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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 [email protected]
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 )
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www.churchofsthelena.com
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www.cghsfl.org
piaristschool.org
sepi.us/
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www.colcarmen.net
calasanz.cc/ccsju/
piaristfathers.org
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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:
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