| RIP: Friar Fred Fusco, 93 |
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PITTSBURGH, PA - Our brother, Friar Frederick "Fritz" Fusco, went to his eternal reward on Wednesday afternoon, November 17, at the age of 93.
Emilio, the son of Raffaele and Margherita (Paglialunga) Fusco, was born on August 5, 1916 in Providence, Rhode Island. He was received into the novitiate on August 24, 1935, making his first profession of vows on August 25, 1936. Frederick was admitted to solemn vows on August 25, 1939 and ordained priest on June 7, 1942.
Fred ministered at Our Lady of Peace, Brooklyn; Saint Anthony's, Trail, British Colombia; Saint Anthony's, New York; Our Lady of Pity in the Bronx, and Our Lady Help of Christians, Pittsburgh. "Fritz" retired in the fall of 1993 at Saint Anthony Friary, Catskill.
Those who knew Fritz well described him as "...a quiet, industrious man." "...a person of great consistency...generous and kind." "...a very humble, compassionate person." "He was acutely dependable as evidenced by his willingness to work and assist...at parish bingos, festivals, and other friary and church related activities." And don't forget how he remembered our birthdays and always sent a card with a wonderful message in it.
Fr. Fred's body will be received at 10 a.m. on Friday, November 20, at Saint Pamphilus Church, Pittsburgh. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Fr. Fred will be buried at Saint Francis Cemetery in Andover on Monday, November 23 at 11:00 A.M.
"Friars must remember to offer suffrages for every deceased friar of the province, professed or novice. In particular, each priest shall offer the Eucharist twice." "When news of the death of a friar is received, a concelebrated Mass in his memory should be scheduled in the friaries of the province and the foundations." On the thirtieth day after and on the first anniversary of the death of a confrere, professed or novice, the Eucharist shall be celebrated for him in the house to which he was assigned at the time of death" (PS-8, 1-3).
Father, we entrust our brother to your mercy. You loved him greatly in this life; now that he is freed from all its cares, give him happiness and peace for ever.
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| FEATURE: Friar Vit Fiala uses gift of music to raise funds for the Missions |
 WASHINGTON, CT - Twenty-five years ago, Friar Vit Fiala lived in the heart of the old Soviet Union, a professional musician playing the cello in the former Czechoslovakia. In 1985, he escaped communism, eventually coming to Toronto, Canada and discovering God's call in his life to become a Franciscan friar.
Entering religious life with our Province in 1991, he wondered if he would every use his musical gifts again. Today, Fr. Vit has embarked on a schedule of concerts in Ohio, Connecticut and Florida that he uses as an opportunity to share beautiful music as well as to raise money for the Franciscan Missionary Union of our Province.
An example would be the concert he performed this week at the Gunn Memorial Library in Washington, CT, as part of their "Musicians' Series." The concert for piano and cello included works of Faure, Beethoven, Poulenc, Saint-Saens, Bozza, Mendelssohn, Strauss and Frank. It drew a crowd of nearly 60. Amy Vinisko, a Connecticut local, was the pianist.
Fr. Vit is particularly excited about concerts he has been doing featuring music that was composed by Jews at the Nazi Concentration Camp called Terezin (or Theresienstadt) in the Czech Republic. These concerts have been in collaboration with Jewish musicians.
Fr. Vit, originally from Litoměřice in the Czech Republic. He was trained at the Conservatory of Prague and studied with the well known European cellist, M. Apolin. He was the first cellist in AUS of Prague, then continued his career in Brno, the capital of Moravia.
He toured Eastern and Western Europe with the National Opera and Chamber Players of Brno and played in the Symphony Orchestra and Radio Orchestra of Brno. At this time, he also founded and arranged music for the cello quartet known as "Rag Q", which produced many recordings for the Czech TV and Radio.
In 1985, he escaped communist Czechoslovakia and relocated to Austria, where he joined a chamber orchestra and appeared often as a chamber concert musician. After two years, he continued his musical career in Canada, where he appeared as a soloist with local orchestras and in various ensembles including piano trios and string quartets. He also served as organist and choir master at a local church.
Fr. Vit will perform his next concert at St. Francis Xavier Church in New Milford, CT, on Friday, December 4 at 7 p.m. He is interested and available to perform concerts at any location within our Province. Contact Vit to make arrangements.
Fr. Vit, along with Amy Vinisko, will also be releasing their first CD of music at the beginning of December.
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| Over 100 killed in heavy rains in Central America following Hurricane Ida |
SONSONATE, EL SALVADOR - Over 135 people have been killed by flooding caused by several days of heavy rain following Hurricane Ida in this Central American nation. Five regions are currently in a state of emergency and more victims are expected to be found.
Hurricane Ida made its deadly path through Central America affecting thousands of vulnerable people living in precarious situations in El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. There are still many people missing and over 7,500 displaced from their homes.
FR. FLAVIAN MUCCI, OFM, SUPERVISES THE DISTRIBUTION OF BACKPACKS FILLED WITH NECESSITIES
Associacion Agape opened a distribution center to aid the victims and were one of the first on the scene providing food, clothing, shoes and other necessities. Agape has an emergency program specifically designed for these situations which permit it to act immediately.
