9, Numbers 3-4

Father Kurt J. Belsole, O.S.B., Associate Professor of Theology and Monastic Studies and Assistant Rector, has been named the Interim Rector of Saint Vincent Seminary by Archabbot Douglas R. Nowicki, O.S.B, Chancellor. Fr. Kurt will serve as Interim Rector during the sabbatical of the Rector, Father Thomas Acklin, O.S.B. His duties will include the daily administration of the seminary as well as responsibilities in the areas of recruitment, planning and development.

Fr. Kurt is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Belsole and a native of Saint Marys, Penn-sylvania. He professed his first vows at Saint Vincent Archabbey in 1972 and was ordained a priest in 1978.

After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Saint Vincent College in 1974, Fr. Kurt received a Master of Divinity degree from Saint Vincent Seminary in 1978. He earned a Diploma in Latin Letters in 1980 from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome; a License in Patristic Theology and Sci-ences in 1983 from the Patristic Institute at the Augustinianum, Rome; studied at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute, Rome (1981-1983); and earned a doctorate in Sacred Theology in 1994 from Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm, Rome. He wrote his doctoral dis-sertation Joy in Lent: “Gaudium” in the Rule of Saint Benedict under the direction of Fr. Adalbert de Vogüé. He has also received grants from the German Govern-ment to study German at the Goethe Institut in Passau, Germany, and from the French Government to study French at the Institut Catholique of Paris.

Fr. Kurt has taught at Saint Vincent Semi-nary since 1983; he served as Academic Dean of the Seminary from 1986 to 1989. Since 1995, during the spring semesters, he has taught at the Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm, Rome; and since 1996, he served as the rector’s delegate in administering the scholarship endowment of the Pontifical

Athenaeum of Saint Anselm, Rome. In the fall semester of 1998, he served as acting Director of Spiritual Life at Saint Vincent Seminary. At the Seminary, Father Kurt has chaired and served on numerous committees, including the Academic Committee, Admis-sions Committee, Alumni Degree Committee, Master of Arts Committee, Middle States Association of Theological Schools Self-Study Committee, and the Committee on Faculty Rank.

At Saint Vincent Archabbey, Father Kurt has served as assistant guestmaster (1972-1975); master of ceremonies (1985-1993); secretary to the Archabbot (1991-1992); on the administrative staff of the Archabbot (1992-1993); on the Liturgy Committee (1984-present); on the Gristmill Committee (1989-1991, 1997-present); on the Formation Committee (1992-present) and on the Saint Vincent Fire Department (1971-1976). He has been on the novitiate faculty of Saint Vincent Archabbey teaching monastic history since 1984.

Fr. Kurt has served on the editorial board of Word and Spirit (1992-1998), and has been an associate editor of The American Benedictine Review since 1994. He has published numerous articles and book reviews in various periodicals including Spirit and Life, Word and Spirit, Living Prayer, Church History, Antiphon, and The American Benedictine Review, and has written four articles for the forthcoming Encyclopedia of Monasticism. His professional memberships include the North American Patristic Society

is published by Saint Vincent Seminary, 300 Fraser Purchase Road

Latrobe, Pennsylvania 15650-2690724-537-4592, Fax: 724-532-5052

http://benedictine.stvincent.edu/seminary/

PublisherArchabbot Douglas R. Nowicki, O.S.B.

RectorVery Rev. Thomas P. Acklin, O.S.B.

Interim RectorRev. Kurt J. Belsole, O.S.B.

Vice RectorRev. William J. Fay

Academic DeanSr. Cecilia Murphy, R.S.M.

Dean of StudentsRev. Alan E. Thomas

Director of Spiritual LifeRev. Justin M. Matro, O.S.B.

Director of DevelopmentWilliam P. Malloy

Director of Public RelationsDonald A. Orlando

Writer/EditorKimberley A. Metzgar

Alumni DirectorRev. Gilbert J. Burke, O.S.B.

Public Relations AssociateTheresa O. Schwab

Seminary Board of RegentsVery Rev. Thomas P. Acklin, O.S.B.

Rev. Julio Alvarez-GarciaMost Rev. Anthony G. Bosco

Mr. David L. BrennanMr. Frank V. Cahouet

Ms. Rosemary I. CorsettiRev. Msgr. George R. CoyneMost Rev. Nicholas C. DattiloMost Rev. John F. Donoghue

Mr. Mark F. GarceaSr. M. Gabriel Kane, I.H.M.

Rev. Thomas J. KramRev. Msgr. Paul A. LenzDr. James V. Maher, Jr.Dr. John C. Marous, Jr.

Rt. Rev. Douglas R. Nowicki, O.S.B.Dr. Rizal V. Pangilinan

Most Rev. Bernard W. SchmittMr. Thomas G. Wagner

LeavenFather Kurt Belsole AppointedInterim Seminary Rector

Seminary To Host Breakfast For Bishops

Saint Vincent Seminary will again host a breakfast for bishops during the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington D.C. on November 15. Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, has accepted an invitation to attend.

Father Kurt J. Belsole, O.S.B.

3


wing. When completed, the facilities will provide an additional 25 dormitory rooms — enough to accommodate the projected enrollment levels.

The Master Plan also calls for the establish-ment of a Seminary Fitness Center and a Commons Area to provide for the physical and social needs of the seminarians along with their spiritual and academic formation.

Included in the construction component is $960,000 for structural improvements and implementation of technological enhancements to the seminary classroom building, including a new Center for Homiletics.

“One of the greatest needs in the Church today is effective preaching of the Word of God,” said Board of Regents Chairman John C. Marous, Jr. “To meet this need, Saint Vincent Seminary will establish a Center for Homiletics.”

Mr. Marous noted that Seminary classes are taught in Aquinas Hall, which was constructed in 1953.

“The building will undergo structural reno-vation to accommodate state of the art technology in all classrooms, and to establish a center for specialized instruction in homiletics. These advancements in technology will allow Saint Vincent Seminary to prepare priests with the tools and experience to be effective preachers and teachers of the Word of God,” Mr. Marous said.

The final part of the construction phase of the campaign, $720,000 for completion of the spires and the addition of bells to the Saint Vincent Basilica, has already been completed and the funding pledged by Archabbey donors.

The campaign’s second goal, $1,000,000 for program development, will focus on the Seminary’s Hispanic Ministries program and seek to prepare seminarians to meet the needs of this expanding Catholic population.

“Saint Vincent will establish a comprehen-sive Hispanic Ministries curriculum, including an immersion experience in the culture and language,” said Rev. Kurt J. Belsole, O.S.B., Interim Rector. “Due to the increased enroll-ment of seminarians who will serve in dioceses with large Hispanic populations, we are expanding our curriculum and programs to meet the needs of these dioceses.”

Fr. Kurt noted that demographics among the Catholic population in the United States are undergoing a radical shift. Already, Hispanics account for 36 percent of the

Seminary Launches $6.1 Million Capital Campaign(Continued from Page 1)


CONSTRUCTION $3,650,000 • Seminary Housing - $1,970,000 - for the renovation of the current dormitory hall and the construction costs of a housing wing, and the establishment of fitness and recreation centers. • Seminary Classrooms - $960,000 - for structural improvements

and the implementation of technological enhancements to the seminary classroom building, including a new Center for Homiletics.

• Basilica Spires and Bells - $720,000- for the completion of the spires and the addition of bells to the Saint Vincent Basilica. [PLEDGED]

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT $1,000,000 • Hispanic Ministries - $1,000,000 - for the implementation of a comprehensive program to prepare our seminarians to meet the needs of

this expanding Catholic population.

STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE $1,000,000 • Scholarship Assistance - $1,000,000 - to cover the costs of seminary education for students from dioceses and communities without the capacity

to pay.

LIBRARY $500,000 • Collection Preservation - $200,000 - for the preservation of the historical collection of theological books and writings. • Collection Enhancement - $200,000 - for the purchase of theological

works that are important for the education of seminarians. • Technology Enhancement - $100,000 - for the implementation of

Internet access to resources at the best scriptural and theological research centers throughout the world.

Campaign Summary of Needs

Fr. Kurt Belsole, O.S.B., discusses the Capital Campaign during the annual Seminary Alumni and Planned Giving Associates Banquet. Seated at the head table were, center, Archabbot Douglas R. Nowicki, O.S.B., and clockwise, Mr. John C. Marous, Jr., Board of Regents Chairman; Father Thomas J. Kram, Board of Regents; Mr. James F. Will, President of Saint Vincent College; Mrs. Mary Louise Redding, a Seminary patron; and Mrs. and Dr. James V. Maher. Dr. Maher is also a member of the Board of Regents.

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Hispanic Ministries Program ExpandingWhen Stuart Crevcoure of the Diocese of

Tulsa went back home to Oklahoma after being ordained a deacon at the Seminary in April, the first baptism he did was in Spanish.

When Ricardo De Silva, a native Panama-nian, moved to the Diocese of Charlotte in 1993, he said he could go two or three months without seeing a fellow Latin American. “Now I see them everywhere I go.”

When Saint Vincent Seminary began hold-ing two Masses each month in Spanish (one on Sunday and another on Thursday), people began coming from as far away as Pittsburgh to attend.

Diocesan newspapers from Pittsburgh and Charlotte recently carried articles on the growth of Hispanic ministries in their respective regions, and the Seminary recently made the growth of Hispanic ministries training part of its new capital campaign. Programs directed to benefit Spanish-speaking people are being cre-ated in many dioceses. Saint Vincent Seminary is striving to keep current with these regional and national trends.

Br. Kevin Bachmann, O.S.B., Director of the Hispanic Ministries program at Saint Vincent this year, is quick to point out that while the nation’s Hispanic population is skyrocket-ing, “there are also a lot of people from other nations in this country. There is a lot of multiculturalism. All ethnic groups deserve our attention.”

The Seminary will be offering four years of training in the Spanish language, a course on “Hispanic Culture and Values,” and training in “Ministerial and Pastoral Linguistics,” which covers the technical vocabulary necessary for ecclesial Spanish, and homily preparation in Spanish. Then there is a practical Hispanic Ministries seminar, a roundtable which explores a number of different issues. An “immersion experience” involves living in a country of Hispanic culture, intensive language study and some involvement in ministry.

Terence Crone of the Archdiocese of Atlanta spent his pastoral year in a parish that had a large Hispanic population, probably close to 50 percent. He said Atlanta seminarians are encouraged to work on Spanish every semester, with a goal of being able to at least offer a Mass in Spanish and be able to speak some Spanish in order to hear confessions and minister to Hispanics.

Atlanta, he said, has a large Catholic popula-tion, with the Hispanic population growing very rapidly. He and some of his fellow diocesan seminarians spent the summer of 1999 in El Paso, Texas, to learn more Spanish as well as to learn more about the culture of Mexico.

“My experience in my pastoral year con-

Expansion of the Hispanic Ministries Program is part of Saint Vincent Seminary’s new $6.1 million capital campaign. Seminarians Ricardo de Silva of the Diocese of Charlotte, left, Carl Kerkemeyer, second from left, and James Caldwell, right, both of the Diocese of Tulsa, discuss how they use what they learn in the program with Father Kurt J. Belsole, O.S.B., Seminary Interim Rector, and Sr. Elise Mora, O.S.F., who teaches in the program.

vinced me of the need to continue to work on my Spanish, and improve my knowledge of the cultural aspects as well,” he said.

David Medina of the Tulsa Diocese, a native Mexican, has been doing some prison ministry with Hispanics, primarily Puerto Ricans, while at the Seminary. He would like to expand his ministerial efforts.

“We need to improve our skills on dealing with the Hispanic community,” he said, “not only with Masses. We need to begin to learn something more about the cultures, and how to face a multicultural Church.”

He pointed out that not only are there cultural differences in the Latin American countries, but there are changes within the Hispanic population here in the United States.

“Mexican people in Mexico behave one way, but change a lot when they get here,” Medina said. “They come here looking for a better life, there are more members of the family working, and the families have to adjust to that.”

Br. Kevin concurred, noting that with His-panic cultures, as well as most people from foreign cultures coming into the U.S., the people retain some of their culture, but are shaped by the culture of the country they are in.

Br. Kevin expects that as the program grows there will be a development of the field component to the studies, allowing seminarians to obtain practical experience in their ministries. He cited how several seminarians involved

with the program are currently interacting with Hispanics in the region.

“There are a number of Hispanic students attending Saint Vincent College. We need to develop our outreach to them. We do have Spanish Mass twice a month. We plan to start a social activity after the Mass. Our seminarians can also attend a Hispanic Ministries Confer-ence, which focuses on how to bridge the gap between Hispanic and Anglo cultures.

