THE PIARIST FATHERS PROVINCE OF THE U.S.A. AND PUERTO RICO

Number 10 Winter 2016

PIARIST NEWSLETTER

FATH ER AGU S TIN LOPEZ, SC H . P. ( 1933 - 2015 )

Father Agustin Lopez Alonso,

Sch.P., who was a member of our

Community of San Juan (PR),

passed away on December 17,

2015. At the time of his death,

he was living at the St. Teresa

Jornet Nursing Center.

Father Agustin was born in Cor-

nudilla, Burgos, Spain on June

24, 1933. He entered the Piarist

novitiate in August 1948 and pro-

fessed his vows in 1949. He was

ordained to the priesthood on

May 26, 1957.

After ministering in different

Piarist schools of our Province of

Aragon (Spain), he was trans-

ferred to Puerto Rico in 1970.

Over the years, Father Agustin

taught at Colegio Calasanz in San

Juan, Colegio Ponceno in Ponce

and Our Lady of Mount Carmel

School in Playa de Ponce. At vari-

ous times, he served as a teach-

er of mathematics and as a

school administrator. He also

ministered at Queen of Peace

Chapel in San Juan, the Church

of Our Savior in San Juan, Our

Lady of Mount Carmel Church in

Playa de Ponce and Saint Martin

de Porres Chapel in Ponce.

Father Cecilio Lacruz, Sch.P.,

who is the Rector of our Commu-

nity of San Juan, was the princi-

pal celebrant and homilist at a

funeral Mass in the Church of Our

Savior on December 21. Bishop

Felix Lazaro, Sch.P. was the prin-

cipal celebrant and homilist at a

second funeral Mass in Saint

Martin de Porres Chapel on De-

ORDINATION OF FATHER NICOLAS ZUNUN, SCH.P.

cember 26. His remains were in-

terred at the Cemetery of the Ris-

en Christ in Tuque, PR.

We request that donations be

made in the name of Father

Agustin Lopez to the Piarist Fa-

thers Seminary or Retirement

Funds, P.O. Box 11822, Fort

Lauderdale, FL 33339. Thank

you.

May Father Agustin Lopez rest in

peace.

Bishop Felix Lazaro Martinez,

Sch.P., who is the Bishop-Emeritus

of the Diocese of Ponce (PR), or-

dained to the priesthood Father Ni-

colas Zunun Mejia, Sch.P. The ordi-

nation took place in Sibinal, Guate-

mala on December 19, 2015. Bish-

op Carlos Enrique Trinidad Gomez of

the local Diocese of San Marcos

was a con-celebrant along with Pia-

rist Fathers Fernando Negro, Mario

Vizcaino, Emilio Sotomayor, Jose

Alberto Moreno and Luis Alberto

Cruz and other Piarists from our

Province of Mexico. Nicolas’ par-

ents, Juan and Valentina, were also

present for the ceremony as were

many people from Santa Ana

Chiautempan in Tlaxcala, Mexico.

Father Nicolas celebrated his First

Mass in his home village of Chocabj,

Guatemala on December 20.

Father Nicolas was born in the vil-

lage of Chocabj in Guatemala on

December 6, 1978. As a young

adult, he participated in the Cursillo

Movement, Charismatic prayer

(continued on page 2)

Page 2

B ISH O P FELIX LAZARO, SCH . P.

FAT H E R N IC O LAS ( CON TINU ED)

R.I.P. We ask you to

remember in your

prayers our deceased

relatives and friends:

Clara M. Ambrus

Pablo Borrero-Hernandez

Susan Brand

Martha Clother

Denis Connelly

Daniel Cucchi

Patrick Curran

Eleanor Driscoll

Mark Gereffi

Wendy Harris Aceves

Mike Kowalski

Robert Locke

Helen Long

Raphael Mbinkar

David McCormick

Ruth Morris

Vicenta Navascues

Beryl Nelson

Michael Nicholas

Oliver Parker

Alexandra Senesi

Paul Smoczynski

Jane Staub

Deacon John Thesing

John Vonsummern

Number 10

(continued from page 1)

groups, Hispanic leader-

ship seminars and Bible

study groups. These

movements and groups

helped lead him to be-

lieve that the life of a reli-

gious order priest might

be in his future.

