Florida Catholic | 25 jubilarians offer 1,330 years of service

25 jubilarians offer 1,330 years of service

Published: 10.24.08

Each year in October, the vicar for religious of the St. Petersburg Diocese honors the brothers, sisters and priests from religious communities who are celebrating milestone anniversaries of service. Congratulations and thanks to these dedicated men and women.

70 YEARS OF SERVICE:

Brother Secondo “Peter” Bersezio, Salesians of Don Bosco

Brother Bersezio was born in the province of Cuneo in northern Italy, and as a boy attended school at the Salesian motherhouse in Turin. Following his profession of vows, he taught the art of printing at a large Salesian school at Colle Don Bosco from 1940 to 1946. He then left Italy for the New Rochelle, N.Y., province, and became a founding member of the staff at Don Bosco Tech in Paterson, N.J., where he served for more than two decades. Locally, Brother Bersezio served on the staff of Mary Help of Christians School from 1967 to 1958. In 2005, he retired to St. Philip the Apostle Residence in Tampa. He currently resides at Bon Secours-Maria Manor in St. Petersburg.

Sister Marie Josephine Frese, Franciscan Sisters of Allegany

Sister Frese grew up in Ybor City and she would pass the now-historic cigar factories as she walked to school. She was received into the Franciscan congregation in 1938 and taught in various schools for five years, after which she studied to be a medical technologist. When she retired, from that profession, a colleague paid her tribute with the compliment that “she was always fair.” In addition to being fair, Sister Frese is known for having a contagious laugh. Her hobbies are needlework, crochet and reading.

Father James C. Hoge, Order of St. Benedict

Celebrating 70 years as a Benedictine monk and 65 years as a Benedictine priest, Father Hoge can look back at many years of notable service to the church of St. Petersburg. He taught at St. Leo Prep for 15 years and served in the Benedictine missions for 48. In the summer of 1944, he was a newly ordained priest assigned to the Hernando-Citrus missions, and for the remaining years of World War II, he celebrated weekly Mass at the Crystal River Radar Station, located on Cinnamon Ridge, for Catholic Signal Corps men assigned there. After the war, Father Hoge served in the role of pastor for 30 years, during which he established several parishes, including St. Benedict Parish in Crystal River and St. Scholastica Parish in Lecanto. Central Catholic School of Citrus County (now Pope John Paul Catholic) also was built through Father Hoge’s leadership. In 1983, Father Hoge established the Daystar Life Center to serve the poor and hungry in the Diocese of St. Petersburg. He served on that organizations Board of Trustees and is presently trustee emeritus.

65 YEARS OF SERVICE:

Sister Charlotte Reilley, Franciscan Sisters of Allegany

Sister Reilley spent most of her 65 years of religious life serving in elementary education. In her retirement years, she has volunteered at St. Joseph Hospital in Tampa.

Brother John Zito, Salesians of Don Bosco

A native of Niagara Falls, N.Y., Brother Zito made his first religious profession in Newton, N.J., in 1943. As a young brother he was trained as a printer and practiced that trade for 12 years at Salesian schools, including at Mary Help of Christians School in Tampa from 1948 to 1951. In the mid-1950s while serving in New Rochelle, N.Y., he and another brother started the St. Dominic Savio Classroom Club, a national organization that at its peak enrolled some 70,000 students. Before retiring in 2006 to the St. Philip the Apostle Residence in Tampa, he served in the province vocation office, in youth ministry, as treasurer of a house of formation, and in the offices of development and mission. Today he maintains an apostleship of prayer, counsel and cheering on the Notre Dame football team.

60 YEARS OF SERVICE:

Sister Clare Therese Brandon, Visitation of Holy Mary, Mobile, Ala.

Born in 1925, Sister Brandon moved from St. Louis to New York and subsequently developed osteomyelitis, a disease that left her unable to bend her right knee. She entered the Visitation of Holy Mary Monastery in Mobile, but later transferred to a monastery in Wheeling, W.V., because it had a more active apostolate. Not all of her service was in the United States. As both an academic and researcher, she traveled to France nine times. In 1989, Sister Brandon moved to Tampa. She is celebrating her 60th jubilee at the Rocky Creek Retirement Village this year.

Sister Mary Immaculae Carroll, Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary

Sister Carroll entered religious life with the Marist Missionary Sisters in 1945 and professed in 1948. She has served her community as a teacher in both elementary and high schools, and through her medical work and teacher training in New Guinea. While on a ship to New Guinea, she met a young Society of the Divine Word priest, Father Dominic Carmon. They became good friends and in 1993, she attended his consecration as bishop of New Orleans. Sister Carroll’s hobbies are painting, drawing, sewing, cooking and reading.