A recent conference showed how parishes can help with immigration requirements, English instruction, and Catholic schools.

De Silva said the increase of Hispanics in Charlotte started around 1995 and is continu-ing not only in North Carolina, but all over the South.

He said his diocese has only a small number of Spanish-speaking priests, but noted the diocese is focusing on ways to address the needs of the growing Hispanic population.

Sr. Elise Mora, O.F.M., Spanish instructor in the Seminary, noted that the latest census statistics show there are about 33 million Latinos in the United States. She added that the Latino population is “growing five times faster than the rest of the population,” and that Hispanics make up almost 25 percent of the U.S. population and “are getting close to being half the population of the Catholic Church here.”


5


Discussing the Seminary’s Hispanic Ministries Program with Br. Kevin Bachmann, O.S.B.,of Holy Cross Abbey, Colorado, coordinator of the program (second from left), are Eric Filmer of the Diocese of Savannah, left; Terrence Crone, Archdiocese of Atlanta, center; Stuart Crevcoure, fourth from left, and David Medina, both of the Diocese of Tulsa.

The Catholic News & Herald, the dioc-esan paper, reported that between April 1, 1990, and July 1, 1998, the Hispanic popula-tion has grown more than 110 percent, with approximately 300,000 Hispanic people living in the state and an estimated 60,000 Hispanics in Charlotte alone.

If possible, De Silva said, when he is ordained, he hopes to be able to work on building a bridge between the two cultures, the main barrier, he says, being the language difference. He also hopes to focus on encouraging other Hispanic vocations within the diocese.

James Caldwell, a seminarian from Tulsa noted, “When I entered the Tulsa Diocese in 1995, they projected that by 2000 to 2005 the diocese would be more than 50 percent Hispanic in terms of the Catholic population. So there is a strong need to address that.”

He said that Hispanic Catholicism is different from North American Catholicism in many ways as a result of the cultural differences.

Carl Kerkemeyer of the same diocese recently found out how different it is, as he spent June and July of 1999 at David Medina’s home in Guadalajara, Mexico, as part of his immersion experience in the culture and language.

Medina immediately noticed the change when Kerkemeyer returned to Tulsa.

“When I came to the Seminary, and shared my struggles in knowing and learning this culture, Carl could empathize with me, but he did not fully understand,” Medina said, noticing that when Kerkemeyer returned from Mexico, he had a much better idea of the cultural differences.

“I was changed by my experience there,” Kerkemeyer said, although he was surprised by how much English was spoken in Guadalajara. “When I arrived at the airport I met David’s mother and sister and we understood each other. The next morning I was to go on a pilgrimage, and I was kept so busy that within about a week I was comfortable with my limited language skills.” He had some trouble keeping up with the speed of the spoken Spanish, but discovered that “I could get by.”

“As far as culture,” Kerkemeyer said, “it really surprised me that even though the language was different, people had the same goals in life, so it was somewhat similar. But other aspects were really different. Families are very strong in Mexico, as opposed to here in the U.S. It felt as if I had gone back in time, but

that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.”Stuart Crevcoure notes that the Spanish

baptism he performed and the Spanish Masses he assisted at in his diocese this summer are just a harbinger of things to come. He preached his first homily in Spanish in July.

“Spanish Mass in the parish means more contact with the community,” he said.

The parish he served in this summer, St. Mark’s, had a good Anglo and a good Hispanic population. And the people from both popula-tions worked to be an integrated parish. “They were more of a model for Hispanic ministries. They tried to make the other feel the part.”

He had a lot of background in Spanish, all here at Saint Vincent. He had a summer experience in Mexico where he lived with a family and worked in a parish in Guadalajara. He will be the first seminarian ordained in his diocese with a full background in Hispanic Ministry. He credits the Seminary with provid-ing him with that background and preparation for the ministry.

Kerkemeyer noted that when he first started in the Seminary’s Hispanic Ministries program, Father Mauro, who directed the program at the time, said that “it’s not just a matter of learning the language but of learning the culture to understand the people. People appreciate your making the effort to learn their language and culture.”

Medina mentioned a priest who does not speak Spanish very well, although he can read it. “The people appreciate his trying. You could see his effort to share his faith with the people, and that was really important.”

The last several years of Hispanic Ministries conferences that seminarians attended have

been energizing, but the presentations at those conferences also make both seminarians and those directing their programs realize how much more work needs to be done.

“As difficult as it is, with the time needed to work on the language to understand and be able to communicate, I have a great sense that it will be worth it in the long run,” Caldwell said.

Kerkemeyer said that it makes sense to keep developing the program. “You have people who are newly-arriving in this country, and they are experiencing all new things. At least they should be able to expect the familiarity and comfort of practicing their faith.”

“It helps a lot when they realize you have been to their country. They know you under-stand their struggle to learn English, and that you can empathize with them. And if you can communicate in Spanish it puts them a little more at ease,” he continued. “It’s comforting to be struggling together.”

Br. Kevin noted that the growth in the Hispanic population will continue, “as long as there is a need for workers.” And as long as that happens, the Seminary’s Hispanic Ministries program will continue.

“We’ll continue focusing on locating Hispanic foreign students in the area, and ministering to them. We’ll work on all the formal parts of the program as it develops,” he said. “We’ll deal with whoever’s there. We want to reach out to all people of all different groups. We don’t want to wait for them to come to us. As the keynote speaker at this year’s Hispanic Ministry Conference in Milwaukee, Bishop Jaime Soto, said, ‘Start where you are, work with what you have, and do what you can.’”

Abriendo máspuertas en el

Ministerio Hispano(Continued from Page 4)

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CampaignDivisionsListed

Mr. John C. Marous, Jr., Chair-man of the Expanding the Vision Capital Campaign, has announced the campaign division leaders. Most Rev. Nicholas C. Dattilo, Bishop of Harrisburg, is the cam-paign’s Vice Chairman.

• Bishop Dattilo and Archabbot Douglas R. Nowicki, O.S.B., will chair the Bishops’ Division.

• Mr. Marous and Archabbot Douglas will chair the Regents’ Division and the Leadership Gifts Division.

• Seminary Vice Rector Father William Fay will lead the Faculty/Staff Division.

• Mr. William Malloy, Develop-ment Director, will chair the Foun-dation Division.

• Father Thomas J. Kram of the Diocese of Pittsburgh will head up the Alumni/Friends and Regional Gifts Committee. That Committee will have nine smaller regional committees.

• Leading the Pittsburgh regional campaign will be Diocese of Pittsburgh Auxiliary Bishop Wil-liam Winter, Father Kram, Father John Haney and Father Richard Infante.

• Bishop Dattilo and Msgr. Frank Kumontis will lead the Harrisburg regional campaign.

• The Greensburg campaign will be led by Father Lawrence Kiniry.

• Altoona-Johnstown’s regional campaign will be led by Msgr. John R. Sasway.

• Msgr. Paul Lenz will be in charge of the D.C. region.

• Father Adrian Pleus will head the Atlanta region.

• In Charlotte the campaign effort will be led by Father Mauricio West.

• Father Paschal Kneip, O.S.B., will chair the Virginia Beach effort.

Catholics in the United States, according to statistics provided by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. By 2020, the number will rise to 50 percent.

“While this change will eventually affect all of the seminarians attending Saint Vincent, it is already a factor in many of the dioceses we serve,” Fr. Kurt said. “This immersion experience will provide our seminarians with the tools and credibility to effectively serve this important need in the Church.”

In the third focus of the campaign, the seminary will seek to raise $1,000,000 for scholarship assistance, to cover the costs of seminary education for students from dioceses and religious communities without the capacity

Capital Campaign(Continued from Page 1) to pay.

“In recent years, requests for admittance of seminarians with demonstrated financial need have shown a marked increase,” said William P. Malloy, Director of Development for Saint Vincent Seminary. “A number of dioceses and religious communities within the United States and around the world have the blessing of priesthood candidates, but do not have the ability to pay for their educa-tion. Saint Vincent Seminary has received requests for financial assistance from bishops in developing countries to educate and provide living expenses for their seminarians. As young men exhibit the courage and faith to accept the call to the priesthood, we must educate and prepare them.”

Mr. Malloy noted that in order to meet this compelling need, Saint Vincent Seminary is committed to raising sufficient scholarship funds to ensure the availability of financial aid for seminary students from domestic and foreign dioceses and from religious communi-ties that lack sufficient resources to educate their young men for the priesthood.

The fourth component of the new campaign will seek to raise $500,000 for the library, including $200,000 for preservation of the historical collection of theological books and writings, $200,000 for the purchase of theological works important to the educational development of seminarians, and $100,000 for the implementation of Internet access to resources at the best scriptural and theological research centers throughout the world.

“Saint Vincent Seminary is now the eighth largest Roman Catholic Seminary in the United States,” Mr. Marous noted in his kickoff announcement. “The successful completion of this campaign should help position Saint

Most Rev. Anthony G. Bosco, Bishop of Greensburg, celebrated Mass during the annual Saint Vincent Seminary Alumni Day on Tuesday, October 3.

Father John R. Haney was homilist during the Saint Vincent Seminary Alumni Day Mass on Tuesday, October 3. Father Haney, a Seminary graduate from the Pittsburgh Diocese, is also assisting with the Capital Campaign.

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Father Thomas J. Kram Honored For A Lifetime Of ServiceIn honor of his many years of support

and service to Saint Vincent Seminary, the Seminary has established the Father Thomas J. Kram Scholarship.

“Father Kram is always a source of hope, strength and good humor,” said Archabbot Douglas R. Nowicki, O.S.B. “He has touched thousands of friends by his love and care over the years.

“It is with respect for his lifelong dedication to all people, and in particular for his commit-ment to Saint Vincent Seminary Scholarship aid, that Saint Vincent Seminary established this scholarship fund in his name,” Archabbot Douglas said.

Development Director William P. Malloy noted that Father Kram has always had a particular interest in Saint Vincent Seminary. In addition to his years on the Seminary Board of Regents (1967-1973, 1993-present), he has served on the Saint Vincent Alumni Coun-cil. For his work on behalf of the Seminary he received the Seminary Distinguished Service Award in 1988, and he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree in 1993. He also received the Father Camillus Award for service and devotion in 1986 from the Saint Vincent College Alumni Association.

During his second term on the Board of Regents, Father Kram has served as the Chairman of the Saint Vincent Seminary

Scholarship Committee, establishing the annual Scholarship Dinner in 1991. In this role, he has committed himself to ensuring that each seminarian receives the financial aid necessary to complete his education.

Father Kram was born December 7, 1923, on Pittsburgh’s North Side. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy from Saint Vincent College in 1946, then entered Saint Vincent Seminary, completing his studies

Father Thomas J. Kram

Four Ordained to the Diaconate Four seminarians attending Saint Vincent Seminary were ordained to the

Diaconate by the Most Rev. J. Kevin Boland, Bishop of Savannah, Georgia, on April 10 in the Archabbey Basilica. They were Br. Lee R. Yoakam, O.S.B. and Br. Edward M. Mazich, O.S.B., of Saint Vincent Archabbey; Wayne Morris of the Diocese of Steubenville and Stuart Crevcoure of the Diocese of Tulsa.

in 1949. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 12, 1949. He received the Saint Vincent Seminary Alumni Master of Divinity Degree in 1992. He also studied at Duquesne Prep School, the University of Pittsburgh, and St. Mary’s College in Kentucky. He has served in parishes, hospitals, diocesan positions and on the Saint Vincent Seminary Board of Regents. Father Kram can look back on a life that has been full in every sense — as a student, pastor, high school headmaster, development officer and diocesan and semi-nary administrator.

Mr. Malloy also noted other highlights of Father Kram’s many years of service:

• Following his ordination he was assigned to St. Wendelin, Carrick, and was there until 1955.

• He served at St. Mary, Beaver Falls, for the next six years, then moved to St. Peter, North Side through 1967. While he was at St. Peter, he also was the headmaster of Domenec Diocesan High School for Girls for two years.

• He was chaplain for Providence Hospital in Beaver Falls while stationed at St. Mary’s, and of Allegheny General and Divine Provi-dence Hospitals while at St. Peter. While in Beaver Falls, he was also involved with the Saint Vincent de Paul Society there.

• He spent the next twenty years as pastor of St. Germaine, Bethel Park, and then spent three years at St. Mary’s Help of Christians, McKees Rocks.