He entered the Piarist

novitiate in Celaya, Mexi-

co in July 2006. He pro-

fessed his vows in July

2007. He studied philos-

ophy and theology at In-

tercontinental University

in Tlalpan, Mexico. He

later earned a teacher’s

certificate in middle and

secondary education at

the Marist University in

the borough of Tlahuac,

DF, Mexico. While pursu-

ing his studies, he assist-

ed at Our Lady of Guada-

lupe Church, which is un-

der the care of the Pia-

rists, in the colony of

Tlalcoligia in Tlalpan,

Mexico.

After completing his

studies, in August 2013,

he moved to the Piarist

community in Ocotlan,

Tlaxcala, Mexico. Since

then, he has ministered

at Jose Maria Morelos

Institute as the pastoral

coordinator of the middle

school.

The Piarists thank our

dear Lord for the priestly

vocation of Father Nico-

las. We ask Him to con-

tinue to send His bless-

ings upon the newest

priest of our Province.

Pope Francis accepted the retire-

ment of Bishop Felix Lazaro Mar-

tinez, Sch.P. as the Bishop of

Ponce (PR) on December 22. As

required by Canon (Church) Law,

Bishop Lazaro had submitted his

letter of resignation when he

reached the age of 75 years in

2011.

Bishop Ruben Antonio Gonzalez

Medina, CMF, who is formerly the

Bishop of Caguas (PR), was ap-

pointed to serve as the new Bishop

of Ponce. He was installed as the

new Bishop on January 31, 2016.

Bishop Lazaro was born in Logro-

ño, La Rioja, Spain on March 2,

1936. He entered the Piarist novi-

tiate in 1951 and professed his

vows in 1952. He was ordained to

the priesthood on April 9, 1961.

He moved from Spain to Puerto

Rico in 1970. During the next

several years, he taught at the

Pontifical Catholic University of

Puerto Rico in Ponce. He was or-

dained as the Coadjutor Bishop of

Ponce on April 25, 2002 and be-

The bishops of Puerto Rico met with

Pope Francis on June 8, 2015.

Bishop-Emeritus Lazaro is third from

the left. Bishop Gonzalez is on the far

left.

came the Bishop of Ponce on

June 11, 2003.

Bishop Lazaro was instrumen-

tal in two important occasions

for our Province in the recent

past. He ordained to the priest-

hood Father Luis Alberto Cruz,

Sch.P. in April 2015 and Father

Nicolas Zunun, Sch.P. in De-

cember 2015.

The Piarist Fathers wish to

thank Bishop Felix Lazaro for

his many years of service as a

Piarist priest and as the Bishop

of Ponce. We ask our dear Lord

to continue to send his bless-

ings upon him as he begins a

new chapter in his life as the

Bishop-Emeritus of Ponce.

PIARIST NEWSLETTER Page 3

VOCATIONS MINISTRY The future of a religious order

largely depends upon the Catholic

Christian example of its members.

In the spirit of Saint Joseph Ca-

lasanz, who is our Founder, the

Piarists in the Province of the

United States and Puerto Rico

strive to serve the people of God

in schools, parishes and other

ministries. We have a team of

five members, who are directly

responsible for working with all of

our religious to identify and ac-

company young men, who might

be interested in becoming Pia-

rists. The members of our Voca-

tions Secretariat are: Father Fran-

cisco Aisa (PA), Father Luis Alber-

to Cruz (FL), Father Jose Javier

Vanegas (FL), Brother Ricardo Ri-

vera (NY) and Brother Jorge

Ramirez (PR).

In November, twenty young men

visited our Community of Miami,

FL for our annual Thanksgiving

Vocational Retreat. In December,

seven men visited our Community

of Ponce, PR for our annual Ad-

vent Vocational Retreat.

