From the Providence College Website

Providence, R.I.–Rev. Edward Louis Cleary, O.P., professor emeritus of political science at Providence College and a scholar of Latin American studies, died November 21 at the Priory of St. Thomas Aquinas on campus.

A member of the Dominican Friars (Order of Preachers) of the Central Province of St. Albert the Great (Chicago, Ill.), he served as a Dominican priest for 54 years.

Father Cleary began teaching at Providence College in 1993 in the Latin American Studies Program within the Department of Political Science. He retired this year with the rank of professor emeritus. He served as director of the Latin American Studies Program for approximately a dozen years.

For several years, beginning in the mid-1990s, he organized and participated in joint PC-U.S. Naval War College student and faculty forums in Newport, R.I.

He also was a faculty affiliate of the Harvard University David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies in 1999-2000 and a visiting scholar at the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of California at Berkeley in 2000-2001.

A passionate educator whose classes were enriched through his frequent international travel experiences, Father Cleary summed up his teaching philosophy this way: “Unless teaching is grounded in the lives of persons at the grassroots level, learning will remain an affair of ideas and books rather than questions and issues of real people.”

Father Cleary taught numerous courses during his 18-year career at the College, including ones in religion and politics in both Latin America and the United States, as well as Human Rights in Latin America and Seminars for Model Organization of American States.
Lifelong affinity for Latin America

Several of his courses reflected his scholarly, research, and personal passion for Latin America, which was sparked during his first assignment as a young Dominican priest in Bolivia. A social scientist and a Dominican missionary, he regularly studied, lectured, and wrote about the status of the Catholic Church, religion in general, politics, and human rights throughout Latin America.

That lifelong interest continued until his death. He continued to work as the editor and a contributing writer of the first Handbook of Latin American Christianity. He called the appointment as editor by Oxford University Press “the crowning touch of my career.”

In all, he wrote or co-authored 14 books, including This Rise of Catholic Charismatics in Latin America, which was published this year by University Press of Florida. He also was the co-author and co-editor of Conversion of a Continent: Contemporary Religious Change in Latin America (Rutgers University Press, 2007) and of Representing God at the Statehouse: Religion and Politics in the American States (Rowman and Littlefield, 2006).

In addition, he developed several Web sites–including one on religion in Latin America–during the latter stages of his lifetime; contributed to films on Latin America; and wrote numerous articles, chapters, and book reviews for scholarly and theological publications.

Father Cleary also gave scholarly presentations or served as a participant at numerous national and national conferences and programs. In 2006, he took part in the International Congress on the Theme of Corruption and the Poor at the Vatican, and in 1998, he witnessed the historic meeting between Pope John Paul II and Cuban leader Fidel Castro in Cuba.
Native of Chicago

Born in Chicago, on August 4, 1929, a son of the late Emmet and Mary (Novotny) Cleary, he attended Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis., and the Dominican Houses of Studies in River Forest, Ill., and Dubuque, Iowa, where he earned his bachelor’s (1953), licentiate (1953), and master’s (1954) degrees in theology from the Aquinas Institute of Theology. He earned a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Chicago in 1975.

He was ordained a priest in the Dominican Order by the Most Rev. Edward Hoban, archbishop of the Diocese of Cleveland, Ohio, on May 25, 1957, at St. Rose Priory in Dubuque, Iowa.

Father Cleary’s priestly assignments included San Jeronimo Seminary/St. Andrew English School, La Paz, Bolivia (1958-1962); St. Xavier College, Chicago (1962-1966); the Dominican Mission Vicariate in La Paz, as vicar provincial (1966-1971); the University of Pittsburgh, where he was assistant director of the Center for Latin American Studies (1973-1976); Aquinas Institute of Theology, St. Louis, Mo., where he taught and served as vice president/academic dean (1976-1979); the Institute of Latin American Studies, Columbia University, New York City, where he was a research associate at the Institute of Latin American and Iberian Studies (1980-1982); the Research Institute for the Study of Man, also in New York City, where he was a fellow (1982-1985); and the Pontifical College Josephinum, Columbus, Ohio, as director of the School of Theology Hispanic Ministries Program (1985-1993).
Funeral arrangements

Father Cleary’s body was received into the Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary at the Priory of St. Thomas Aquinas on Sunday, November 27, at 4:00 p.m. A wake followed, concluding with the Office at the Dead.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated in the priory chapel on Monday, November 28, at 10:00 a.m. He will be laid to rest with his fellow Dominican Friars in All Saints’ Cemetery, Des Plaines, Ill., at a later date.