• He served as Dean of the South Hills Deanery of the Diocese of Pittsburgh from 1977 until 1980, and Dean of the North East Deanery from 1987 to 1990.

• From 1990 to 1993 he was Dean of Advancement at Saint Vincent Seminary. He has been a Board of Regents member for 13 years, served as Advance Gifts Chairman in the “Preserving the Vision” Capital Campaign, and served as Regional Gifts Chairman for the “Expanding the Vision” Capital Campaign.

• Father Kram was a Tribunal Judge for the Pittsburgh Diocese for five years, a member of the Priest Personnel Board for five years, and has been a member of the Priest Benefit Plan Board since 1985, serving as its chairman from 1997 to 1999.

• He has been Vicar for Retired Priests in the Diocese of Pittsburgh since 1993.

For further information on the Father Thomas J. Kram Scholarship, contact Mr. William Malloy, Director of Development, 724-532-6740, [email protected].

8


is a 1978 graduate of Colegio Nacional “Bartolomé Mitre.” He attended the Univer-sidad del Norte “Santo Tomás de Aquino” in Argentina from 1979 to 1980.

John D. Atkinson is the son of Irene Z. Foltz of Fredericksburg, Virginia and Paul D. Atkinson. He is a 1983 graduate of Manches-ter High School, Ches-terfield, Virginia. He also studied at John Tyler Community Col-

lege from 1995 to 1998.Andrew K. Suelzer is the son of Dr. John

and Maureen Suelzer of Lake Leelanau, Michi-gan and Gail Bennett of Indianapolis, Indiana. He is a 1983 graduate of Brebeuf Jesuit Prepa-ratory School in India-napolis. He studied psy-chology and business administration at Regis College in Denver, Colorado, and Marian College in Indianapolis.

DIOCESE OF COLUMBUS, OHIODavid J. Young is the son of Richard E.

and Jeanne M. Young of Columbus, Ohio. He is a 1996 graduate of St. Francis DeSales High School. He attended Ohio State University and the Pontifical College Josephinum,

Columbus, majoring in philosophy.DIOCESE OF GREENSBURG,

PENNSYLVANIAAlan N. Polczynski is the son of Sylvester

and Rose Polczynski of Lower Burrell. He is a 1984 graduate of Burrell Senior High School. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in theater arts from Point Park College in 1989.

DIOCESE OF HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA

James F. Fair is the son of Francis P. and Mary Lee Fair of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. He is a 1996 graduate of Camp Hill High School. He earned a bachelor of science degree in mathematics from Mill-

ersville University in 2000.DIOCESE OF PITTSBURGH,

PENNSYLVANIASean M. Francis is the son of Paul and Ann

Francis of Allison Park, Pennsylvania. He is a 1990 graduate of North Allegheny High School, Wexford. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in philos-ophy from Duquesne University in 2000.

Peter G. MacLellan of Pittsburgh is the son of Joseph R. MacLel-lan of Sayville, New York, and the late Mary Ann MacLellan. He is a 1980 graduate of Sayville High School. He earned a bachelor of science degree in philosophy and biol-ogy from the State Uni-versity of New York, Brockport, New York. He has also done graduate work at Duquesne University.DIOCESE OF STEUBENVILLE, OHIO

Michael F. Barrett is the son of William H. Barrett, Jr., and Sandy Barrett of Kenton, Ohio. He is a 1994 graduate of Kenton Senior High School. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in theology from Franciscan Uni-

versity of Steubenville in 1998.Henry Christopher Foxhoven is the son

of Henry F. and Arlene M. Foxhoven of Bloomingdale, Ohio. He attended Harlan Community High School in Harlan, Iowa, and graduated in 1994 from Our Lady of the Rosary Home-School. He received a bachelor of arts degree in theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville in 1999.

DIOCESE OF TULSA, OKLAHOMAStephen D. Cotter is the son of David and

Joan Cotter of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. He is a 1994 graduate of Bishop Kelley High School and a 1997 graduate of Franciscan University of Steub-enville, Ohio, earning a

bachelor of arts degree in theology.

Saint Vincent Seminary welcomed 24 new students for the 2000-2001 school year. The new students are from ten archdioceses and dioceses, four Benedictine abbeys and a religious order from Nigeria. The student enrollment at the Seminary is 114, including 96 men in the ordination program, and 18 lay and religious men and women in graduate studies.

The Seminary’s enrollment, as it has throughout most of the past decade, is grow-ing, and is the highest it has been in over 30 years.

New seminarians are from:ARCHDIOCESE OF ATLANTA,

GEORGIANeil J. Herlihy is the

son of Grace Herlihy of Bronx, New York, and the late Thomas Herlihy. He is a 1969 graduate of Cardinal Spellman High School, Bronx. He earned a B.Ba. degree in accounting from Iona College, New Rochelle, New York, in 1973.

Samuel E. Utomi is the son of Rose Utomi of Ubibia, and the late Sir Peter Kalu Utomi. He graduated from high school in Itu-Misauzor, Ubibia in 1988. He received a bachelor of philosophy degree and a bachelor of sacred

theology degree from Seat of Wisdom Major Seminary in 1994 and Bigard Memorial Seminary in Nigeria in 1998, respectively. The Seminary is affiliated with the Urban University in Rome.

DIOCESE OF ARUA, UGANDAAlex Andrua is from

the Diocese of Arua, Uganda. He is a 1996 graduate of Dokea Seminary, Arua, Ugan-da. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy in 1999 from Alokolum National Major Seminary, Gulu, Uganda.

DIOCESE OF CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

Alejandro Ayala of Asheville, North Caro-lina, is the son of Elena Beatriz Pena of Argen-tina and the late Hora-cio Gilberto Ayala. He

Saint Vincent Seminary Welcomes 24 New Students From Around the World

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DIOCESE OF WHEELING-CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA

Charles E. McGinnis, Jr., is the son of Charles E. McGinnis Sr. and Sandra Kay

McGinnis of Wheeling, West Virginia. He is a 1984 graduate of Wheeling Park High School. He earned a regents bachelor of arts degree from West Lib-erty State College in

education in 1990.John P. Mulcahy is the son of George

and Anne-Marie Mulcahy of Pittsburgh. He is a 1989 graduate of Canevin Catholic High School, Pittsburgh. He studied accounting at Saint Vincent College, earning the bachelor of science degree in business accounting in 1996.

Douglas A. Ondeck is the son of Andrew F. and Mary E. Ondeck of Wheeling, West Vir-ginia. He is a 1988 graduate of John Mar-shall High School, Glen-dale, West Virginia. He

studied at the Pontifical College Josephinum, Columbus, Ohio, from 1997 to 1999.

Christopher M. Turner is the son of David and Karen Turner of Bridgeport, West Vir-ginia. He is a 1993 graduate of Bridgeport High School. He earned a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice/sociology from Fairmont State College, Fairmont, West Virginia, in 1997.

MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH ABBEY, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

Br. Mark A. Purcell, O.S.B., is the son of Frank X. and Christine T. Purcell of Codville, Ohio. He is a 1989 graduate of Park-ers-burg High School, Park-ersburg, West Virginia.

He earned a bachelor of science degree in education, with a major in mathematics, from Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, in 1994.

SAINT BENEDICT ABBEY, ATCHISON, KANSAS

Br. Gabriel A. Landis, O.S.B., is the son of Sam and Shirley Landis of Wichita, Kansas, and the late Carole Landis. He is a 1981

graduate of Wichita East High School. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in finance from Wichita State University in 1986 and a master of arts degree in management from

Webster University in 1994.SAINT VINCENT ARCHABBEY

Br. Matthias S. Marbach, O.S.B., is the son of Martin J. and Susan E. Marbach of Stafford, Virginia. He is a 1994 graduate of North Stafford High School. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in liberal arts from Saint Vincent College in 1998.SAINT PETER’S ABBEY, MUENSTER,

SASKATCHEWAN, CANADABr. Paul B. Paproski,

O.S.B. of St. Peter’s Abbey, Muenster, Sas-katchewan, is the son of Ardel and Freda Paproski of Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan. He is a 1981 graduate

of Hudson Bay Composite High School. He studied journalism at the University of Saskatchewan from 1981 to 1983 and earned a degree in journalism in 1985 from the University of Regina.VIA CHRISTI SOCIETY, DIOCESE OF

MAKURDI, NIGERIASamuel Odeh is the

son of Justina A. Odeh of Otukp, Nigeria and the late Boniface E. Odeh. He is a 1993 graduate of Mount St. Gabriel’s Secondary School, Makurdi, Nige-ria. He earned a bacheor of arts degree in philosophy from Saint Thomas Aquinas

Seminary, Makurdi, in 1998.

John-Paul A. Ot-anwa is the son of Boniface and Patricia Otanwa of Makurdi, Nigeria. He is a 1996 graduate of Mount

Saint Gabriel’s Secondary School, Makurdi. He attended Saint Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Makurdi from 1997 to 2000.

SeminaryCalendar of

EventsFriday, October 20

Annual Red Mass, Speaker: Fr. David M. O’Connell, C.M., President of Catholic University of America. Noon, St. Joseph Center, Greensburg. Spon-sored annually by the Dio-cese of Greensburg and Saint Vincent Seminary, Archabbey and College.

Monday, November 67:30 p.m., Ministry of

Acolyte, Archabbey Basil-ica. Most Rev. Bernard W. Schmitt, Bishop of Wheel-ing-Charleston, Installing Prelate.

Monday, November 277:30 p.m., Ministry of Can-

didacy, Archabbey Basilica.

Tuesday, November 283:30 p.m., Installation of

James F. Will as President of Saint Vincent College, Archabbey Basilica.

Saturday, December 9 Sunday, December 10

8 p.m., Saint Vincent Cam-erata Christmas Concert, Archabbey Basilica.

Saturday, December 16Diocese of Pittsburgh Dia-

conate Ordination, 10 a.m., St. Paul’s Cathedral for Thomas Burke, Anthony Gargotta, Terrence O’Con-nor, Michael Stumpf, Robert Vular and Clinton Zadroga.

Monday, March 5Ministry of Lector, 7:30

p.m., Archabbey Basilica.

Wednesday, March 21St. Benedict’s Day Mass4 p.m., Archabbey Basil-

ica.

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The head table at the annual Scholarship Dinner included, from left, Very Rev. Thomas P. Acklin, O.S.B., Seminary Rector; Rev. William Fay, Vice Rector and featured speaker; Rev. Thomas J. Kram, Seminary Board of Regents member and founder of the scholarship dinner; Mr. William P. Malloy, Seminary Director of Development.

Scholarship Dinner

St. John Vianney Parish, Johnstown, Rev. Paul M. Robine, pastor; Terrence O’Connor, Diocese of Pittsburgh, at Transfiguration Parish, Monongahela, with Fr. William Feeney, pastor.

Roberto Orellana, Archdiocese of Atlanta, at St. Margaret of Scotland Parish, Pittsburgh, with Fr. Harry Nichols, pastor; David Perry, Diocese of Erie, at St. Thomas Becket Parish, Clairton, Fr. Robert Seeman, pastor; James Reardon, Diocese of Erie, at St. Margaret Mary Parish, Lower Burrell, Fr. James Gaston, pastor; Br. Anthony Sargent, O.S.B., St. Mary Abbey, at Our Lady of Grace Parish, Greensburg, Pat Santia, Director of Religious Education.

Michael Stumpf, Diocese of Pittsburgh, at St. Sebastian Parish, Pittsburgh, with Fr. Paul Bradley, pastor and parochial vicars Fr. Thomas Sparacino and Fr. James Stover; Robert Vular, Diocese of Pittsburgh, at St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin, Pittsburgh, with Fr. John Haney, pastor and parochial vicar Fr. Alan Morris; Gregory Wilson, Diocese of Charleston, at St. John the Evangelist Parish, Uniontown, Fr. William Kiel, pastor; Br. Lee Yoakam, O.S.B., Saint Vincent Archabbey, at St. Peter Parish, Pittsburgh, Fr. Benjamin Walker, O.S.B., pastor; Clinton Zadroga, Diocese of Pittsburgh, at St. Frances Cabrini Parish, Aliquippa, with Fr. Joseph Kleppner, pastor and parochial vicar Fr. Chuck Baptiste.

