Obituaries
Priest who was driving force behind Worldwide Marriage Encounter dies
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (CNS) — The leadership of Worldwide Marriage Encounter mourned the death of Jesuit Father Chuck Gallagher, considered the driving force in creating what is the original faith-based marriage enrichment program. Father Gallagher died July 21 in New Jersey after a short illness. He was 85. Funeral arrangements were pending. “It is with […]
Franciscan Sister Martina Butalla, teacher and health care aide, dies at 86
Sister Martina Therese Butalla, O.S.F., 86, died in Assisi House on July 18. She had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 66 years. Sister Martina Therese (Jane Francis Butalla) was born in Enout, Pa. Prior to her entrance into the congregation in 1944, she was a member of […]
Sister Mary Gregoria Pogera, I.H.M., taught for more than 50 years
Sister Mary Gregoria, I.H.M., formerly Catherine Pogera, died July 11 in Camilla Hall, Immaculata, in the 83rd year of her religious life. She was 99 years old. Born in Port Carbon, Pa., Sister Mary entered the Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1929 from St. Stephen Parish, Port Carbon […]
Longtime La Salle U. Scripture scholar, Brother Edward Davis, dies at 84
Brother Edward Davis, F.S.C., a La Salle University religion professor who taught courses on the Bible, died June 29 of liver cancer at De La Salle Hall, a nursing facility for Christian Brothers in Lincroft, N.J. He was 84.
Deacon Harper of St. Athanasius Parish dies at 67, known for spirituality, service
Deacon Sidney M. Harper, 67, a permanent deacon for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, died June 29. Born in Philadelphia the son of William and Edna Harper, he attended St. Elizabeth School, Holy Child School and Cardinal Dougherty High School and Cheney University. “Our parents weren’t Catholic, but we went to Catholic school and were raised Catholic,” said his sister, Beverly Harper. “My parents insisted we go to Mass every Sunday, and every morning, before anyone else was awake, Sidney and my mother would pray together.”
Sister Frances, Catholic school teacher since 1942, dies at 93
Sister M. Frances Cabrini, formerly Elda Anna Berardocco, died June 24 in Camilla Hall, Immaculata. She was 93 and in her 72nd year of religious life. Born in Philadelphia, Sister Frances entered the congregation in 1941 from St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Philadelphia and professed her first vows in 1943. From 1942 until 1958 she […]
Father Peter E. Campbell, member of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and author
The Rev. Peter E. Campbell, MSC, a member of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, 79, of Asbury Gardens, North Aurora, IL, passed away peacefully on Monday, July 1, 2013 at Presence Mercy Center, Aurora, IL. Fr. Peter was parochial vicar at St. John the Baptist Parish, Revere (Ottsville), PA from 1961-1965. During his retirement years Fr. Peter achieved […]
Lifelong Philadelphian and Tacony parishioner Anna Legin dies at 100
Anna J. Legin, 100, of Philadelphia died June 27 at Deer Meadows Nursing Home in Northeast Philadelphia. She was a member of Our Lady of Consolation Parish in the Tacony section of Philadelphia.
La Salle U. professor and band leader Brother Thomas McPhillips dies at 63
Brother Thomas McPhillips, F.S.C., a La Salle University biology professor who also moderated the jazz and pep bands, died June 6, in his sleep at a Christian Brothers’ residence on North 12th Street in Philadelphia. He was 63. The funeral Mass will be celebrated Tuesday, June 11 in the De La Salle Chapel at the […]
Father Aloysius Grass, C.M., former St. Thomas More H.S. principal, dies at 90
Vincentian Father Aloysius P. Grass died June 4 at St. Vincent’s Seminary in Philadelphia’s Germantown section. He was 90, and a priest for 62 years. Father Grass served in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia at St. Thomas More High School in 1957 as prefect of discipline and then as principal from 1963 to 1969. From 1973 to […]