Donations in Father Cleary’s memory may be made to the Dominican Society for Vocational Support for the education of young Dominicans at 1909 South Ashland Ave., Chicago, IL 60608..

Paul Byrd, OP is twenty-nine years old. He grew up a Pentecostal, but when he was sixteen, felt called by God to seek him elsewhere. He was baptized a Methodist, but after reading more about the great saints of the Catholic Church and the history of Christianity, he entered RCIA and was confirmed a Catholic in 2000. From there, he went to Thomas More College, and earned a B.A. in Creative Writing and an A.A. in Theology. On October 7th, the Feast of the Holy Rosary, he dedicated himself to his religious vocation and asked God’s assistance in finding the right community for him. Remembering the holy life of Servant of God Rose Hawthorne, he looked up the Dominicans online, and decided to visit the brothers in St. Louis. While in the novitiate he discerned that he was called to be a cooperator brother, not a priest, and went on to start a blog so he could publish his reflections on what lay religious life means to him. He just earned his M.A. in Theology from Aquinas Institute in St. Louis, MO. He will begin studies for an M.A. in Writing at DePaul University in the fall. Most recently, he professed solemn vows on June 8th, 2011, thereby becoming a permanent member of the Order of Preachers. If you would like to read more about Br. Paul, visit his blog at: http://dominicancooperatorbrother.blogspot.com/

The 18th Provincial Chapter of the Province of St. Albert the Great convened from June 9-17 and was hosted by St. Vincent Ferrer Priory, River Forest, IL. A total of 24 capitulars traveled from all over the Midwest and Bolivia to discuss the state of the province, as well as plan for the future of the province’s continued ministry. Pre-chapter Commissions focused on the province’s finances, formation, government, and ministry for mission. The chapter discussed at great length how the province can use modern means of communication to further the order’s mission of evangelizing an ever-growing digital audience.

The chapter also discussed some of the challenges facing the province. Most pressing are the financial needs of the province, which include funding a new studentate in St. Louis and increasing the retirement endowment for our elderly brothers. Another challenge facing the province is the number of brothers available for active ministry. Although, the province is receiving steadily increasing new vocations each year, it cannot sustain some of its ministries in the near future. The chapter has looked into reorganizing some of its ministerial structures so as to free its brothers for more important ministries.

Despite these challenges, the chapter sought solutions that would better position the province for a re-founding of itself in Chicago and throughout the Midwest. The chapter discussed a renewed spirit of mendicancy and ordained establishment of online publishing as a way to spread “the fruits of our contemplation.” On June 14, the chapter elected Fr. Charles Bouchard, O.P., as the new Prior Provincial. Originally from Superior, Wisconsin, Fr. Bouchard joined the Order in 1974. He was ordained in 1979, and went on to earn a doctorate in moral theology from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Fr. Bouchard had already joined the faculty of Aquinas Institute of Theology (AI) the previous year as a professor of moral theology, and would later help shape AI’s Master of Arts in Health Care Mission program as well as the collaborative leadership education program with Ascension Health. Under his leadership, Aquinas also established the only Catholic doctoral level program in preaching in the United States.

Fr. Bouchard has lectured, preached and written on the topics of fundamental ethics, sexual and health care ethics, and morality and public policy. Fr. Bouchard was president of AI from 1989-2008, during which time he spear-headed the purchase and renovation of a new building for the school. After his tenure as president ended, Fr. Bouchard assumed the position of Vice President of Theological Education with Ascension Health, the largest network of Catholic, non-profit healthcare system in the United States. “My top priority,” said Fr. Bouchard, “is to strengthen Catholic preaching and for a new generation of lay leaders for our sponsored institutions.”