Fourth-year seminarians serving in their parish practicum for the 2000-2001 academic year have received their parish and ministry assignments, reported Rev. Richard Michel, O.S.B., the Seminary’s Director of Field Educa-tion. Assignments are as follows:

Br. Benedict Alva, O.S.B., St. Procopius Abbey, at St. Mary’s Byzantine Catholic Church of Bradenville, Fr. Joseph Borodach, pastor; Br. Nicholas Ast, O.S.B., St. Gregory Abbey, at St. John Parish of Latrobe, Fr. Thomas Lukac, pastor; Br. Kevin Bach-mann, O.S.B., Holy Cross Abbey, at Saint Vincent Seminary, Hispanic Ministry Program, Fr. Kurt J. Belsole, O.S.B., interim rector; William Berkey, Diocese of Greensburg, pastoral year at St. Sebastian Parish of Belle Vernon, Fr. John Cindric, pastor and Fr. Donald Trexler, parochial vicar.

Thomas Burke, Diocese of Pittsburgh, at St. Ferdinand Parish, Cranberry Township, with Fr. John Gallagher, pastor, and parochial vicars Fr. Kevin McKnight and Fr. Joseph Newel; Robert Burns, Diocese of Har-risburg, at St. John the Baptist Parish, Pittsburgh, with Fr. Charles Speicher, pastor and Fr. David Poecking, parochial vicar; Jonas

D. Christal, Archdiocese of Campinas, with the Diocese of Greensburg, Therese Telepak, Associate Director of Youth Forma-tion; Donald Cramer, Diocese of Harrisburg, at St. Regis Parish, Trafford, with Fr. James Tringhese, pastor.

Stuart Crevcoure, Diocese of Tulsa, at St. Bernard Parish, Indiana, with Msgr. William Charnoki, pastor and Fr. Michael Sikon, parochial vicar; Douglas Dorula, Diocese of Greensburg, pastoral year, at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral Parish, Greens-burg, with Fr. Michael Begolly, pastor, Fr. Jonathan Wisneski, and Fr. William Lechnar, parochial vicars; Tien Hung Duong, Diocese of Charlotte, at North American Martyrs Parish, Monroeville, with Fr. Francis Murham-mer, pastor; Anthony Gargotta, Diocese of Pittsburgh, at St. Louise de Marillac Parish, Pittsburgh, with Fr. Thomas Kredel, pastor.

Robert Miller, Diocese of Youngstown, pastoral year, Sts. Peter and Paul Parish, Beaver, Msgr. William Ogrodwski, pastor; Wayne Morris, Diocese of Steubenville, at Holy Name Cathedral Parish, Steubenville, Very Rev. Timothy Shannon, pastor; John Nesbella, Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, at

Fourth-Year Assignments

Academic Dean Elected To

Commission Sr. Cecilia Murphy, R.S.M., Academic

Dean, attended the 42nd Biennial Meeting of The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada which was held in Toronto, Canada, June 17-19, 2000. The mission of the Association “is to promote the improvement and enhancement of theological schools to the benefit of communities of faith and the broader public.“ This Association has functioned as an accrediting agency for theological schools and seminaries since 1936.

At the Biennial Meeting, Sr. Cecilia was elected to the Commission on Accrediting. This body presently has eleven members from seminaries/theological schools and three public representatives. The Commission is the official body of the Association for all accrediting decisions. It reviews the evaluation reports of accreditation visiting committees and makes the final decisions regarding accreditation of its 243 member schools, and other matters related to accreditation.

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Saint Vincent Seminary Administration, Ordination Students, 2000-2001The Saint Vincent Seminary Administration and ordination students for the 2000-2001 academic year are shown in this group

photograph by Emil Kuhar. Pictured are, first row, from left: Christopher Turner, Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston; Donald Cramer, Diocese of Harrisburg; Br. Bartholomew Landry, O.S.B., Saint Bernard Abbey; James Reardon, Diocese of Erie; Rev. Alan Thomas, Dean of Students; Rev. Emmanuel Afunugo, faculty member; Rev. William Fay, Vice Rector; Rev. Kurt J. Belsole, O.S.B., Interim Rector; Sr. Cecilia Murphy, R.S.M., Academic Dean; Rev. Justin M. Matro, O.S.B., Director of Spiritual Life; Tien Hung Duong, Diocese of Charlotte; Terrence O’Connor, Diocese of Pittsburgh; Stephen Cotter, Diocese of Tulsa; Christopher Roux, Diocese of Charlotte.

In the second row are: James Caldwell, Diocese of Tulsa; Paul Clark, Diocese of Harrisburg; Br. Nicholas Ast, O.S.B., St. Gregory’s Abbey; Michael Stumpf, Diocese of Pittsburgh; Br. Gabriel Landis, O.S.B., St. Benedict’s Abbey; Chapin Engler, Diocese of Charlotte; Martin Celuch, Diocese of Youngstown; Ricardo de Silva, Diocese of Charlotte; Mark Van Alstine, Diocese of Savannah; Matthew Kujawinski, Diocese of Erie; David Medina, Diocese of Tulsa; Jonas Christal, Archdiocese of Campinas, Brazil.

In the third row are: Matthew Reese, Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown; Carl Kerkemeyer, Diocese of Tulsa; Br. Lee Yoakam, O.S.B., Saint Vincent Archabbey; Viliamu Emanuele, Diocese of Mandeville, Jamaica; Douglas Ondeck, Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston; Andrew Suelzer, Diocese of Charlotte; Anthony Gargotta, Diocese of Pittsburgh; Samuel Utomi, Archdiocese of Atlanta; David Weikart, Diocese of Youngstown; Robert Burns, Diocese of Harrisburg; Charles McGinnis, Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston; Joseph Ranelli, Diocese of Erie.

In the fourth row are: Wayne Morris, Diocese of Steubenville; Gary Krummert, Diocese of Pittsburgh; Roberto Orellana, Archdiocese of Atlanta; Br. Mark Purcell, O.S.B., Mary, Mother of the Church Abbey; Br. Boniface Hicks, O.S.B., Saint Vincent Archabbey; Br. Anthony Costello, O.S.B., Saint Vincent Archabbey; Alejandro Ayala, Diocese of Charlotte; Luis Reyes, Diocese of Harrisburg; James Fair, Diocese of Harrisburg; John Mulcahy, Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston; Neil Herlihy, Archdiocese of Atlanta; John Matejek, Archdiocese of Atlanta; Richard Holdorf, Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.

In the fifth row are: Greg Wilson, Diocese of Charlotte; John Nesbella, Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown; Brian Small, Archdiocese of Atlanta; Sean Francis, Diocese of Pittsburgh; John Rice, Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston; Br. Cajetan Homick, Saint Vincent Archabbey; David Young, Diocese of Columbus; Michael Zimcosky, Diocese of Greensburg; Anthony Stephens, Diocese of Savannah; Thomas Dagle, Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston; John Kurutz, Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown.

In the sixth row are: Br. Benedict Alva, O.S.B., St. Procopius Abbey; Br. Anthony Sargeant, O.S.B., St. Mary’s Abbey; Stuart Crevcoure, Diocese of Tulsa; Daniel Beaumont, Diocese of Pittsburgh; Br. Thomas Curry, O.S.B., Saint Vincent Archabbey; Christopher Foxhoven, Diocese of Steubenville; Alan Polczynski, Diocese of Greensburg; Terrence Crone, Archdiocese of Atlanta; Steven Fauser, Diocese of Harrisburg; Robert Vular, Diocese of Pittsburgh; Shawn Malarkey, Diocese of Pittsburgh; David Perry, Diocese of Erie; Michael Rothan, Diocese of Harrisburg; Timothy Kozak, Diocese of Steubenville.

In the seventh row are: Matthew McClain, Diocese of Pittsburgh; Peter MacLellan, Diocese of Pittsburgh; Br. Brian Boosel, O.S.B., Saint Vincent Archabbey; Peter Haladej, Diocese of Youngstown; Br. Matthias Marbach, O.S.B., Saint Vincent Archabbey; Clinton Zadroga, Diocese of Pittsburgh; John Atkinson, Diocese of Charlotte; Michael Barrett, Diocese of Steubenville; Alex Andrua, Diocese of Arua, Uganda; David Shaffer, Diocese of Erie; Eric Filmer, Diocese of Savannah; Kevin Poecking, Diocese of Pittsburgh; Mark Weiss, Diocese of Harrisburg; Thomas Burke, Diocese of Pittsburgh.

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Cardinal Arinze’s Visit With Seminarians

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Francis Cardinal Arinze, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, visited the Saint Vincent campus in April to bless the new spires on the Archabbey Basilica and the bell tower. In addition to giving a Eucharistic Retreat, Cardinal Arinze took the time to meet with Saint Vincent Seminarians (below), said Mass in the Seminary Chapel, (top photo and photos to the far left). At left, he met with Saint Vincent Seminary faculty member Fr. Emmanuel Afunugo, left, and with Fr. Celestine Obi, a priest of the Archdiocese of Onitsha, Nigeria, which was where Cardinal Arinze served as Archbishop.

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Catholic theologian, a Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., and the author of A Witness to Hope, the biography of Pope John Paul II.

His commencement speech follows:Father Abbot; distinguished faculty; fellow-

graduates of Saint Vincent Seminary; families and friends of the graduates:

Thank you for honoring me with the invitation to share this commencement with you this evening, and for honoring my work with the gift of a degree.

My first words must be of congratulation to the class of 2000 of Saint Vincent Seminary. Over the past several years you have become participants in a conversation — the living dialogue of theology — which has shaped the civilization of the West, and indeed the civilization of the entire world, for millennia. Too much of our contemporary high culture has forgotten its debt to theology — and, truth to tell, some contemporary theologians have acquiesced in their own cultural marginalization. This forgetfulness, and theology’s occasional acquiescence in it, seem to me profound misreadings of theology’s mission and the theologian’s vocation. For salvation history, the story of God’s action in history, does not run parallel to world history; salvation history is the history of the world, read in its proper depth and against its most ample horizon. Your task, as theologians in the 21st century, will be to help the world to remember its true story — the story whose chapter headings are Creation, Fall, Promise, Prophecy, Incarnation, Redemption, Sanctification, and Glorification.

In that story is found the path to genuine human flourishing.

In that story lies the fulfillment of the human aspiration to freedom.

In that story is the satisfaction of the human longing for the truth.

In the fall of 1995, shortly after his pilgrimage to New York, Brooklyn, and Baltimore, Pope John Paul II asked me what the reaction to his visit had been. I told him that a friend, a native of Texas who was a high-ranking figure in the Southern Baptist Convention, had said to me, “Down where I come from, we say, ‘You folks have finally got yourself a pope who knows how to pope.’” For once, the polyglot John Paul, who speaks eight languages fluently, was utterly baffled — until I explained that in Texan, a unique form of English, “pope” was both a verb and a noun. And then we both laughed.

My Southern Baptist friend was on to some-thing here, of course. We have all seen many, many ways in which this Pope “knows how to

pope”: to be an agent of evangelization, a catalyst for change, a voice of justice for the voiceless, a bridge across chasms of historic misunderstanding and distrust, a witness to hope. The question my friend’s remark specifi-cally poses for us here today is, what does this Pope who knows “how to pope” have to teach us about the vocation of theology in the 21st century?

I would suggest there are four lessons for theology to be gleaned from the pontificate of John Paul II.

The first lesson is that doctrine is liberating.In the biblical view of reality, truth binds and

frees at the same time. This is a difficult notion for our contemporary culture to grasp. For the better part of two generations now, our culture has been dominated by the idea of freedom as personal autonomy — “I did it my way,” as Frank Sinatra sang, in the theme song of this ultimately degrading concept of freedom. If, as theologians, we are to help the world recover its true story, we must help the world enlarge its concept of freedom, linking freedom to the liberating power of the truth.

And this means reminding ourselves of the liberating power of doctrine.

It has been said thousands of times before, but it bears saying again: too much of the theological debate today is conducted through the essentially politically and analytically sterile categories of “liberal” and “conservative” approaches to doctrine. These are, we must insist, wholly inappropriate categories for thinking through ancient and complex religious traditions. No one asks whether the Dalai Lama

is a “liberal” or a “conservative” Buddhist. Why? Because we instinctively understand that these are the wrong categories to apply to this subtle, learned man and the tradition he represents. The same self-denying ordinance should be applied to contemporary Christian life and the nature of Christian doctrine.

The issue here is not simply one of semantic hygiene. Theology parsed according to these defective criteria — theology that asks whether a given position is “liberal” or “conservative” — distorts the very thing it tries to grasp, for it misses the relationship between tradition and innovation, the static and the dynamic, in the life of the Church. What can seem static in the Great Tradition of Christianity in fact reflects the Church’s internal dynamism and creates the impetus for the unfolding of new, dynamic elements in Christian life. What can seem dead tradition is in fact the engine of development and innovation. Let me take three examples.

