Florida Catholic | Diocese of St. Petersburg Obituaries

Sister M. Karen Burns

Posted: 10.10.08

Let Us Pray

Absolve, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the soul of Thy servant Sister M. Karen Burns, from every bond of sin, that being raised in the glory of the resurrection, she may be refreshed among the Saints and Elect. We pray through Christ our Lord.
Amen

Allegany Franciscan Sister M. Karen Burns, whose local ministry focused on health care, died Sept. 26, at the Allegany Franciscans’ St. Elizabeth Motherhouse, Allegany, N.Y.

Sister Burns served in many areas during her 58 years of religious life, including in education, vocation support and missionary service. Locally, she was executive president of Allegany Health Systems Foundation, development director for the Academy of Hospice Physicians in Pinellas Park, and planned gifts officer for the St. Anthony’s Health Care Foundation.

After her retirement from active ministry, Sister Burns volunteered at the St. Anthony Hospital gift shop and served as a spiritual assistant for the Secular Franciscan Order in the Tampa Bay area. In July, she left Florida to return to the St. Elizabeth Motherhouse in Allegany.

Sister Burns’ funeral Mass was celebrated Sept. 29 in the chapel of the motherhouse. She was buried in St. Bonaventure Cemetery, Allegany.

In addition to her Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, she is survived by her brother, William, and nieces and nephews. Expressions of sympathy may be sent to: The Franciscan Sisters, St. Anthony Convent, 631 11th St. N., St. Petersburg, FL 33705.

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Father Clement Healy, 89

Posted: 10.10.08

Let Us Pray

Absolve, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the soul of Thy servant Father Clement Healy, from every bond of sin, that being raised in the glory of the resurrection, he may be refreshed among the Saints and Elect. We pray through Christ our Lord.
Amen

Franciscan friar Father Clement Healy, who lived in St. Petersburg after his retirement from active ministry, died Sept. 16 at the Holy Name Friary in Ringwood, N.J. He was 89.

Father Healy was born July 28, 1919, in New York, N.Y. He attended Holy Cross Elementary School in Bronx, N.Y., and in 1933 entered St. Joseph Seraphic Seminary in Callicoon, N.Y.

Father Healy was received into the Order of Friars Minor, Holy Name Province, Aug. 12, 1939. He professed his simple vows Aug. 13, 1940.

He continued studying for the priesthood, completing his philosophical studies in Croghan, N.Y., and Butler, N.J., and his theological studies at Holy Name College in Washington, D.C., where he professed his solemn vows Sept. 17, 1943. He was ordained a priest in the Church of the Mount St. Sepulchre, Washington, June 17, 1945.

Father Healy’s first 12 years in active ministry were devoted to education in New York. In 1958, he was given the assignment of superior of the province’s new mission at Our Lady of the Angels Parish, Kingston, Jamaica, where he helped establish Our Lady of the Angels Prep School. In 1973, he was briefly assigned to ministry back in New York, but he returned to Kingston in 1974 to serve three more years. After assignments in Boston and Providence, R.I., he retired in 1994 to St. Anthony’s Friary in St. Petersburg. Declining health required his move in 2002 to Holy Name Friary in Ringwood, N.J.

Father Healy’s funeral Mass was celebrated Sept.18 in New York. He was buried in God’s Acre Cemetery in Ringwood.

Survivors include a cousin, Patty Healy, and several nieces. Condolences may be sent to: Patty Healy, 2 Spruce St., Great Neck, N.Y. 11021

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Sister Cecilia Heintz

Posted: 10.10.08

Let Us Pray

Absolve, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the soul of Thy servant Sister Cecilia Heintz, from every bond of sin, that being raised in the glory of the resurrection, she may be refreshed among the Saints and Elect. We pray through Christ our Lord.
Amen

Benedictine Sister Cecilia Heintz, a Florida native who taught at several local Catholic schools, died Sept. 7 in St. Leo.

Sister Heintz grew up in Ocala and entered the Benedictine Sisters of Florida Community in St. Leo Oct. 13, 1933. She made her temporary profession five years later and her perpetual monastic profession June 19, 1938.

Her education included a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Mount St. Scholastica College in Atchison, Kan.; graduate work at The University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Ind.; and completion of the Institute for High School Teachers of Mathematics, associated with The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.

Sister Heintz served in Catholic schools in Louisiana and at parochial and public schools in Florida. She was a registrar and teacher at Holy Name Academy, Tampa. She taught at Holy Family Catholic School, North Miami; St. Martha Catholic School, Sarasota; St. Paul Catholic School, Jacksonville Beach; St. Anthony Catholic School, San Antonio; Santa Fe Catholic High School, Lakeland; and Gulf Junior High School, New Port Richey. She also was a principal and teacher at St. Joseph Elementary, St. Joseph.

After leaving schools, she served her community as a bookkeeper and a driver, and she sometimes taught religious education. In retirement, she was highly regarded for her advocacy on behalf of the poor.

Sister Heintz’s funeral Mass was celebrated Sept. 10 at Holy Name Monastery, St. Leo. She was buried in the Saint Leo Abbey cemetery.

Survivors include two nieces, Anne Louise Smith and Linda Gail Huntington, both of Leesburg; and a nephew, Stephen Heintz, of Miami.