On these occasions, our voca-

tions personnel and the other

members of the local communi-

ties had the opportunity to share

our life and ministry with our

guests.

We ask our friends, relatives, co

-workers and benefactors to keep

in your prayers these twenty-

seven men and others, who are

thinking about their future lives,

which might include life as a Pia-

rist priest or brother.

When a young man prepares for

ordination as a priest, he pursues

an intensive course of studies,

which includes philosophy and

theology. During this process, he

is also instituted in the ministries

of lector and acolyte and is or-

dained as a deacon and finally a

priest.

Brother Vinod Angadathu,

Sch.P. was installed in the minis-

try of lector at St. Joseph's Major

Seminary in Yonkers, NY on Octo-

ber 21, 2015. Brother Ruben Pla-

ta, Sch.P. was installed in the min-

istries of lector and acolyte in Co-

lombia on November 14.

We thank almighty God for the

vocations of Brother Vinod and

Brother Ruben. We ask Him to

continue to send His blessings

upon them as they progress in our

formation program, which will

hopefully lead to full membership

in our religious order and service

as a Catholic priest.

FORMATION MINISTRY

Vocational Retreat on Thanksgiving weekend in Miami, FL. (top left)

Brother Vinod is installed in the Ministry of Lector. (top right)

Brother Ruben is installed in the Ministries of Lector and Acolyte. (bottom right)

THE PIARIST ANGLE (BY FR. JESUS MARIA LECEA, SCH.P.)

Pope Francis Visits the U.S.A.

Page 4 Number 10

Since December 8, Pope Francis

has invited the entire Church to

take part in an Extraordinary Holy

Year, which he calls the "Year of

Mercy". We know that God is love

indeed. His divine love is a merci-

ful love. Therefore, to truly live a

life of mercy, we must have two

goals. On the one hand, as hu-

mans, we are called to benefit

from the mercy of God, because

we are all in need of it. On the

other hand, we are called to imi-

tate God’s mercy in the way in

which we treat others, both near

and far. St. Joseph Calasanz ex-

pressed these two aspects in this

text: "May the Lord, in his mercy,

inspire in the hearts of all a spirit

of peace and harmony, in order to

promote the best results for every-

one concerned" (L. 3931).

May the Year of Mercy lead us

to put mercy into practice. May

we keep our minds directed to-

ward the God of mercy, who al-

ways acts lovingly, and toward our

neighbors, who are in most need

for attention. The works of mercy,

according to the Catechism, invite

us to move from a mere senti-

ment of compassion toward con-

crete works of mercy. How many

works of mercy are there, and

what are they?

There are fourteen, seven cor-

poral and seven spiritual. The cor-

poral works of mercy are: To feed

the hungry; To give drink to the

thirsty; To clothe the naked; To

shelter the homeless; To visit the

sick; To visit the imprisoned;

To bury the dead.

The spiritual Works of mercy

are: To instruct the ignorant; To

counsel the doubtful;To admonish

sinners; To bear wrongs patiently;

To forgive offences willingly; To

comfort the afflicted; To pray for

the living and the dead.

The corporal works of mercy

were largely taken from a list,

which was mentioned by the Lord

in his description of the last judg-

ment (Mt 25: 31-46). The spiritu-

al works of mercy were formulat-

ed by the Church from various bib-

lical texts, which express the atti-

tudes and teachings of Christ him-

self: forgiveness, fraternal correc-

tion, peace, suffering, endurance,

etc.

Calasanz urged us to rely on the

Lord’s mercy. He wrote: "It ap-

pears that He abandons his own,

but that is not so, since He grants

his saving help at the most oppor-

tune times" (L. 4439).

While in Washington, Pope

Francis celebrated Mass out-

side the National Shrine of

the Immaculate Conception.

Fathers Andrew Buechele

and Fernando Negro con-

celebrated the Mass. In ad-

dition, Brothers Orlando

Rodríguez, Ricardo Rivera,

Isaac Almanza and Vinod

Angadathu participated in

the Mass.