The first is Holy Scripture. We know that the canon of Scripture is fixed. But the fact that the Church does not add new books to the canon of Scripture does not make Scripture a dead letter. Rather, the canon insures that what is truly the Word of God can be received freshly and in its integrity by every generation of believers, inviting them to a deeper faith through the mediation of the Bible.

Then there is the Church’s sacramental system. The sacraments are not simply tradi-tional rituals, performed because previous generations performed them before us. Rather, the sacraments enable each new generation of Christians to experience the great mysteries of faith — the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord — anew. Every day, the sacraments remind every generation of Christians that just on the far side of the ordinary — water, salt, and oil; bread and wine; marital love and fidelity —lies the extraordinary reality of a God who so loved the world He created that He entered that world, in His Son, to redirect the world’s history back toward its true destiny, which is eternal life within the light and love of the Trinity.

Finally, there is the matter of authority. The Church does not have structures of pastoral authority in order to impede human creativity. Rather, authority in the Church exists to insure that Christians, including theologians, do not settle for mediocrity. Authority in the Church is meant to help all of us hold ourselves accountable to the one supreme criterion of faith, the living Christ. This is the great service that pastoral authority does for theology, and theologians should acknowledge it as such. (1)

Text of Dr. George Weigel’s Commencement Talk(Continued from Page 1)


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All of which means that one of your tasks as theologians of the 21st century will be to retrieve and renew the concept of tradition. In the distinctively Christian understanding of the term, “tradition,” which from its Latin root, traditio, means “handing on,” begins inside the very life of God the Holy Trinity. (2) That “handing-on” — that radical self-giving that mysteriously enhances both giver and receiver — took flesh in the life of Christ and continues in the Church through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Thus a venerable formula distinguishes between tradition, the living faith of the dead, and traditionalism, the dead faith of the living. In the theological creativity of John Paul II —in his groundbreaking “theology of the body,” in his social doctrine, in his concept of the “Marian Church” of disciples that makes possible and makes sense of the Petrine Church of jurisdiction and office, in his analysis of the life issues crucial for the human future — we may see at work innovative and compelling teaching, rooted in tradition, reminding the world of the story it has too often forgotten and creating the founda-tions for a springtime of evangelization.

As theologians for the 21st century, the first lesson we might well learn from John Paul II is that we ought to grasp, welcome, and convey to our contemporaries the liberating power of doctrine. Doctrine is not excess baggage weighing us down on our journey of faith. Doctrine is the vehicle that enables the journey to take place.

The second lesson for theology from this Pope who knows “how to pope” is that we must learn once again to do theology on our knees, not simply at our desks or in our libraries.

During his fourteen years as archbishop of Kraków, Karol Wojtyla did his intellectual work in the chapel of his residence, at a table set up before the Blessed Sacrament. It was a habit he brought with him to Rome. For more than twenty-one years, John Paul II has done much of his intellectual work in the chapel of the papal apartment. That is where he crafts his homilies, his audience addresses, his magisterium. That, he believes, is where theology is best done, for theology, in the fullest sense of the term, is another way to “practice the presence.”

Given the circumstances of our lives, not all of us can do theology before the Blessed Sacrament. But we can always do theology, self-consciously, in the presence of the Lord. If we are to do this, though, we must recognize another ancient truth: namely, that theology does not take a neutral standpoint, looking at the Church and its tradition from “outside,” as if examining a specimen through a window.

Theology in the proper vocational sense of the term is always done within the community of faith. And while theology may have multiple audiences, including the world of secular scholarship, theology’s primary audience must always be the community of believers, the Church. Otherwise, theology ceases to be theology and becomes a form of religious studies. Religious studies, to be sure, have their own integrity and importance, and there is much that theology can learn from them. But religious studies must not be confused with the vocation of the theologian.

To do theology “on our knees,” to “practice the presence” while doing theology, does not mean abandoning critical intelligence. Rather, it means grasping again, like the doctors of the Church, that true theology proceeds in a dialectic between critical intelligence and a reverent reception of the Great Tradition. The resolution of that dialectic, under grace, is wisdom.

To participate in this dialectic requires, of course, that we understand the tradition before we begin deconstructing it. In an important address to the faculty and students of the Pontifical Gregorian University on December 15, 1979, John Paul II enthusiastically welcomed theology’s new dialogue with contemporary science and modern philosophy, arguing that the signature phrase of his pontificate — ”Be not afraid!”— applied to what he termed “the great movements of contemporary thought.” Whatever deepened our understanding of the “whole truth” about humanity and its world, deepens our understanding of Christ, the redeemer of the world, he suggested. Yet genuine theological development in dialogue with modernity, the Pope continued, has to be based on a “responsible assimilation of the patrimony” of Christian wisdom. A good theological education, he implied, does not begin with critically dismantling the tradition. It

begins with learning the tradition. That is a lesson I would urge you to apply as you introduce others to the vocation of the theologian.

To insist on this ongoing, prayerful dialogue with the Lord as essential to the theologian’s task is more than a methodological consideration. Our times have given us too many examples of what happens when the dialect between a reverent and prayerful reception of tradition and critical intelligence breaks down, and the tradition is regarded as simply another tool in the theologian’s kit-box, of no greater importance than any other. One of the most frightening of those examples is that of the Deutschechristen, those German Christians who sold the birthright of the Great Tradition for the lethal mess of pottage that was Nazi ideology. As a Deutschechristen pastor once put it, “For us, what Jesus said is not decisive. And Church councils, too, err and have erred. We gladly let ourselves be labeled heretics for this knowledge, for it has always been heretics that have saved the Church’s life.” In plain fact, of course, it was not the Deutschechristen who “saved” the Church during the Third Reich, but theologically astute witnesses like Dietrich Bonhoeffer who exemplified the dialectic of the Great Tradition and critical, contemporary intelligence. And if that suggests that part of the theologian’s vocation must always be the risk of martyrdom, of giving full and public witness to the truths of the faith, however uncomfortable they may be, then that, too, is something to reflect upon as we welcome new members to the community of theologians.

The third thing we learn, as theologians, from this Pope who “knows how to pope” is that theology today must be ecumenical in its sensibility. I use the word “ecumenical” here in several senses.

Theologians must practice what the great Russian Orthodox theologian, Father Georges

(Continued from Page 14)

Commencement Talk

Taking part in the Seminary’s 154th annual commencement were, from left, Sr. Cecilia Murphy, R.S.M., Seminary Academic Dean; Dr. John C. Marous, Jr., Chairman, Seminary Board of Regents; Dr. George Weigel, recipient of an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree; Archabbot Douglas R. Nowicki, O.S.B., Seminary Chancellor; Very Rev. Thomas P. Acklin, O.S.B., Seminary Rector; and Rev. William J. Fay, Seminary Vice Rector.


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Thirty-Seven Degrees Awarded at Seminary’s Annual Commencement

Thirty-seven degrees were awarded at Saint Vincent Seminary’s 154th annual com-mencement ceremony held Friday, May 12, at Saint Vincent Archabbey Basilica. One student received dual master’s degrees.

The Archabbot and Chancellor of Saint Vincent, the Rt. Rev. Douglas R. Nowicki, O.S.B., presided at the Solemn Vespers. Archabbot Douglas conferred the degrees on the candidates who were presented by Saint Vincent Seminary Rector, the Very Rev. Thomas P. Acklin, O.S.B., and given academic hoods by Seminary Academic Dean, Sister Cecilia Murphy, R.S.M.

Mr. George S. Weigel, Jr., received an

honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, in recognition of his monumental contribution to the understanding of the role of religion in public life. Mr. Weigel is a Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., and a Roman Catholic theologian. He is one of America’s leading commentators on religion and public life, and the author of Witness to Hope, the biography of Pope John Paul II, and thirteen other books. His memberships include the Board of Directors of the Institute of Religion and Democracy, The Jerusalem Committee, and the Council of Foreign Relations.

Receiving the Master of Divinity degree were Br. Benedict Alva, O.S.B., Saint Procopius Abbey, Lisle, Illinois, with high honor; Br. Nicholas Ast, O.S.B., St. Gregory Abbey, Shawnee, Oklahoma, with highest honor; Br. Kevin Bachmann, O.S.B., Holy Cross Abbey, Cañon City, Colorado, with high honor; Br. William D. Benthall, O.S.B., Saint Vincent Archabbey, with honor; William G. Berkey, Diocese of Greensburg; David Thomas Brzoska, Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, with

Thirty-seven degrees were awarded at the Seminary’s annual commencement on May 12. Taking part in the ceremonies were, front row, from left: Sr. Cecilia Murphy, R.S.M., Seminary Academic Dean; Tien Hung Duong, Diocese of Charlotte; Terrence O’Connor, Diocese of Pittsburgh; Robert Vular, Diocese of Pittsburgh; Richard Tomkosky, Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown; Dr. John C. Marous, Jr., Chairman, Seminary Board of Regents; Archabbot Douglas R. Nowicki, O.S.B., Seminary Chancellor; Very Rev. Thomas P. Acklin, Seminary Rector; James Reardon, Diocese of Erie; Anthony Gargotta, Diocese of Pittsburgh; Robert Burns, Diocese of Harrisburg; Donald Cramer, Diocese of Harrisburg. In the second row are, from left: William Berkey, Diocese of Greensburg; Br. Philip M. Kanfush, Saint Vincent Archabbey; Roberto Orellana, Archdiocese of Atlanta; Jonas Christal, Archdiocese of Campinas; Gregory Montagna, Saint Vincent Archabbey; David Perry, Dioese of Erie; Michael Stumpf, Diocese of Pittsburgh; Br. Nicholas Ast, O.S.B., St. Gregory’s Abbey; Br. Lee R. Yoakam, O.S.B., Saint Vincent Archabbey; Rev. William Fay, Seminary Vice Rector. Third row, from left: John Nesbella, Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown; Wayne Morris, Diocese of Steubenville; Br. William Benthall, O.S.B., Saint Vincent Archabbey; Gregory Wilson, Diocese of Charleston; Kathleen Wawrzeniak; Br. Brendan Rolling, O.S.B., St. Benedict’s Abbey; Clinton Zadroga, Diocese of Pittsburgh; David Brzoska, Diocese of Charlotte. Fourth row, from left: Matthew L. McKenzie; Robert Miller, Diocese of Youngstown; James M. Stover, Diocese of Pittsburgh; Thomas J. Burke, Diocese of Pittsburgh; Br. Kevin Bachmann, O.S.B., Holy Cross Abbey; Douglas Dorula, Diocese of Greensburg; Stuart Crevcoure, Diocese of Tulsa.


17


Florovsky, once called the “ecumenism of time.” The conversation of theology today must include, as honored partners, the master theologians of the past. For truth is not confined by the boundaries of chronology, and there is much to be learned today from those who have practiced the vocation of theology in the past, including the very distant past. As the Second Vatican Council understood well, aggiornamento, “updating,” must always proceed from ressourcement, a return to the sources of Christian wisdom in Scripture, the Fathers, and the medieval masters. The ecumenism of time promotes a truly open theological conversation that is safeguarded from the cult of the contemporary.

Catholic theologians today must practice ecumenical theology in the specific sense of theological dialogue with Christians of other Churches and ecclesial communities. In doing so, we not only learn from each other, important as that is. We also seek to give ever more ample visible form to the unity which Christ bequeathed to his Church, and we do that by a deeper mutual penetration of the truth which Christ also left his Church.

As Pope John Paul II has demonstrated time and again, most recently on his epic pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Catholic theology today must also take account of its roots in the Hebrew Bible, of Christianity’s common moral border with the Jewish people, and of Christianity’s divinely-mandated engagement with living Judaism, the people of the covenant.

And Catholic theologians must be in active conversation with followers of other great world religions, in the confidence that all truths point to the one Truth, who is God. The world doubts that the most deeply-held convictions of human beings can be put into genuine conversation; the world suspects that the encounter between those convictions can only lead to conflict. Theology in the 21st century must demonstrate how a commitment to the truth is also and always a commitment to an open and respectful conversation with others. In doing so, it will be doing far more than observing the academic proprieties; it will be helping the world recover a crucial lost part of its story.

