Obituaries

Obituary | Sr. Mary Ignatius, DCJ

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:02:06 +0000

A funeral Mass was celebrated Feb. 6 at St. Agnes Home Chapel in Kirkwood for Carmelite Sister Mary Ignatius of the Sorrowful Mother Byrne.

Sister Mary Ignatius, 81, died Feb. 1 at the Carmel Home in Owensboro, Ky.

Obituary | Father Ricardo J. Steinmetz, SJ

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:43:52 +0000

Jesuit Father Ricardo J. Steinmetz, who served in Mexico City for nearly 50 years, died Jan. 27 at Juan Vergara Casas, a Jesuit retirement community in Mexico City. He was 86 years old and a Jesuit for 69 years.

Born in St. Louis, he entered the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) at St. Stanislaus Seminary in Florissant in 1942. He taught math as a scholastic at Regis High School in Denver and was ordained to the priesthood in 1955 at St. Mary's College in Kansas.

Obituary | Sr. Catherine Odelehr, CDP

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:54:42 +0000

A funeral Mass was celebrated Dec. 31 at Sacred Heart Church in Florissant for Sister Catherine Odelehr, who was principal of North American Martyrs School in Florissant for nearly 30 years.

Obituary | Fr. Thé Pham, CSSR

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:38:21 +0000

A memorial Mass was celebrated Jan. 28 at St. Alphonsus Liguori "Rock" Church in North St. Louis for Father Thé Joseph Pham, CSSR, a former assistant pastor there.

Father Pham, 60, died suddenly in Vietnam while working with a leper community.

Born in Vietnam, he served in the South Vietnamese army as a photographer and communications operator. After the fall of Saigon, he was sent to "re-education camps" run by the Communists. He escaped the country on a fishing boat in June of 1979. He spent four long days on the open seas until arriving in Hong Kong.

Obituary | Sr. Teresa of Jesus Uhlen, OCD

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:37:52 +0000

A funeral Mass was celebrated Dec. 29 at the Monastery of St. Therese in Clinton Township, Mich., for Sister Teresa of Jesus Uhlen, a native St. Louisan.

Sister Teresa died Dec. 26. Born Marilyn Uhlen in St. Louis, she attended Rosati-Kain High School. She professed vows in 1956 at the Carmelite Nuns' monastery in Kansas City. The Discalced Carmelite Nuns are cloistered contemplatives.

She came to the Monastery of St. Therese in 1986. There she was known for her upbeat personality. She played piano and sang and did some secretarial work. She served six years as prioress.

Obituary | Sr. Maria Gabriel McClain, ASCJ

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:36:48 +0000

A funeral Mass was celebrated Jan. 21 in Sacred Heart Manor Chapel in Hamden, Conn., for Sister Maria Gabriel McClain, retired teacher and librarian who had served in St. Louis.

Sister Gabriel, 96, died Jan. 18 at Sacred Heart Manor. Born in Wilkinsburg, Penn., she attended St. Anthony High School in St. Louis and entered the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1932 in New Haven, Conn. She professed first vows in 1934 and perpetual vows in 1943.

Cardinal Bevilacqua, retired Philadelphia archbishop, dies at age 88

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:36:02 +0000

Catholic News Service

PHILADELPHIA -- Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua, retired archbishop of Philadelphia, died Jan. 31 at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, where he resided.

According to the Philadelphia Archdiocese, he died in his sleep at 9:15 p.m. He was 88.

Cardinal Bevilacqua headed the archdiocese from February 1988 to October 2003. Funeral arrangements were pending.

Pope Benedict XVI mourned the death of the cardinal, expressing his "heartfelt condolences" in a telegram sent to Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput.

Altoona-Johnstown bishop eulogizes Paterno as 'good Catholic,' friend

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:05:11 +0000

Msgr. Timothy P. Stein | Catholic News Service

ALTOONA, Pa. -- Although Joe Paterno will be remembered as "a legend throughout our region and throughout our country," Bishop Mark L. Bartchak said the iconic football coach will be best remembered in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown as "a good Catholic, a family man and a friend to many."

Bishop Bartchak made his comments Jan. 22 at a news conference at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Altoona, prior to a prayer service celebrating Respect for Life.

Sr. Jane Walz, DC

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:04:51 +0000

A funeral Mass was celebrated Jan. 14 in the Seton Residence chapel in Evansville, Ind., for Sister Jane (Ida Clementine) Walz,a native St. Louisan who was an educator and served in health care administration in the archdiocese.

Sister Jane, 78, died Jan. 12 at Seton Residence in Evansville. She joined the Daughters of Charity in 1951.

Sr. Maria Concepcion Kong, LSP

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:11:49 +0000

A funeral Mass was celebrated Jan. 10 in the chapel of the Little Sisters of the Poor residence in North St. Louis for Sister Maria Concepcion Kong, who served the elderly overseas and in the United States, including in St. Louis.

Sister Maria Concepcion, 52, died Jan. 3 after a long illness with cancer.

Fr. Edward E. Kelly

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:34:03 +0000

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A memorial Mass was celebrated Jan. 14 for Father Edward E. Kelly, a longtime priest and author, at Christ the King Catholic Church in University City. Father Kelly, 83, died Jan. 7 at Mother of Good Counsel Home in Northwoods following a lengthy battle with leukemia.

A Kirkwood native, he was baptized at St. Peter Church in Kirkwood. Following graduation from St. Louis University High School, he entered the Society of Jesus, earning bachelor and master's degrees from St. Louis University and a doctorate from Fordham University, with a dissertation on Blessed John Henry Newman.

Sr. Joan Albaugh, CDP, dies

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:29:56 +0000

A funeral Mass was celebrated Dec. 27 for Sister Joan Albaugh, CDP, in the Mother of Divine Providence Chapel of the Sisters of Divine Providence Motherhouse in Pittsburgh, Pa. Sister Joan, who ministered in education and health care for more than 40 years, died Dec. 24 at the motherhouse.

Sister Colette Marie Doering, CSJ

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:27:45 +0000

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A funeral Mass was celebrated Dec. 30 for Sister Colette Marie Doering, CSJ, at St. Thomas More Church in Kansas City, Mo. Sister Colette Marie, a former artist and art teacher, died Dec. 26 at Nazareth Living Center in south St. Louis County from complications from a fall. She was 89.

Sr. Mary Anne Smith, CSJ

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:12:28 +0000

A memorial Mass was celebrated Dec. 23 for Sister Mary Anne Smith, a longtime educator, at Nazareth Living Center in south St. Louis County. Sister Mary Anne, a Sister of St. Joseph for 58 years, died at Nazareth Living Center Dec. 19. She was 77.

An Illinois native, she entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in September 1952 and made her final profession in 1960. She earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Fontbonne College and a master's degree in elementary education administration from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.

Sr. Mary Denis Curran, CSJ

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:12:41 +0000

A funeral Mass was celebrated Dec. 28 for Sister Mary Denis Curran, a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet for 60 years, at Nazareth Living Center in south St. Louis County. Sister Mary Denis, a longtime educator at Rosati-Kain High School, died Dec. 23 after a brief illness. She was 84.

A St. Louis native, she entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 1950 and made her final profession in 1958. She earned bachelor's and master's degrees in English from St. Louis University.

Sister Mary Denis taught at schools in Indiana, Illinois and Missouri.