November 7, 2009

Father Francis J. Browne, 66

LAURA DODSON | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Posted: 07.07.09

NEW SMYRNA BEACH | On the eve of the start of the Year for Priests and the feast of the Sacred Heart, Redemptorist Father Francis J. Browne, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in New Smyrna Beach, was unexpectedly called home.

Father Browne, 66, died June 18.

“The priest of Jesus Christ is, first and foremost, a mystagogue,” Father Browne had reflected in his bulletin letter for June 14. “One who bears the mystery and initiates others into it. He himself has been grasped, shaken, overwhelmed by a most powerful force – the wild, passionate, unconditional love of Jesus Christ.”

At Father Browne’s wake service at the parish June 22, Bishop Thomas Wenski referred to the reflection as an apt description of Father Browne – “a good pastor and priest.”

Father Jerome Chavarria, vice provincial of the Redemptorists (officially known as the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer) honored Father Browne’s memory by recalling the personal vocation story he loved to share.

At a reception concluding a vocation discernment day, a hulk of a seminarian requested a sip of soda but downed the entirety of a boy’s drink in a single gulp. Then, with a prophetic voice, the seminarian boomed, “Hey kid, you will make a great missionary someday!” On June 23, 1968, that kid became an ordained priest – Redemptorist Father Francis J. Browne. The Redemptorist congregation, by vocation, is a missionary society.

Exactly 41 years later to the day of his ordination, people gathered at Sacred Heart Parish for this missionary’s funeral.

Born July 17, 1942, in Kingston, N. Y., Father Browne lived near Mount St. Alphonsus Seminary in Esopus where he professed his vows Aug. 2, 1962. The area is on the banks of the Hudson River where Father Browne discovered his taste for another lifelong passion – fishing.

Collin Parsons, 10, a fifth-grader at Sacred Heart Catholic School, recalled a favorite memory: “I fished with him for the first time on the dock of our house after my first holy Communion. We didn’t catch anything, but we saw a tarpon roll.”

The pair had big plans to start a fishing club at the school in the fall and Collin added, “I’m going to miss seeing him alive and talking to him. I still feel sad that he died, but I think I can do the fishing club.”

Fluent in Spanish, Father Browne’s missionary assignments took him to the streets of New York City where he was parochial vicar at Most Holy Redeemer Parish. He was also pastor of St. Peter the Apostle Parish in Philadelphia; Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Brooklyn, N.Y.; and St. Patrick Parish in Enfield, Conn.

In 2002, Father Browne enjoyed a renewal sabbatical at the Redemptorist Desert House of Prayers in Tucson, Ariz., while doing mission work in Guadalajara, Mexico, in preparation for his next assignment, serving the poor in the Northeast. Instead, he was asked to change assignments, change location, change Redemptorist community and accept what would become his final assignment – pastor of Sacred Heart Parish and the St. Gerard Mission in Edgewater.

“His first Thursday here, he caught a 24-inch trout and thought he was in heaven,” recalled friend Paul Arnold.

They fished together almost every Thursday thereafter and it was aboard Arnold’s boat in Mosquito Lagoon “that his heart stopped instantly,” Arnold said. “He died where he loved it best; no pain, nothing. The good Lord took him quickly. He was a good friend and a good priest. You could talk to him about anything.”

Father Browne leaves behind his sister, Kathleen Doetzer, several nieces and nephews, and countless friends.

Patricia Adams, parish secretary said: “After his funeral Mass, you could see people prominent in our community who were there entirely out of love. He was loved, and loved everybody back. It’s empty here now, but then you think of what he gave us. His example was just stellar – how to be in a parish, how to be parish.

Following a memorial Mass, Father Browne was buried June 27 in Mount St. Alphonsus Cemetery in Esopus.

“We give thanks to God for a great missionary – a priest who loved God and the mission that God gave him,” Father Chavarria eulogized, “a believer who warmed our hearts and souls with a gospel of love, laughter and faith.”