Finally, we learn from John Paul II that the theological vocation is a vocation to holiness. True theology, the Pope told the Gregorian University in 1979, is an encounter with Christ, and genuine theological teaching is a way to “convey to the young a living experience of him.” Theology does not, in other words, exist for itself; it exists for the Church and for the “formation of Christians.” That, the Pope


Commencement Addresscontinued, was why theologians should do their “work for truth courageously and openly, free of every prejudice and pinching narrowness of mind.” What we ought to love, the Pope concluded, is not our own skills, formidable as they may or may not be, but what St. Thomas Aquinas called the “excellence of truth.” That is the path to sanctity for the theologian, who shares in the universal call to holiness and who is charged with the responsibility of helping lead others to holiness.

In reminding the Church of the liberating nature of doctrine, the theologians of the 21st century will both serve the household of faith and enable the modern world — and whatever is coming after the “modern world” —to understand that genuine freedom is always ordered to truth and finds its fulfillment in genuine human flourishing.

In doing our work “on our knees,” the theologians of the 21st century will emulate the Master who came not to be served but to serve, and will remind the world that self-giving, not self-assertion, is the royal road to human happiness.

In pursuing the ecumenism of time, the Christian ecumenical dialogue, the essential conversation with living Judaism and the encounter with the other great world religions, the theologians of the 21st century will remind the world that tolerance means the engagement of differences in respectful dialogue, not the avoidance of differences or the acceptance of a public arena shorn of religiously-grounded moral convictions.

And in pursuing the theologian’s vocation as a means to holiness, the theologians of the 21st century will sanctify both the Church and the world. The world may have forgotten its story. But it remains, nonetheless, a world that is, in the words of Gerard Manley Hopkins, “charged with the grandeur of God” — a world that is yearning for the truth that theologians are uniquely positioned to offer it.

My fellow-alumni of Saint Vincent Seminary, let us be messengers and servants of that truth.

Godspeed on your vocational journey.

Footnotes

(1) On these points, see Hans Urs von Balthasar, In the Fullness of Faith: On the Centrality of the Distinctively Catholic (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1988), pp. 55-57.

(2) See Hans Urs von Balthasar, Theo-Drama IV: The Action (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1994), pp. 92-93.

highest honor; Thomas Joseph Burke, Diocese of Pittsburgh; Robert David Burns, Jr., Diocese of Harrisburg; Donald William Cramer II, Diocese of Harrisburg, with honor; Douglas Edward Dorula, Diocese of Greensburg; Tien Hung Duong, Diocese of Charlotte, with honor; Anthony Gargotta, Diocese of Pittsburgh; Br. Philip Michael Kanfush III, O.S.B., Saint Vincent Archab-bey, with high honor; Robert Michael Miller, Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio; Gregory Mon-tagna, with high honor; Wayne Edward Morris, Diocese of Steubenville, Ohio; John K. Nesbella, Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, with honor; Terrence Parker O’Connor, Diocese of Pittsburgh, with high honor; Roberto A. Orellana, Archdiocese of Atlanta, Georgia; David A. Perry, Jr., Diocese of Erie, with honor; James A. Rear-don, Diocese of Erie; Br. Brendan Paul Rolling, O.S.B., St. Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison, Kansas, with honor; James M. Stover, Diocese of Pittsburgh; Robert John Vular, Diocese of Pittsburgh and Br. Lee R. Yoakam, O.S.B., Saint Vincent Archabbey, with honor.

Receiving the Master of Arts degree were Jonas Duarte Christal, Archdiocese of Campinas, Brazil, with honor; Stuart Crevcoure, Diocese of Tulsa, Oklahoma, with highest honor; Anthony Gargotta, Diocese of Pittsburgh; Matthew L. McKenzie of Bedford, with highest honor; Michael J. Stumpf, Diocese of Pittsburgh, with honor; Gregory B. Wilson, Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina, with honor and Clinton Paul Zadroga, Diocese of Pittsburgh.

Awarded Master of Religious Education degrees were Sr. Mina D’Costa of West Bengal, India, with honor; Richard Brian Tomkosky, Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, with high honor and Kathleen Ann Wawrze-niak, North Huntingdon, with high honor.

Students receiving academic awards were Br. Brendan Rolling, O.S.B., Honorable Judge Bernard F. Scherer Award; Stuart Crevcoure, American Bible Society Award; Anthony Gargotta, Diakonia Award, a service award presented annuallly at com-mencement; and Br. Benedict Alva, O.S.B., Omer U. Kline Homiletics Award, for excel-lence in preaching.


Degrees Awarded;

Honors Given

18


Tribute, Memorial GiftsTo give a tribute or memorial

gift, please make a donation to Saint Vincent Seminary in honor of or in memory of a friend, col-league or family member. Dona-tions should be mailed to Mr. William P. Malloy in the Seminary Development Office, 300 Fraser Purchase Road, Latrobe, Pa., 15650-2690, 724-532-6740.

Donors from March 1, 2000, to September 30, 2000, include:

IN HONOR OF:REV. CARL J. GENTILE

Mr. and Mrs. Clifton C. Caldwell REV. PHILIP M. KANFUSH, O.S.B.

The Tovey FamilyREV. OMER U. KLINE, O.S.B.

Mr. William T. GasperMR. AND MRS. WILLIAM KRAYER

Mrs. Helen KrummertMR. GARY W. KRUMMERT

Mrs. Helen KrummertREV. JOSEPH C. LINCK

Ms. Clare GodtDR. AND MRS. JOHN C. MAROUS, JR.

Mrs. Kathleen M. WelshREV. JAMES R. O'BRIEN

Mrs. Margaret FortierREV. NICHOLAS A. PESANKA

Robert and Rhonda LuczakMR. JOSEPH C. PEVARNIK

Sister Cecilia Murphy, R.S.M.Mark, Shannon, Taylor and ChloePevarnik

MRS. BERNIE PEVARNIKSister Cecilia Murphy, R.S.M.Mark, Shannon, Taylor and ChloePevarnik

MR. JOSEPH R. PEVARNIKMark, Shannon, Taylor and ChloePevarnik

REV. ADRIAN C. H. PLEUS Mr. Paul E. Engsberg

ALL SEMINARIANS, ESPECIALLY THOSE FROM SLOVAKIA

Mr. and Mrs. Emerick A. KravecREV. FLAVIAN G. YELINKO, O.S.B.

John and Dorothy Emerick

IN MEMORY OF:+MRS. LUCILLE ACKLIN

Ms. Margaret M. Lyday+MR. THOMAS ACKLIN

Mr. and Mrs. James F. AcklinMr. John L. AcklinMr. and Mrs. Emmanuel J. Answine

Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence B. AponeMr. and Mrs. John BarchiesiMr. John W. BobinskiMr. and Mrs. Louis F. BowdenMr. and Mrs. James A. CarasellaMrs. Dale CherryMiss Lynne M. ClearyMr. and Mrs. Robert D. ClearyMr. and Mrs. Richard R. DenaroMr. and Mrs. Anthony DominickMr. and Mrs. Frank DominickMr. and Mrs. Louis H. DominickMr. and Mrs. John F. DonlonMr. and Mrs. Richard A. FarcoskyMr. and Mrs. Mario A. FerrettiMs. Elizabeth M. GallagherMrs. Frances M. GigliottiMr. and Mrs. Edward P. HagerMrs. Carmella HamerskiDr. and Mrs. John M. HanchinMr. and Mrs. Thomas L. KocherMr. and Mrs. Stephen P. KosmoRev. Thomas J. KramMs. Teresa KrivacsyMs. Grace D. LamsamRev. Joseph R. LempMs. Margaret M. LydayMr. and Mrs. Joseph D. MarnellMrs. Alva F. MaurerMs. Anna Marie McFeeleyMr. and Mrs. Wesley J. MorarSister Cecilia Murphy, R.S.M.Ms. Myra W. NoelMr. and Mrs. Albert J. Novak, Jr.Ms. Patricia O'RourkeMr. Charles E. Paul, Jr.Miss Dorothy M. PetroskyMr. and Mrs. Joseph C. PevarnikMr. and Mrs. David W. RiderMr. and Mrs. William C. RitzMs. Corinne R. RusbosinMr. John J. SlivoskeyMs. Vera C. SoriceMs. Josephine StankoDr. and Mrs. George E. SweeneyMr. John M. SzalewiczMr. and Mrs. Louis R. ToveyMr. and Mrs. James J. VargoMs. Rose Marie VolpeMs. Maria von MickwitzMr. and Mrs. Gene R. YanityMr. and Mrs. Anthony M. Zabkar, Jr.Rev. Theodore P. ZabowskiMs. Mary Diane Zelenak

+DARLENE DALEY BENSONMr. and Mrs. James S. Daley

+MARCELLA CANOMr. and Mrs. Walter Trygar

+MR. LOUIS H. CERASOMr. and Mrs. John R. Grayson

+MOST REV. WILLIAM G. CONNAREMs. Anna Marie McFeeley

+JUAN-CARLOS CORREAMr. and Mrs. Hector Lopez

+MR. FRANK CUDNIKMs. Stella M. Cudnik

+EUGENE D'EGIDIOMr. John DeGidio

+REV. JOHN A. DOMPKAMr. Joseph C. Cirelli

+RT. REV. EGBERT H. DONOVAN, O.S.B.Mr. Wendel B. Kleehammer

+PAUL DUGGANMrs. Helen M. Duggan

+AMANDA EHRENSBERGERMr. and Mrs. Leo Ehrensberger

+HANNA RAE ENSWORTHMr. and Mrs. Philip M. Kanfush, Jr.

+UNCLE EUGENEMrs. Arlene M. Lucchesi

+PAMELA JO FASANOMr. and Mrs. Salvatore Fasano

+ANTHONY AND ELISA FAULKMarie and Arthur Miltenberger

+ROSE A. FREIDHOFFMr. Francis H. Freidhoff

+REV. ALFRED GROTZINGER, O.S.B.Saint Gregory Mens ClubSaint Gregory the Great Women's ClubMrs. Charlotte Spino

+ERNEST AND ELLA HARTSHORNEMs. Helena R. Hartshorne

+WALTER B. HOBARTMr. Walter B. Hobart, Jr.

+DONALD F. HOLDORF, JR.Mrs. Anita Holdorf

+MRS. ROSEMARY KRAM HOWLEYSister Barbara Ann Moravec,

O.C.D.+REV. ISAAC JACOB, O.S.B.

Dr. Nicholas A. Patricca+EDWARD KELLY

Mrs. Mary E. Broad+THERESA M. KEMPKA

Jay and Suzanne Senko+MR. AND MRS. STEVE J. KOSMO

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen P. Kosmo+ROBERT A. MCFEELEY

Ms. Anna Marie McFeeley+SISTER PERPETUA MURPHY, S.C.

Mrs. Janet AngellSister Mary Bigley, R.S.M.Mrs. Carmella HamerskiMr. and Mrs. James F. KosierMrs. Wendy Kronk


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New Liturgical Artwork Installed In Chapel

This summer two new pieces of liturgical artwork were added to the Saint Gregory Chapel. Both the crucifix and the statue of the Sorrowful Virgin were sculpted by Norbert and Victoria Koehn, the same artists who created the sanctuary furniture in the chapel as well as the new art in the Basilica. The crucifix and the statue of Mary were designed to work together, according to Father Vincent de Paul Crosby, O.S.B., Director of Liturgical Environment and Art for Saint Vincent Archabbey. Mary, the sorrowful mother, is gazing at the Cross and her crucified son.

Dr. Scott Hahn At Seminary For

Fall SemesterDr. Scott Hahn, Professor of Theology

and Scripture at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, is teaching at Saint Vincent Seminary for the fall semester.

Dr. Hahn earned his Doctorate in Systematic Theology, Summa Cum Laude, in 1995 from Marquette University; a Master of Divinity Degree, Summa Cum Laude, from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in 1982; and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theology, Philosphy and Economics, Magna Cum Laude, from Grove City College in 1979.

He is the author of The Lamb’s Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth, published in 1999; A Father Who Keeps His Promises: God’s Covenant Love in Scripture, 1998 and co-author of Rome Sweet Home: Our Journey Into Catholicism, with Kimberly Hahn, published in 1993. Dr. Hahn was an ordained Presbyterian pastor until he entered the Roman Catholic Church in 1986. His wife entered the church in 1990. Rome Sweet Home details their conversion. He is coeditor of Catholic for a Reason: Scripture and the Mystery of the Family of God, published in 1998. His doctoral disssertation, “Kinship by Covenant: A Biblical Theological Analysis of Covenant Types and Texts in the Old and New Testaments,” was published in 1995.

Dr. Hahn has published numerous articles in Scripture Matters, Antiphon, Our Sunday Visitor, New Covenant, Lay Witness, Inside the Vatican, Bulletin of Applied Biblical Studies, Encyclopedia of Catholic Doctrine, and many other publications.

