A New Resting Place for a Servant of God – CatholicPhilly.com
Story by Fr. Thomas Dailey, O.S.F.S. for CatholicPhilly.com. Read the full story and see more photos on their website. Fr. Bill Atkinson has a new home – at least here below. On June 14, in a ceremony presided over by Archbishop Nelson Pérez, the mortal remains of the Servant of God were “translated” (i.e., moved) […]
Future Saint Father Bill Atkinson Reinterred in St. Thomas of Villanova Church | From the Desk of Fr. Rob
June 26, 2024 Dear Friends in Christ, Our Augustinian brother, and Servant of God, Fr. Bill Atkinson, O.S.A. has returned home. On June 14, in a private ceremony, Fr. Bill’s remains were translated and reinterred to the church of St. Thomas of Villanova on the campus of Villanova University. He was laid to rest forever […]
A New Marker for the Augustinian Plot in Calvary Cemetery
In 1980, the Augustinians purchased a plot of land in Calvary Cemetery in West Conshohocken, PA. High atop a rolling hill, the mortal remains of dozens of deceased friars have been interred in neat rows under the loving gaze of Our Mother of Good Counsel. When Renee Cirino, MS, transferred to Calvary Cemetery as its […]
James Andrew Wenzel, O.SA,
1930 – 2024 (April 24) James Andrew Wenzel was born on April 1, 1930, in Wakefield, Massachusetts, the son of William and Gertrude (McFadden) Wenzel. He had one brother and two sisters. He was baptized on April 20, 1930, at Saint Joseph Catholic Church, Wakefield, Massachusetts. He attended Saint Joseph Parish School from 1936 to […]
Introducing our New Director of Vocations | From the Desk of Fr. Rob
April 21, 2024 My dear friends in Christ, On this World Day of Prayer for Vocations, my heart is filled with gratitude for each of you. Just as each Augustinian Friar has a vocation, you do as well. Whether your vocation is to marriage, religious life, or the single life, all of these callings are […]
James Laughlin MacDougall, O.S.A.
1932 – 2024 (March 9) James Laughlin MacDougal, O.S.A., was born on November 12, 1932, in New York, New York, the son of Donald H. and Catherine A. (Loftus) MacDougall. He had 2 brothers. He was baptized on December 4, 1932, at St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church, Bronx, New York. He attended elementary school first at […]
Augustinians Leave Two Parishes in the Diocese of Albany
The Office of the Prior Provincial September 22, 2023 Dear Parishioners of Saint Mary Parish and St. Augustine Parish, Since the mid-1800s, when the Augustinians were invited by the Most Reverend John McCloskey to the Diocese of Albany, your communities at St. Mary of the Assumption in Waterford and St. Augustine in Troy, have been […]
Martin Lawrence Smith, O.S.A.
1945 – 2024 (January 19) Martin Lawrence Smith, O.S.A., was born on July 6, 1945, in New York City, New York, the son of James A. and Agnes R. (Kollenz) Smith. He had one brother. He was baptized on July 22, 1945, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Bronx, New York. He attended Sacred Heart Parish School from […]
Augustinian Affiliation: Dr. Hopey and Cheryl Lucas at Merrimack | From the Desk of Fr. Rob
January 10, 2024 Dear friend of the Augustinians, On Thursday, November 30, 2023, the Augustinian community and the community of Merrimack College gathered in St. Augustine Church in Andover, Massachusetts, to celebrate the affiliation of Christopher E. Hopey, Ph.D., president of Merrimack College, and his wife Cheryl M. Lucas to the Order of St. Augustine, Province […]
Feast of the Holy Family • Year B
St. Paul challenges us towards this saying: “Let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body.” This is peace as a task and not as a “leave me alone, leave me in peace” cry of frustration in our lives. Paul points out here, and many times in his letters which comprise so much of sacred Scripture, that peace is built, where we actively look to bringing down the walls of division and extend the hand of solidarity to raise up those that are on the margins of society. This is so needed in our present world, and it is possible where we allow Christ’s peace to “control our hearts,” rather than hand our hearts over to our fears and indifferences.