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Father Emil Styczen, 77

Posted: 08.15.08

Let Us Pray

Absolve, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the soul of Thy servant Father Emil Styczen, from every bond of sin, that being raised in the glory of the resurrection, he may be refreshed among the Saints and Elect. We pray through Christ our Lord.
Amen

ST. PETERSBURG | Father Emil Styczen, a retired priest of the Diocese of Tarnow, Poland, who served Polish-speaking Catholics in the St. Petersburg Diocese for almost two decades, died July 22 while swimming off Treasure Island Beach. He was 77.

Father Styczen was born Aug. 6, 1930, and was ordained a priest in 1955 in Poland. In 1991, he was appointed missionary to the Polish-speaking Catholic community of the St. Petersburg Diocese and began the Mercy of God Polish Mission in St. Petersburg. Two years later, he was appointed parochial vicar of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Holiday. He served at St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Hudson until his retirement and return to Poland in 2007. At the time of his death, Father Styczen was assisting for the summer at Mercy of God Polish Mission at St. Paul Parish, St. Petersburg.

Bishop Robert N. Lynch and priests from across the diocese celebrated Father Styczen’s funeral Mass July 26 at St. Paul Parish. The priest’s remains were taken to Bochnia, Poland, for burial.

His survivors include two sisters, Krystyna Klasa and Leokadia Ostrowska; a sister-in-law, Maria Styczen; and a nephew, Adam Styczen. Expressions of sympathy may be sent to: Mrs. Maria Styczen ul, Konfederatow Barskich 21, 32-700, Bochia, woj. Malopolskie, Poland; or in care of Mercy of God Polish Mission, 1358 20th Ave. N., St. Petersburg, FL 33704.

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Father August Kita, 76

Posted: 07.02.08

Salesian Father August J. Kita, former director of Mary Help of Christians School in Tampa, died June 12 in Suffern, N.Y. He was 76.

Father Kita was born Aug. 9, 1931, in Bayonne, N.J. He graduated from Don Bosco Prep High School in Ramsey, N.J., in 1949, and entered the Salesians of Don Bosco community novitiate in Newton, N.J., just a few months after his high school graduation. He made his first profession as a Salesian Sept. 8, 1950, and was ordained a priest June 4, 1960.

Father Kita’s education included a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Don Bosco College in Newton; a theology degree from the Salesian seminary in Aptos, Calif.; a licentiate in canon law from the Salesian Pontifical Athenaeum in Rome; and a master’s in education from Seton Hall University, South Orange, N.J. Read the complete obituary HERE

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Father John Anoia, 85

Posted: 06.20.08

Father John Anoia, a retired priest who ministered at three diocesan parishes, died April 29 at the age of 85.

Father Anoia was born in Kulpmont, Pa. He studied for the priesthood at Glenclif Seminary, a Capuchin theological seminary in Garrison, N.Y., and was ordained a Capuchin priest June 22, 1957.

His service to the church brought him assignments in Brooklyn, N.Y.; Middletown, Conn.; and Massachusetts. He also served as a hospital chaplain at Pittsfield Medical Center, Pittsfield, N.H. Read the complete obituary HERE

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Sister Mary Ann Carollo

Posted: 06.20.08

Sister Mary Ann Carollo, a Benedictine Sister of Florida who served in schools, died in May of pneumonia.

A native of Slidell, La., Sister Carollo was in the 74th year of her monastic profession. She taught music and kindergarten in Florida, Louisiana and Kansas, and her sisters at the Holy Name Monastery said it was those things that kept her young at heart, even as she reached old age. She also loved wearing the modified habit that told the world she was a religious sister. Read the complete obituary HERE

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Sister Margaret Foley, 73

Posted: 06.20.08

Former St. Jude Catholic School teacher Sister Margaret Foley, also known as Sister Patrick Clare Foley, died June 2 in Westlake, Ohio. She was 73 and in her 55th year as an Adrian Dominican sister.

Sister Foley was born in Chicago and graduated from Aquinas High School, Chicago. Her education includes a bachelor’s of philosophy degree in English from Siena Heights College in Adrian, Mich. Read the complete obituary HERE

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Deacon Gerard Gagné, 71

Posted: 06.20.08

Deacon Gerard Gagné, a deacon from Boston who served winters at Espiritu Santo Parish in Safety Harbor, died April 29, in Lawrence, Mass. He was 71.

Deacon Gagné served at Espiritu Santo since 2001. He ministered in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, religious education, and a men’s Scripture group; performed baptisms, gravesite and wake services; and assisted with Sunday liturgies. Read the complete obituary HERE

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Salesian Brother Charles Todel, 78

Posted: 06.20.08

Brother Charles Todel, a Salesian brother who taught at the former Mary Help of Christians School in Tampa, died April 20 at Maria Manor in St. Petersburg. He was 78.

Brother Todel was born in Bronx, N.Y., and made his first religious profession with the Salesians of Don Bosco Sept. 8, 1943. Read the complete obituary HERE.

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Sister Rose Clare Welpe, 86

Posted: 06.20.08

Sister Rose Clare Welpe, a Franciscan Sister of Allegany who served in two local parishes, died May 4 at St. Joseph Hospital, Tampa. She was 86 and in the 62nd year of religious profession. Read the complete obituary HERE.

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