His professional affiliations include the Society of Biblical Literature, the Catholic Biblical Association, Catholic Theological

Society of America and the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars.

Currently serving as President of the Mis-sionaries of Faith Foundation, San Diego, California, Dr. Hahn is also general editor of the Ignatius Study Bible and a founder and Director of The Institute of Applied Biblical Studies, Steubenville. Prior to arriving at Franciscan University in 1990, he served as Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at the College of St. Francis, Joliet, Illinois (1987-1990); guest Instructor in Theology at Marquette University (1986-1987); a teaching assistant in the Theology Department at Marquette

(1985-1987); Assistant to the President at Grove City College (1983-1985); Guest Instructor in Religion and Philosophy at Grove City (1983-1985); Pastoral Associate at the College and Youth Ministry, Calvary Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Grove City (1983-1985); Assistant Professor in the Graduate Program in Theology at Dominion Theological Institute, Washington, D.C., (1982-1983); Associate Pastor and Teaching Elder at Trinity Presbyte-rian Church, Fairfax, Virginia (1982-1983) and Instructor of Theology, Philosophy and Economics at Fairfax Christian High School (1982-1983).

Mrs. Thomas LuttnerMs. Beth MurphyMrs. Patty NoelMr. and Mrs. Albert J. Novak, Jr.Mrs. Marcie Taylor

+REV. ANSELM A. OBER, O.S.B.Mr. and Mrs. Eduardo E. DeLeonSaint Gregory the Great Women'sClub

+STEPHEN RAY PATTERSONMrs. Anita Holdorf

+MR. AND MRS. STEVE POVIRK Mr. and Mrs. Stephen P. Kosmo

+MR. JOHN F. POWROZNIKMrs. Rita Powroznik-Traeger

+SAMUEL P. ROBERTOMr. and Mrs. Gil Bertetto Mr. and Mrs. Calvin DeemerMr. and Mrs. Richard KardosMr. and Mrs. Walter KaminskiMr. and Mrs. Lou KasanickyMr. and Mrs. Lou LokoskyMiss Jerry MichelaMr. and Mrs. Carmine PolicicchioMr. and Mrs. Frank PolicicchioMrs. Jean D. SabatoMr. and Mrs. Anthony ScaccimerraMr. and Mrs. Andy Yansky

+JOSEPH AND MARGARET SELLEMrs. Bertha Anderson

+MAX AND ESTHER SESTILIMr. Ronald J. Sestili

+JAMES F. SPINOMr. and Mrs. Mario J. Ferretti

+REV. DANIEL J. SZCZYGIELMrs. Rita Powroznik-Traeger

+MR. AND MRS. JOSEPH SZCZ-YGIEL

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen P. Kosmo+RICARDO VELASQUEZ

Mr. and Mrs. Hector Lopez+DECEASED MEMBERS OF THE WARNOCK, GILANDI AND SCOTT FAMILIES

Rev. Damian J. Warnock, O.S.B.

Tribute, Memorial Gifts(Continued from Page 18)

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“The challenges the diocesan church, the bishop and individual priests face as a result of a reduction in the number of vocations to the priesthood should be considered an opportunity,” Pittsburgh Catholic staff writer Chuck Moody wrote while covering the Diocese of Pittsburgh’s annual spring clergy convocation. The words were attributed to Seminary Rector Father Thomas P. Acklin, O.S.B., in a talk entitled “The Priest as Person: Physical, Intellectual, Psychological and Spiritual Well Being,” given April 4 and 5 at St. Paul Seminary, Crafton.

“The opportunity is that we can enter more deeply into Christ’s life and let Christ more powerfully be the course of the energy of the resources that we need to continue to carry out his work,” Father Thomas said. “For the priests, that means very specifically that it’s important to take an approach by which they seek their own physical, intellectual, psychological and spiritual renewal. Not simply by trying to make this or that change in their lives. But we as priests seek to undergo the deepest possible renewal by giving ourselves totally over to Christ.”

Of the diocesan church, Father Thomas said, “We need to plan. We need to count heads in terms of how many priests are avail-able, how much we have in terms of resources, and so forth. But ultimately it is through Christ that the church has all of the life and resources that she needs. The more deeply we’re in touch with that, the more powerfully we will be able to be on fire with the Lord.”

* * * * *Saint Vincent Seminary graduate Bishop

John B. McDowell, retired Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, an influ-ential Catholic school leader in the diocese for the past 50 years, examines the issues surrounding today’s education climate in his latest book, Catholic Schools, Public Education and American Culture. The book was published recently by Our Sunday Visitor and coverage of the new book was provided in the May 19, 2000, edition of the Pittsburgh Catholic.

The article by staff writer John Franko noted that Bishop McDowell laments the fact that “today’s public education has sold out on key ideals and values. Religion, considered an integral part of any culture, has been sold short.

‘(The children) are educated in a moral vacuum,’ he said. ‘There is absolutely nothing taught them.’

“The bishop points out that contributions by Catholic education has had a marked impact on the formation of the country in spite of considerable opposition. Obstacles have arisen, he noted, from both civil court

Rev. Eric J. Hill of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, and Mrs. Norma P. Scherer enjoyed the annual dinner for fourth-year theologians held this spring at Saint Vincent Seminary. Mrs. Scherer’s husband, Judge Bernard F. Scherer, who died on April 18, 1998, taught Church History at Saint Vincent Seminary and was an ardent supporter of the Seminary.

decisions and from bigotry, which those who embrace the faith have had to endure.

“‘Give the kids religion,’ he said. ‘That’s what they need. They need some kind of moral values’.”

The book is available at Kirner’s

in Pittsburgh and other regional bookstores for $9.50.

* * * * *Br. Elliott C. Maloney, O.S.B., com-

pleted a seven week study trip to Latin America this past summer in order to learn more about the communal reading of the Bible widely practiced there. He visited seminaries, monasteries, and a wide variety of educational centers in Mexico, Venezuela and Brazil,

participating in ecclesial base communities, adult study groups, charismatic prayer groups, facilitating married couples group Bible study, and participating in interreligious conferences. He had conversations with leaders of all kinds of Bible study, from seminary professors and internationally known lecturers to the facilita-tors of nonliterate farm worker and urban slum groups. He also consulted theological libraries in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Cuautatlan in Mexico, Valencia and Caracas in Venezuela, and Campinas, Vinhedo, Sumaré and São Paulo in Brazil. Br. Elliott has requested release time to begin a popu-lar book which will incorporate his Latin American Bible study of the past three years.

* * * * *Father Alan E.

Thomas, Dean of Stu-dents at Saint Vincent Seminary, was one of the featured speakers at the Bishop’s Night for Vocations, sponsored by the Serra Clubs of Cambria County and Altoona on May 18 in Loretto. The theme for the evening, hosted by Bishop Joseph V. Adamec, was “God’s Call Opens Our Hearts to Loving Service.”

Father Alan is also the diocesan director of ongoing clergy formation for the Diocese of

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Altoona-Johnstown.* * * * *

The Catholic Witness of June 2 and 16, 2000, reported on the June 3 ordination of David Hereshko of St. Joan of Arc Parish, Hershey. Father Hereshko’s first assignment is as parochial vicar at St. John Neumann Parish, Lancaster.

* * * * *Newly-ordained Rev. Thomas F. Hamm

Jr., has been assigned as parochial vicar to St. Sylvester Church, Woodsfield; St. Joseph Church, Burkhart; St. John the Baptist Church, Miltonsburg and St. John Bosco Mission, Sardis, all in the Diocese of Steubenville, Ohio.

He was ordained by Bishop Gilbert I. Sheldon on May 27, 2000.

In an article in the Steubenville Register prior to his ordination, he told writer Pat DeFrancis that he had felt the call to become a priest for a “very long time,” even as a child, although it was not until late 1994 or early 1995 that he decided to become one. In the interim he had pursued studies in biology, physics and neuroscience. Prior to his ordination he said, “I think a parish priest has to be a man of prayer, a man of love, and someone who is very dedicated in the sense of being willing to be there for his people when needed. The parish priest still should visit the sick and have a ministry of presence and be able to allow himself to be an instrument of God.”

* * * * *“I have a spiritual devotion to the Blessed

Mother. I believe it was her intercession that led me to this point,” said Rev. Richard Tomkosky, ordained in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown on May 27 by Bishop Joseph V. Adamec.The day was also the feast day of Mary, Mother of the Church. He has been assigned as parochial vicar at Holy Name Parish, Ebensburg.

* * * * *The Catholic News & Herald, diocesan

newspaper of the Charlotte, North Carolina, diocese, noted two Saint Vincent Seminary graduates among the seven ordained during a history-making Mass on June 3, 2000. The group ordained by Bishop William G. Curlin was the largest number of priests to be ordained in the diocese at one time.

Bishop Curlin noted that the milestone was significant in a region where Catholics, though composing just three percent of the general population, are rapidly growing in number.

Ordained in a multi-ethnic liturgy with readings, prayers and hymns in Spanish, Vietnamese, English and Latin, were Rev. David Brzoska and Rev. Luis Osorio.

Father Brzoska, who held various positions with a manufacturer of disposable hospital plastics, has a degree in biochemistry from

Penn State University. Transferred to North Carolina through his job he became involved with parish work at St. Aloysius Church in Hickory, where he discerned his vocation. He is now serving at St. Mark Church in Huntersville.

Father Osorio, a native of Colombia, South America, has a bachelor’s degree in political economics and worked in the newspaper, government and factory fields. When his sister moved to Statesville, North Carolina, he also immigrated and became acquainted with a Statesville pastor, where he began to work with Hispanic ministry and began to consider the priesthood. He hopes to help the diocese in the areas of evangelization and inculturation as he begins his life as parochial vicar of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Monroe.

Bishop Curlin also ordained Tien Hung Duong, a Saint Vincent seminarian, and his brother, Duc Duong, who attends a seminary in Washington, D.C., to the transitional diaconate on June 17.

* * * * *James Stover, Joseph Codori and

Thomas Lewandowski were ordained to the priesthood on June 24 by Pittsburgh Bishop Donald W. Wuerl. A special supplement to the Pittsburgh Catholic included biographies and photos of the newly-ordained.

Father Codori told writer John Franko that a pilgrimage to a Marian shrine in 1990 sparked

his journey to the priesthood. A civil engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, he began attending Mass daily and was involved with several church-related groups before the call persisted and he eventually entered the seminary. He is assigned to St. Thomas More Parish, Bethel Park.

Working as a cross country truck driver, Father Lewandowski repeatedly heard the call to the priesthood and came to a greater sense of God during that time. He is at St. Basil in Carrick.

Father Stover graduated from North Catho-lic High School in 1991 and a priest asked him to consider exploring the seminary for a year. That turned into nine years of education and his recent ordination. His experience as a chaplain candidate at a U.S. Air Force base in Germany in 1996 helped shape his views of ministry. He said, “I saw God through the people I’d encountered. Instead of looking for God in the place I thought He ought to be, I saw Him where he was.” He is assigned to St. Sebastian in Ross Township.

* * * * *Greensburg Bishop Anthony G. Bosco

ordained Saint Vincent Benedictines Philip M. Kanfush and Matthew T. Laffey to the priesthood on May 20 at the Archabbey Basilica. Father Philip is parochial vicar at Saint Vincent Basilica Parish, while Father Matthew is parochial vicar at Queen of the World Parish, St. Marys.

Rev. Thony R. Jean of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, invited the Johns family to the fourth-year dinner of Saint Vincent Seminary, held this past spring. Father Thony, who was ordained June 3, made many friends throughout the region. He served his parish practicum at St. John Vianney Parish, Pittsburgh, under the direction of Father Charles S. Bober, pastor.

22


In more photos from the fourth-year recognition dinner this spring, are Father Matthew T. Laffey, O.S.B., (left) and Rev. Benjamin Walker, O.S.B., pastor of St. Peter Parish, Pittsburgh, at top, left. In the photo at right, Rev. Robert T. Lubic, Rev. Paul V. Fitzmaurice, pastor of St. Barbara Parish, Harrison City, and Rev. John-Michael Lavelle of the Diocese of Youngstown, look over the entrees.

* * * * *Seminary Rector

Father Thomas P. Acklin, O.S.B., has been busy on his sabbatical leave, working on a text for Christology, which he has taught

since 1982.* * * * *

Diocese of Pittsburgh seminarian Thomas Burke was among a group of seminarians who met with Bishop Donald Wuerl to discuss the priesthood during “An Evening with the Bishop” event in Pittsburgh. Over 60 men attended the gathering, designed to help participants reflect on their life options.