While in New York City, he

led Evening Prayer at St. Pat-

rick’s Cathedral and cele-

brated Mass at Madison

Square Garden. Fathers

Baltazar Sanchez, David

Powers, Nelson Henao and

Szymon Kurpios participated

in the prayer service. Fa-

thers Jose Maria Clavero,

Kurpios, Sanchez, Powers

and Henao con-celebrated

the Mass. In addition, Broth-

ers Orlando, Ricardo and

Vinod participated in both

the prayer service and the

Mass.

While in Philadelphia, he

celebrated Masses in the

Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Pe-

ter and Paul and on the Ben-

jamin Franklin Parkway. He

also delivered a speech in-

volving immigration in Inde-

pendence Mall. Father

James Shea con-celebrated

the first Mass, and Father

Rafael Capo participated in

all three events.

The visit of Pope

Francis was truly an

inspirational event.

The Piarist Fathers Thank the Franciscan Sisters

Page 5 PIARIST NEWSLETTER

VOCATIONS

Youth Is Our Concern.

If you think the Lord may be calling you,

contact Father Francisco Aisa in Devon, PA.

610-688-7337, ext. 178 or francisco.aisa@gmail.com

In September 1961, the Sisters

of Saint Francis of Mary Immacu-

late and the Piarist Fathers began

more than half a century of minis-

tering together at Cardinal Gib-

bons High School in Fort Lauder-

dale, FL. That relationship

changed on December 17, 2015.

On that day, Sister Marie Schram-

ko, O.S.F. and Sister Janet

Rieden, O.S.F. retired from active

ministry and moved to their moth-

erhouse in Joliet, IL.

The Franciscan Sisters, unfortu-

nately, do not have enough reli-

gious to replace these two retiring

sisters. Therefore, the day to day

ministry of their religious congre-

gation ceased with their retire-

ment. On the other hand, the

spirit of the Franciscan Sisters will

always exist on the campus.

In April 2010, Father Mario Viz-

caino, Sch.P., who was the Provin-

cial Superior of the Piarist Fa-

thers, awarded a Letter of Frater-

nity from the Piarists to Sister Ma-

rie and to Sister Janet. On that

occasion, they became members

of our worldwide spiritual family.

The Piarist Fathers of Fort

Lauderdale have had the pleasure

of working with twenty different

Franciscan Sisters. We thank

them for the opportunity to minis-

ter with them. We thank them for

their fine example as religious sis-

ters. We promise them our pray-

ers as they begin a new leg of

their journey.

Sister Marie Schramko, OSF and Sister Janet Rieden, OSF

(front row)

Fathers John Callan, Charles Newburn, Oscar Alonso, Luis Cruz

(back row)

Are you interested in helping the

Piarist Fathers Province of the

United States and Puerto Rico

continue our mission? Do you

feel overwhelmed with the

thought of writing another check

or giving up your assets today? A

simple, flexible and versatile way

to ensure that we can continue

our work for many years to come

is a gift in your will or living trust,

known as a charitable bequest.

A charitable bequest is one or

two sentences in your will or trust

that leave to the Piarist Fathers a

specific item, an amount of mon-

ey, a gift contingent upon certain

events or a percentage of your

estate.

By including a bequest to the

Piarist Fathers in your will or living

trust, you are ensuring that we

can continue our mission for

years to come. We currently seek

financial support for five projects.

They include: The Adopt A Semi-

narian Project; The Piarist Semi-

nary of Fr. Jose Mateo Project;

The Piarist Fathers Latin Mission

Project; The Retired Piarist Fa-

thers Project; The Language Stud-

ies Project

Your gift will also entitle your

estate to an unlimited federal es-

tate tax charitable deduction.

We would like to take this oppor-

tunity to thank Monsignor Michael

Flanagan, Monsignor Frederick

Brice and Martha Clother. They

each included us in their will.