RETURN TO TOP | RETURN TO DIOCESE OF ORLANDO FRONT PAGE

Father Vincent Nebus, 82

LAURA DODSON | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Posted: 06.18.09

PALM BAY | The packed church at St. Joseph Parish June 10 for the funeral Mass of Father Vincent Joseph Nebus spoke wordlessly of how much he was loved and respected, especially in this community of his retirement.

Like so many others, Father Nebus arrived from the Northeast for retirement. Although he enjoyed all the benefits of a retirement lifestyle, “He did not retire from his priesthood, as you know very well,” Bishop Thomas Wenski acknowledged in his homily.

St. Joseph Parish in Palm Bay had welcomed Father Nebus when he retired in 1995. At the parish he assisted in the celebration of Mass and the sacrament of reconciliation.

“If you asked him anything, ‘Don’t dwell on it’ was his most prevalent saying,” shared Toni Kaye, her eyes filling. “He was a wonderful person and a wonderful friend to my husband and me.”

Born Oct. 13, 1926, in South Amboy, N.J., Father Nebus knew early on of his call to the priesthood, transferring from St. Mary’s High School in South Amboy to St. Mary’s Preparatory in Orchard Lake, Mich., to pursue his vocation. He completed his studies at SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake and was ordained May 15, 1951, for the Diocese of Trenton, N.J.

Father Nebus completed many assignments in New Jersey in his 58 years of priesthood including pastor of St. Ann Parish in Browns Mills, pastor of St. Laurence Parish in Laurence Harbor, and chaplain at the Deborah Hospital in Browns Mills, Burlington County Prison in Mount Holly, Burlington County College in Pemberton and the New Lisbon Developmental Center in Woodland. In 1986, he was assigned to St. Mary of Ostrabrama Parish in South River where he served until retirement.

“He was a good and faithful priest,” summed up Father Robert J. Hoeffner, pastor of St. Joseph Parish. “He loved growing roses, he loved growing tomatoes and he loved children. He loved the Church.”

Father Nebus died June 5 after a brief illness. He leaves an extensive family of sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews and friends. His body was accompanied by Father Hoeffner back to Sacred Heart Church and Cemetery in South Amboy where Father Nebus was placed to rest June 12.

RETURN TO TOP | RETURN TO DIOCESE OF ORLANDO FRONT PAGE

Father Joseph W. Nealon, 93

Posted: 06.05.09

PALM CITY | Father Joseph W. Nealon, 93, a retired priest from the Archdiocese of Newark, N.J., who served at Holy Redeemer Parish since he moved to Florida 24 years ago, died May 26 at his home in Palm City from complications suffered after back surgery.

“He will be truly missed,” said Holy Redeemer Deacon Frank Gluhosky, a close friend. “He was a people person. He got along with everyone, and the teens loved him.”

Born in New Jersey, Father Nealon was ordained May 18, 1940. During his priesthood, he served as an assistant pastor at St. Vincent Parish in Bayonne, N.J., for 25 years before becoming administrator and pastor at Sacred Heart in Haworth, N.J., where he served until retirement in 1985. Father Nealon was dedicated to community, children and the military. He served as chaplain of the Bayonne Council of the Boys Scouts of America and was director of the Bayonne Catholic Youth Organization from 1941 to 1965. Father Nealon served as auxiliary chaplain at the Bayonne Naval Base during World War II. He was involved with Catholic Charities and served as chaplain of the Knights of Columbus Star of the Sea Council 371. In the Archdiocese of Newark, he directed the youth center there and served on the finance committee and two terms in the senate of priests.

In the Diocese of Palm Beach, Father Nealon served as a chaplain for the fourth-degree Father McGivney Assembly 1764 of the Knights of Columbus in Stuart, and he was moderator for Holy Redeemer Parish’s women’s guild. He annually helped coordinate a day of prayer for retired priests of the diocese.