“It’s a great journey,” Burke said, “probably the best decision I’ve ever made. We all have a vocation in our life. It’s up to us to find out what God wants us to do with it.”

* * * * *Featured in The Catholic Times, paper

of the Columbus, Ohio, diocese, upon his June 3 ordination, Rev. Jeffrey Tigyer talked about his journey of faith and his vocation, giving credit to Father Thomas Acklin, Saint Vincent Seminary rector, as well as his mother and Msgr. Bill Maroon for fostering that vocation.

Father Tigyer’s diaconate internship was spent at Seton Parish, Pickerington, and on July 11 he was assigned as associate pastor of St. Joan Parish, Powell.

* * * * *Donald Cramer II and Robert Burns,

Jr., were pictured with Harrisburg Bishop Nicholas C. Dattilo on the front page of The Catholic Witness, Harrisburg’s diocesan newspaper, upon their May 20 ordination to the diaconate.

* * * * *

Father Warren Murrman, O.S.B., Pro-fessor of Theology and Liturgy, is on sab-batical leave for the 2000-2001 academic year.

He will spend five months in Bolivia at the Maryknoll Institute to study language and Spanish and Latin American culture. The sab-batical is part of the Seminary’s preparations to help deal with the growing need for awareness of the Hispanic presence in the United States and the challenges and opportunities for the Church in the Americas. The program will run from mid-July to mid-December. After Christmas he plans to visit the Benedictine Monastery at Vinhedo, Brazil. He will be back in Latrobe after New Year’s Day, when he will finalize the second part of his sabbatical.

* * * * *Hundreds of people witnessed the diaconate

ordination of Gregory B. Wilson of the Charleston, South Carolina diocese, The New Catholic Miscellany reported in its May 25 edition. Bishop Robert J. Baker led the 90-minute celebration.

“He’s a wonderful man, kind and considerate to everybody,” Seminary classmate Christo-pher Roux told the newspaper. “He loves the church and has a beautiful prayer life.”

Rev. Mr. Wilson was baptized a Catholic at St. Joseph Church while a college student at the University of South Carolina, and was a member of the parish choir while living in Charleston.

* * * * *In April Saint Vincent Seminarian Carl

Kerkemeyer of the Diocese of Tulsa, Okla-homa, and recent graduate Father Brendan Rolling, O.S.B., S’99, of Saint Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison, Kansas, received scholarships

from Human Life International as part of the organization’s Living Rosary Program. HLI supports seminarians who take an active part in the pro-life movement.

Father Brendan was also featured in the May 2000 edition of Columbia, the national magazine of the Knights of Columbus, in a section on vocations.

After high school he enrolled at Benedictine College in Atchison, where he had an unsettling feeling about his nagging call toward a voca-tion. That changed in 1993 when he went to Denver for World Youth Day with Pope John Paul II, where the zeal he had for the priesthood was unlocked. He joined the Benedictine Order at Saint Benedict’s Abbey and is now working in an administrative position with the student life office.

Father Brendan was ordained to the priest-hood by Archbishop James P. Keleher on July 1, 2000, at St. Benedict's Abbey Church, Atchison, Kansas.

* * * * *Father Daniel C. Mahoney has been

named pastor of St. Paul Parish, Greensburg. He had served as pastor of Mother of Sorrows Parish, Murrysville, since 1992, and prior to that had been at St. John the Evangelist Church, Latrobe, and St. Patrick Parish, Brady’s Bend.

* * * * *Rev. Robert J. Boyle, C’59, S’63,

was installed as pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Finleyville, on February 27, by Bishop Donald W. Wuerl.

* * * * *Jeffrey J. Piccirilli, S’91, is the youth

minister at St. George Maronite Catholic Church, San Antonio, Texas. He is engaged to be married on August 5, 2000.

* * * * *Rev. Benedict E. Kapa, S'98, was

23


ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Bernard W. Schmitt on June 3, 2000, at St. Joseph Cathedral, Wheeling, West Virginia.

* * * * *Rev. John T. Conway, S'99, was

ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop John F. Donoghue on June 10, 2000, at the Cathedral of Christ the King, Atlanta, Georgia.

* * * * *Rev. Michael B. Heninger, S'99, was

ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop John F. Donoghue on June 10, 2000, at the Cathedral of Christ the King, Atlanta, Georgia.

* * * * *Rev. Eric J. Hill, C'96, S'99, was

ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop John F. Donoghue on June 3, 2000, at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Alpharetta, Georgia.

* * * * *Rev. Thony R. Jean, S'99, was ordained

to the priesthood by Archbishop John F. Donoghue on June 3, 2000, at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Alpharetta, Georgia.

* * * * *Rev. John-Michael Lavelle, S'99, was

ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Thomas J. Tobin, on May 27, 2000, in the Cathedral of St. Columba, Youngstown, Ohio.

* * * * *Ordained to the transitional diaconate were

Br. Nicholas K. Ast, O.S.B., of Saint Gregory’s Abbey, Shawnee, Oklahoma, on June 9; James A. Reardon of the Diocese of Erie on June 11; and David A. Perry, Jr., of the Diocese of Erie on July 9.

* * * * * Rev. James C. Griffin, C'77, S 82,

continues as Catholic campus minister at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.

* * * * *Rev. Charles J. Baptiste, S'96, paro-

chial vicar of St. Frances Cabrini Parish, Center Township, was recently honored as a "man of the year" by the Beaver County Deanery of the Holy Name Society.

* * * * *Terry O’Connor, a fourth-year seminarian

from the Diocese of Pittsburgh, received a grant from the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians. Specifically, the grant is from a program called “Project St. Patrick” which was created to assist seminarians as they move toward ordination to the priesthood.

* * * * *Bill Malloy, Seminary Development, was

named corporate recruitment chairperson for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation’s 2000 Walk to Cure Diabetes at Pitt-Greensburg held on Sept. 23.

* * * * *

Two seminarians from the Diocese of Greensburg have begun a new pastoral immer-sion experience. The program is designed to help them make the transition to priestly ministry with greater ease and confidence, reported Jerome Zufelt in The Catholic Accent.

The program is a 14-month internship for uninterrupted immersion in pastoral ministry within the diocese, and is intended “to encour-age and support the seminarian’s further discernment of the call to priesthood as he experiences the charism of a diocesan priest within a parochial environment,” the article noted.

William Berkey and Douglas Dorula, who completed their third year of study at Saint Vincent Seminary in May, are the first Greens-burg diocesan seminarians to begin the intern-ships. Berkey is assigned to St. Sebastian Parish in Belle Vernon where Father John R. Cindric is pastor. Dorula is at Blessed Sacra-ment Cathedral in Greensburg, where Father Michael J. Begolly is pastor.

In June both men were admitted to candi-dacy for ordination by Bishop Anthony G. Bosco, and were featured in the July 6 edition of the Catholic Accent.

Berkey told feature editor Melissa Williams Schofield that his grandmother had predicted he would be a priest 25 years ago while on her deathbed. While working at the upscale Rivers Club in downtown Pittsburgh as a maitre d’ and beverage director, he met many entertainers and superstars, but began feeling the call to serve God. He credits his grandmother with planting the seeds of his faith:

“She was very religious and her faith life inspired me the way she had a relationship with God. My parents, family and the parishioners

from the parishes I’ve been assigned, and the priests have been really supportive of my journey. It helps face the challenges that lie ahead.”

Dorula left his job at The Daily Courier newspaper in Connellsville on a Thursday afternoon and went to the seminary the same day. After a career working for radio stations and newsapapers in sales, he began to think his communication skills would be best put to work communicating God’s message.

A strong relationship with Jesus Christ and a devotion to the Eucharist called him to God’s service. “I was sitting in a newspaper office and the Lord came into me at my post and said, ‘Come, follow me’.”

* * * * *The following deaths were reported:Rev. Charles A. Weber, O.S.B., P’37,

C’42, S’45, on April 14, 2000.Rev. Alfred L. Grotzinger, O.S.B.,

P'32, C'37, S'41, on July 30, 2000.Rev. Anselm A. Ober, O.S.B., P'33,

C'38, S'42, on August 13, 2000.Rev. John B. McMahon, S'60, on April

9, 2000. John F. "Jack" Donovan, C'57, S'61,

on May 27, 2000.* * * * *

Condolences are offered to:Rev. Thomas M. Rodgers, C'40, S'44,

and Rev. Kieran J. Rodgers, O.S.B., P'38, C'43, S'46, on the death of their brother John P. Rodgers on June 21, 2000.

Rev. Bede J. Hasso, O.S.B., C'50, S'57, on the death of his brother Michael on May 26, 2000.

Rev. Joachim R. Fatora, O.S.B., P'46, C'51, S'54, on the death of his sister Sister Mary Raymond, S.C. on July 15, 2000.

Súrodenci Jendruchovci, the nine-member vocal and instrumental group from Slovakia, provided musical accompaniment at Saint Vincent’s annual Priest Day on August 1. The ensemble is composed of the six daughters and three sons, ranging in age from 22 to six, of Maria and Milan Jendruch.

24


Rev. John A. Palko, S’54, on the death of his brother Paul on March 30, 2000.

Rev. Jerome A. Dixon, C'54, S 57, on the death of his brother F. Kenneth Dixon on May 18, 2000.

Rev. Robert F. Brannon, C'54, S'58, on the death of his sister Gertrude Spreha on May 21, 2000.

Rev. Charles O. Peterman, C'54, S'58, on the death of his father Charles A. Peterman on June 3, 2000.

Rev. Alexander Pleban, C'53, and Rev. Leo J. Pleban, C'56, S'60, on the death of their mother Roselia V. Pleban on July 4, 2000.

Rev. Alvin T. Downey, O.S.B., P'61, C'66, S 70, on the death of his mother Elizabeth Downey-Trbovich on July 24, 2000.

Rev. Richard G. Curci, C’68, S’72, on the death of his father Silvio P. Curci on March 16, 2000.

Rev. David R. Griffin, O.S.B., C'71, S'76, on the death of his father Francis R. Griffin on August 4, 2000.

Rev. Chad R. Ficorilli, O.S.B., C’73, S’79, on the death of his father Filippo Ficorilli on April 14, 2000.

Rev. Kenneth G. Zaccagnini, C'78, S'82, on the death of his father Joseph A. Zaccagnini on June 4, 2000.

Rev. Thomas P. Acklin, O.S.B., S 78, on the death of his father Thomas on April 19, 2000.

Paul T. Dube, S'78, on the death of his father Victor Dube on June 11, 2000.

Rev. Harry R. Bielewicz, S'86, on the death of his mother Clara on May 29, 2000.

Rev. Ralph M. Tajak, O.S.B., S’94, on the death of his mother Dorothy Tajak on May 9, 2000.

Nancy Ravis, faculty secretary, on the

death of her mother-in-law, Helen Ravis, on August 5.

Bill Malloy, director of development, on the death of his grandmother, Theresa Thimons, on August 15.

Liz Morris, rector’s secretary, on the death of her father, Eugene Cramer of Englewood, Colorado, on September 14.

Rev. Patrick Cronauer, O.S.B., on the death of his father, Harold Cronauer, on

Saint Vincent Seminary300 Fraser Purchase Road

Latrobe, Pennsylvania 15650-2690

Address Service Requested

http://benedictine.stvincent.edu/seminary/724-537-4592

New Organ Installed in Saint Gregory ChapelA pipe organ was installed during the summer in the Saint Gregory Chapel. The

tracker (mechanical action) organ consists of thirteen ranks (ten stops) over two manuals and pedal. The organ was manufactured in Germany in 1972 by Radeger, Kreutzer, and Wendhack, and displayed that year in Dallas, Texas, at the national convention of the American Guild of Organists. Since that time it has been in the home of Dr. and Mrs. John Marschner of Indian Harbor Beach, Florida. A generous gift from Dr. and Mrs. John C. Marous, Jr., was used to purchase the organ from the Marschners, who sold it to the Seminary at a significant discount. Housed in Saint Gregory the Great Chapel, the instrument serves as the center of the liturgical musical life of the Seminary community.

October 9, 2000.Paul Clark, seminarian for the Diocese of

Harrisburg, on the death of his grandfather, John Drago, on October 9, 2000.

Rev. Aaron Kriss, on the death of his father, Edmund Kriss, on October 3, 2000.

The family and friends of Br. Anthony Thomas Costello, O.S.B., a second theol-ogy student from Saint Vincent Archabbey, who died suddenly on October 18, 2000.

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