Many homes were destroyed leaving people without basic necessities. Agape has sent trucks filled with water, milk, rice, beans, cooking oil, pasta, canned soups, brooms, mops, sheets, clothing, shoes, toys and many other necessities.
"While we gave out the goods, we had clowns keep the children entertained," according to Agape founder and director Friar Flavian Mucci.
Additional information remains available on the Agape website: www.agape.com.sv. |
| Friars attend General Visitor School |
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ROME - Several friars of or connected to our Province were in attendance this week at the school for General Visitors held at the General Curia in Rome November 16-19.
In attendance this week was of course Friar Larry Dunham who has been named General Visitor for our Province; Friar Jimmy Zammit, assistant General Visitor for the Holy Land; and Friar Antonio Riccio, General Visitor for the Italian Province of St. Bernardine of Siena. Also in attendance at the meeting is Friar Francis Walter, General Definitor; and Friar Edwin Paniagua, serving as a translator. Frank served as moderator for Tuesday's session.
On Monday, November 16, General Minister Jose Rodriguez Carballo, OFM, addressed those gathered. Below is a selection from his talk:
My presentation will be in two parts. First of all, I will speak about the objectives of the Canonical Visitation, the role of the Visitor General, and the main themes that need to be kept in mind during the Visitation. I will be using the General Chapter of Pentecost 2009 as a point of departure throughout.
I. THE CANONICAL VISITATION AND THE FIGURE OF THE VISITOR IN THE MIND OF FRANCIS AND IN OUR LEGISLATION
The Canonical Visitation is regulated by the Code of Canon Law[1], by our Constitutions[2] and General Statutes[3], by the Statutes for the Canonical Visitation and Presidency of the Provincial Chapter[4], as well as by other documents of the Church. According to these documents, it pertains to the Minister to carry out the Canonical Visitation either personally or through Delegates (cf. SSCV 1). The Visitation can be ordinary or extraordinary, general or provincial, total or partial (SSCV 2, 1-2). In your case, the Visitation is ordinary because it is being carried out at the time established; it general because it is convoked by the Minister General; and it is total because it is of all the Friars and of all the Houses of the Entity.
Because it is a Canonical Visitation, even though the Visitation you are about to carry out has special juridical connotations, it must, nonetheless, be carried out in the spirit which Francis indicated for visits to the Friars.
The Canonical Visitation in the mind of St. Francis
St. Francis considered the visitation of the Friars one of his main obligations. When he could no longer visit them because of the "sickness and weakness" of his body (2LtF 3), he opted to write letters and send "messengers" to continue serving them and offering them "fragrant words" of his Lord (2LtF 2-3).
Aware of the importance of such visits and of such service or ministry, he wrote in the First Rule: "Let all the brothers who have been designated the ministers and servants of the other brothers assign their brothers in the provinces and places where they may be, and let them frequently visit, admonish and encourage them spiritually" (RnB 4, 2). The same advice is found in the Approved Rule with other shades of meaning which seem important: "Let the brothers who are the ministers and servants of the others visit and admonish their brothers and humbly and charitably correct them" (RB 10, 1). From the context in which these texts are found, we can take some important indications about the time, objectives, and way of carrying out the visit to the Friars as Francis wished.
With regard to time, the Visitation should be as frequently as possible. It is important to note how the Unapproved Rule says that both the Ministers and servants should "frequently" visit the Friars. This annotation about time disappears from the Approved Rule, probably because the number of Friars had increased considerably and the Order had an ever-extending geographic expansion. However, despite the said omission, there is nothing to suggest that the thought of Francis had changed. The importance given to the person is clear in the life of Francis. This implies that the Ministers and servants should be close to them always, frequently visiting them.
GENERAL DEFINITOR FRANCIS WALTER DURING LITURGY ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16
FRIAR LARRY DUNHAM AMONG THE ATTENDANTS AT THE GENERAL VISITATION SCHOOL
FRIAR JIMMY ZAMMIT, ASSISTANT GENERAL VISITOR FOR THE HOLY LAND
VICAR GENERAL OF THE ORDER MICHAEL PERRY (Sacred Heart Province) PRESIDED AT LITURGY ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16
GROUP PHOTO FROM GENERAL VISITORS SCHOOL | |
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| Friar Andre Cirino invited to give lecture at Oxford |
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OXFORD, ENGLAND - Friar Andre Cirino has been invited by the Centre for Franciscan Studies to give a lecture at the Greyfriars, Oxford, UK.
The lecture, titled "Solitude In St. Francis' Writings," will be given on Friday, January 22 at 5:15 p.m.
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| Prayer for Vocations |
O Mary Immaculate, Patroness of the Americas
and Queen of the Order of Friars Minor,
we ask you to inspire humble and chosen souls
for a life in Christ and in the spirit of St. Francis.
With
Motherly care,
foster vocations to our Order and to our Province,
so that seraphic love, labor and sacrifice
will ever flourish in this land dedicated to your protection.
Amen.  | |
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