Father Marion Di Lella, Order of Friars Minor

Father Di Lella was born in Paterson, N.J. His ministries have included serving as pastor in various parishes; serving as a military chaplain in the Air Force for 26 years, retiring as a full colonel; building a church in Georgia; and serving as campus minister at Georgia Tech for 38 years. His hobbies include reading biographies. He also likes to spend time in prayer and finds immense value in both communal and private prayer. Now retired to St. Anthony Friary in St. Petersburg but still assisting in parishes, Father Di Lella said he treasures his daily hour before the Blessed Sacrament and believes his life of prayer keeps him young at heart.

Sister Marie Cecilia Schiffer, Franciscan Sisters of Allegany

Born into a Philadelphia family with seven children, Sister Schiffer taught for 30 years in schools across the United States. She is now retired and living in Pinellas Park.

50 YEARS OF SERVICE:

Father Martin Bednar, Order of Friars Minor

At the age of 27, without knowing any Spanish, Father Bednar was sent to the missions in Bolivia. For the next 12 years, he was involved in various ministries including parish and vocation work in the country. He also served as superior of the Bolivian Missions and of the Federation of Franciscans in nine countries, and his work resulted in the establishment of the Bolivian province for the Franciscan Order. He learned fluent Spanish through his work, and in his retirement he has continued to minister to Hispanics. Father Bednar still gives missions in English and Spanish, and assists in parishes during the summer months. His idea of a great vacation is going on a cruise.

Sister Joan Carberry, Franciscan Sisters of Allegany

Sister Carberry graduated from St. Bonaventure University. As a religious, she has taught in Franciscan-affiliated schools in New York, New Jersey and North Carolina, and ministered in pastoral care chaplaincy at St. Mary Hospital in West Palm Beach and St. Anthony Hospital in St. Petersburg. For 16 years, Sister Carberry has served as an administrator at St. Paul Catholic School in St. Petersburg. She currently is the school’s assistant principal. The most memorable events during her life as a religious sister include a trip to Medjugorje, and when she was recognized by a West Palm Beach television station for her pastoral ministry at St. Mary Hospital.

Sister Theresa Dugan, Sisters of Notre Dame

Sister Dugan has served in many areas of education during her life as a religious sister. She has been an elementary school teacher; a principal; a college instructor; a Scripture teacher to novices in Tanzania, East Africa; and a professor of sacred Scripture at St. Mary Seminary, Cleveland. Her hobbies include reading, music and travel. The most memorable event during her life as a religious sister was following in the footsteps of St. Paul during a trip to the Holy Land, Greece and Turkey. Sister Dugan only recently moved to Florida and is currently ministering in St. Michael the Archangel Parish, Clearwater.

Father Christopher R. Fitzgerald, Institute of Charity

Father Fitzgerald’s mother knew early on that the last of her 11 children would likely become a priest: He was born with a veil-like shroud that covered his face, an Irish sign that he would be called to the priesthood or religious life. Starting at around age 6, he would kneel each night and ask the Blessed Mother to make him a priest, and those prayers were answered in 1958 when he was ordained a priest in Rome. His first assignment took him to the missions of Africa, but ill health forced his return to Ireland, where he began teaching. He then was sent to Florida to assume pastoral ministry duties in various parishes. In 1987, Bishop W. Thomas Larkin asked him to form a Catholic community in the Seffner area, now St. Francis of Assisi Parish, where Father Fitzgerald still resides and serves as pastor.

Sister Betty Frascino, Franciscan Sisters of Allegany

Sister Frascino entered the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany community in 1957. After completing her studies at St. Bonaventure University, she began teaching – first in Florida and then in New York, New Jersey and North Carolina. After leaving education, she served as a supervisor of a home for unwed mothers, as a patient advocate and as a volunteer. When the Palm Beach Diocese was created, Sister Frascino established and directed its Office of Prison Ministry and served there 20 years. In 2000, she received the Executive Women of Palm Beach’s award for “Inspirational Leadership.” Now living in Tampa, she serves as local minister to her sisters at the St. Elizabeth House of Intercessory Prayer and Retirement. Sister Frascino says she enjoys listening to music, working on crossword puzzles and traveling.

Sister Kathleen Keck, Franciscan Sisters of Allegany

Growing up in Florida, Sister Keck loved riding horses. Little did she know those skills would help her serve the church. After joining the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, she went into teaching and for 14 years taught children in Pensacola. She then went to Bolivia to serve in the missions in remote areas, and she regularly had to walk or ride a horse to the outlying areas to serve people living near the borders of Peru and Brazil. After 23 years, Sister Keck returned to Florida. She is now retired.

Sister Paulamarie Lacy, Sisters of Notre Dame of Chardon, Ohio

Before she came to Florida in 1991, Sister Lacy spent 30 “very blessed” years teaching English, Latin, music, religion and photography to high school students. She also worked in volunteer ministry as a coordinator of liturgy and in Leesburg, Va. Today, she is director of liturgical ministries at Espiritu Santo Parish, Safety Harbor. Sister Lacy loves outdoor activities, including hiking, sailing, canoeing and kayaking, and also enjoys music, reading and art.