“Three weeks ago, he was driving his car,” said Deacon Gluhosky about the priest who celebrated Mass every Sunday until recently and who was a big New York Giants fan. “This priest was alive for the people. Everyone loved him.”

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated May 30 at Holy Redeemer Parish. He will be buried with his parents in Holy Cross Cemetery in North Arlington, N.J.

RETURN TO TOP | RETURN TO DIOCESE OF ORLANDO FRONT PAGE

Joseph M. Sciortino, 77

Epiphany parishioner is remembered for his generous outpouring to the poor.

TERESA LANTIGUA PETERSON | SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA CATHOLIC

Posted: 03.06.09

PORT ORANGE | During his lifetime Joseph M. Sciortino received an abundance of blessings and he spent a lifetime giving back in gratitude.

On Feb. 1, Sciortino lost his long battle with cancer. He was 77. He will be remembered as a beloved husband, father, grandfather and friend. But he will also be remembered for his extraordinary compassion for the poor, hungry and needy.

“Joe Sciortino was a remarkable man of many gifts of which he was a good steward. He was successful in his business career, but he also recognized that his vocation in business was not only about doing well but also about doing good,” said Bishop Thomas Wenski.

Sciortino belonged to Epiphany Parish in Port Orange for nine years and was an advisor to the Epiphany Help Center, a food pantry located in the parish hall.

His support of the Epiphany Help Center included a generous gift to the Alive in Christ campaign. Epiphany Parish will use proceeds from the campaign to establish the Epiphany Outreach Endowment to ensure long-term financial support of the charity.

Sciortino’s wife, Marilyn, volunteers at Epiphany Help Center interviewing and qualifying applicants to receive assistance. She explains her husband’s passion for helping the poor, this way: “He was very compassionate. He read Scripture religiously. He felt that was what a good Christian should do.”

He also prayed often and participated in the weekly celebration of Mass, even while vacationing in remote areas of Asia, India and the Caribbean.

“The Mass was critically important to Joe. During our 45 years of marriage, you could count on one hand the days he missed Mass,” Marilyn Sciortino said. During a trip to Iceland, she recalled, he had to choose between Mass and a sightseeing tour; he chose Mass.

Because of his strong work and business ethic, he was invited to deliver the keynote address at the first Corporate Social and Ethical Responsibility Conference held in India. He held various management positions at the H.J. Heinz Company for 20 years. In 1976, he became president and CEO of Sysco Food Services of South Florida.

During his time in south Florida, his involvement with a parish hunger program led to his co-founding of the Daily Bread Food Bank in 1981, which now distributes more than a million and a half pounds of food each month to hungry families throughout south Florida.

He also served as founding director of the Covenant House of Fort Lauderdale, a shelter for runaway teens in Fort Lauderdale.

Between 2006 and 2008, Sciortino served on the board of directors of Catholic Charities of Central Florida Inc. He served in a leadership role in both the Catholic Charities Synod Commission and the implementation team.

“His thoughts on what we do and what we ought to do were guiding principles in the growth of Catholic Charities, where he provided quality leadership tempered with a great sense of humor and perspective,” said Arne Nelson, president and chief executive officer of Catholic Charities.

Sciortino also served as a founding board member of the Catholic Foundation of Central Florida. The recently established charitable organization is designed to address the immediate and long-term capital and endowment needs of the parishes and the diocese, providing the strong financial foundation necessary to advance the mission of the Church.

“Our Church has lost a great man on earth and gained a guardian in heaven,” said Marilyn Blanchette, president of the Catholic Foundation of Central Florida.

Last year, Pope Benedict XVI recognized Sciortino’s years of service by conferring on him the Pro Ecclesiae et Pontifice Cross. This papal honor recognizes a person’s work in society, fidelity to the Church and exemplary character.

RETURN TO TOP | RETURN TO DIOCESE OF ORLANDO FRONT PAGE

Advertisement

Advertisement