Their generous support of the Pia-

rist Fathers, even in their passing,

enables us to help others. May

God bless them, and may they

rest in peace.

For more information on a chari-

table bequest or to notify the Pia-

rist Fathers of your intention to

mention us in a charitable be-

quest, please contact Kevin Ow-

ens (954-771-6525).

Development: Charitable Bequest

P R O V I N C I A L ’ S C O R N E R ( F R . F E R N A N D O N E G R O )

We are on the Web!

piarist.info

www.churchofsthelena.com

www.devonprep.com

www.cghsfl.org

piaristschool.org

sepi.us/

www.theannunciation.net

copin.net

www.colcarmen.net

calasanz.cc/ccsju/

piaristfathers.org

A Thought from Our Development Office

Your gift can be quick and safe by using Pay Pal:

www.piarist.info

The Piarist Newsletter is

the official bulletin of the

Piarist Fathers - Province

of the U.S.A. and Puerto

Rico. If you or anyone else

wishes to receive a copy,

let us know.

Editorial Staff:

The Development Office

P.O. Box 11822

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33339

E-mail:

piaristfl@bellsouth.net

Telephone:

954-771-6525

Fax:

954-776-8060

Dear Friends of the Pia-

rist Fathers,

I greet you with affec-

tion and offer you my

prayers for the bless-

ings of the Lord upon

you and your families.

This past Christmas

season was radiant

with a special light up-

on our Province. Our

dear brother, Father

Nicolas Zunun, Sch.P.,

was ordained to the

priesthood in Sibinal

(Guatemala), his native

land, on December 19,

2015. Bishop Felix

Lazaro, Sch.P., who is a

Piarist and the Bishop-

Emeritus of Ponce (PR),

ordained him. Bishop

Carlos Trinidad of the

Diocese of San Marcos

(Guatemala) and sever-

al Piarists from our

Province of the United

States and Puerto Rico

and from our Province

o f M e x i c o c o n -

celebrated. It was in-

deed a day of exuber-

ant celebration.

On December 20, Fa-

ther Nicolas celebrated

his First Mass in his

native village of Cho-

cabj. The festive atmos-

phere was felt even

more with the con-

trasting images of the

mountains, the soft

breeze, the mist cover-

ing the volcanoes and

the sun light shining up-

on the prairies as it

shown forth in a diverse

and brilliant green.

I would like to thank

our brother, Father Nico-

las, as well as our many

seminarians, who are in

the process of preparing

to begin their Piarist,

priestly and educational

ministry among children,

young people and their

families. They are the

future of a better world

and of a Church, which

is renewed in the Spirit.

I wish to make special

mention of Bishop Felix

Lazaro, Sch.P. The Holy

Father, Pope Francis,

recently accepted his

resignation. On behalf

of the Piarist Fathers, I

wish to express our grat-

itude for his closeness

to us and for his episco-

pal service, which lasted

from 2003 until 2015.

It is a consolation to

know that we can still

count on him in many

ways. Thanks be to God.

We have already be-

gun a Special Jubilee

Year, the Year of Mercy.

This celebration reminds

us that we are always

showered upon by God's

merciful love. Such love

can mold us, purify us

and beautify us. Of

course, we must first let

His love affect us with-

out any masks or protec-

tions. Let us seek His

mercy so that we can be

merciful just as He is

merciful to us.

The Piarists of our

Province continue to

move forward, and we

continue to be faithful to

our Piarist vocation of

educating and evangeliz-

ing. We do count on

your help. At the same

time, you can count on

our support and prayers

for you and your loved

ones.

The beauty of a God,

who loves us uncondi-

tionally, surrounds us.

Page 6 Number 8

“It is no secret that

the ministry of the Piarist

Fathers greatly depends

upon the generosity of

our benefactors. Please

consider us in your annu-

al donations, will, trust or

insurance plan.”

Web Site:

www.piaristchallenge.com

Piarist Fathers—Padres Escolapios—Compassion Challenge