Sister Jeane C. Lynch, Medical Missionaries of Mary

Sister Lynch grew up in Saginaw, Mich. As a religious sister, she has served as a medical technologist and epidemiologist in the missions of Tanzania, Sudan and Ethiopia, and worked with the American Red Cross on disaster deployments and local fire calls. Earlier this year, she began a new ministry in chaplaincy residency. Her hobbies are bridge and fishing.

Sister Susan McGillicuddy, Franciscan Sisters of Allegany

Sister McGillicuddy taught primary grades for 16 years and has been involved in pastoral ministries at St. Anthony Hospital, St. Petersburg; St. Mary Hospital, West Palm Beach; and St. Francis Hospital, Miami Beach. Reading, especially mysteries, has long been a favorite hobby, and she said that as a child she must have read every book in the Nancy Drew series. She also loves nature, bird watching and spending time in state and national parks

Father John Masiello, Salesians of Don Bosco

Father Masiello is celebrating a double jubilee in 2008: 60 years as a Salesian and 50 years as a priest. A native of Grantwood, N.Y., he entered the Salesian seminary at Don Bosco College in 1946, and studied theology in Turin, Italy, and Aptos, Calif. His diverse priestly ministry has included teaching, administration, retreat work and parish ministry. Locally, he was assigned to Mary Help of Christians School in Tampa from 1951 to 1953. Father Masiello has been on the staff of St. Philip the Apostle Residence in Tampa since 2007. He writes that his vocation has never been boring. “The Salesian vocation has been the best! Fifty years of priesthood have passed quickly and with a variety of priestly experiences.”

Sister Mary Miday, Adrian Dominican Sisters

The youngest of five children, Sister Miday grew up in Louisville, Ohio, where she enjoyed running around barefoot and going fishing. She entered the Discalced Carmelites of Pennsylvania community in 1956. In the 1980s, she felt a call to active ministry and transferred to the Adrian Dominican Congregation in 1985. She since has served as an occupational therapy assistant and in ministries of prayer and Communion to the homebound. She still loves fishing, her cat, and religious and classical music.

Sister M. Lucille Snyder, Benedictine Sisters of Pittsburgh

Sister Snyder said she always has been deeply involved in her ministries, whether it was teaching primary grades or children in special education, leading computer classes or caring for her mother. She has a master’s degree from Duquesne University. In August, she took her mother, now 100 years old, and returned to her monastery in Pittsburgh.

Sister Patricia Travaline, Medical Mission Sisters

Sister Travaline is celebrating 50 years of total dedication to the sick. She entered religious life in 1955 and was professed in 1958. Since then she has served her community and others by ministering in nursing, midwifery, nursing education, public health, AIDS, Hospice and prison ministry. Her work has taken her to Bangladesh, Pakistan, Kenya, and Ghana.

Father Cletus Watson, Franciscan Friars

Father Cletus Watson, pastor of St. Mary, Our Lady of Grace Parish in St. Petersburg, entered the Third Order Regulars of St. Francis and was professed in 1958. He was ordained a priest in 1966. His hobbies include reading and watching movies.

25 YEARS OF SERVICE:

Father Michael Conway, Salesians of Don Bosco

Father Conway was born and raised in Massachusetts. He entered the Salesian seminary in Newton in 1980, and was ordained in 1992. His primary ministry as a priest has taken place in Salesian high schools, where he has served as teacher, youth minister, principal and school president. He was at Mary Help of Christians in Tampa from 1985 to 1987, and at St. Petersburg Catholic from 1999 to 2001. He returned to St. Petersburg Catholic for a third time earlier this year to serve as school president. Father Conway said he loves being a Salesian priest. “I made the best decision when I decided to follow God’s call as a Salesian,” he once wrote. “I have found it a great joy in ministering to young people and helping them to know themselves and God. They have been for me the conduit where I have met God most in my life.”

Father Dennis Donovan, Salesians of Don Bosco

Father Donovan was born in Nyack, N.Y., and ordained May 21, 1983, in Columbus, Ohio. His assignments as a Salesian have included teaching at Salesian Junior Seminary in Goshen, N.Y., and serving as treasurer, director and executive director of the Salesian Boys & Girls Club in Columbus and as province development director in New Rochelle, N.Y. His first service in this area came in 2004, when he was made treasurer of Mary Help of Christians Center in Tampa. Since 2006 he has served as director of the center and St. Philip the Apostle Residence in Tampa.

Father Angelus Migliore, Franciscan Friars, and Father John Marino, Order of Friars Minor, are also celebrating anniversaries.

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