The diffinitors elected by the chapter were Paul Whittington O.P., prior of St. Pius V in Chicago, Gerald Stookey O.P., prior of St. Dominic’s in Denver, Jose Santiago O.P., professor at AI, and Robert Keller O.P., pastor of St. Paul’s in Bloomington, IN.  Fr. Louis Morrone O.P., the former novice master, was appointed as the Socius to the Provincial and Syndic to the Province.  Michael Kyte O.P., associate pastor of St. Vincent Ferrer in River Forest, Daniel Davis O.P., associate pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Newman center in Albuquerque and Andy McAlpin O.P., chaplain at Fenwick High School, were appointed to the Provincial Council.

Rev. Robert Antoninus Kilbridge, O.P. died on Saturday, March 5, 2011 after a prolonged illness. Father Kilbridge was born on Dec. 9, 1918, in Chicago, IL. He was the son of the late Joseph and Lillian (nee Volker) Kilbridge. He is survived by his brother, Thomas Kilbridge, and by many nieces and nephews. Fr. Kilbridge was preceded in death by his brothers, John, Maurice, William, Joseph and James. Father made his religious profession as a Dominican friar on Aug. 5, 1941, and was ordained a priest on June 5, 1947. As a priest he served as a preacher and pastor in the United States, and as a missionary in Ghana and Nigeria. He was the pastor of Saint Hyacinth Parish in Amarillo, TX, from 1963-1969, before he went to the foreign missions. More recently, he served as associate pastor at St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish in Chicago, and at St. Vincent Ferrer Parish in River Forest.

Funeral services were held at Saint Vincent Ferrer Church, 1530 Jackson, River Forest, IL, on Tuesday, March 8, 2011. The Reception of the Body took place at the Church at 8:30 a.m., followed by the Office of the Dead, at 9 a.m. The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at 10 a.m. Memorials can be made to the Dominican Society for Vocational Support for the education of young Dominicans at 1909 South Ashland Ave., Chicago, IL 60608.

Announcing the publication of an inspirational work on the death of Meister Eckhart by Michael Demkovich, O.P. who said, “I sought to study the facts surrounding Eckhart’s mysterious death and found that the facts had a story of their own to tell.” Discover more about this engaging historical-fictional work by watching the following trailer…

Excerpt:

The boy’s body lay on the deck, wet and motionless. I recognized him as the crewman who earlier feared the River Witch. I don’t know how the past hour unfolded but it was the closest to the torments of hell I have known in this life. We had just cleared the third and largest of the river islands and with each passage the force of the river narrowed and its roll became more violent. The captain had kept the sails full to push against the current and the two rudder men were angling the ship into a somewhat calm passage up the Mosel. It seemed all too perfect, all too flawless. . . . (from chapter 3, ‘The River Journey’ in The Death of Magister Aycardus by M. Thomas-Paul Demkovich).

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Name: Michael Mascari, O.P.

Profession: 22 August 1982

Current Ministry: Prior Provincial of the Province of St. Albert the Great

Fr. Michael Mascari, O.P. is currently the prior provincial of the Province of St. Albert the Great. As prior provincial he is the major superior for almost two hundred Dominican friars in the central part of the United States and in Bolivia, where St. Albert’s Province has had a mission for more than fifty years. Among his responsibilities are conducting provincial visitations of each of our houses and meeting with each of the brothers every two years, or in the case of novices and student brothers each year, to learn how they are doing, to find out what their struggles are, and to help them live out their Dominican vocations faithfully and joyfully. In addition to this ministry to the friars, he serves the universal Church and the Order so that the friars of our Province might indeed be useful to others as St. Dominic wanted them to be, through our mission of preaching and salvation of souls.

Before he was elected provincial in 2003, Fr. Mascari served the Province as a professor of historical theology at Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, the Dominican school of theology sponsored by the Province of St. Albert the Great. At Aquinas he taught courses on church history, the Trinity, the theology of the early church fathers, and the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas. He was also Master of Students, the friar in charge of the formation of young brothers preparing for full-time ministry, either as priests or as cooperator brothers.

Fr. Mascari has always had a great love for the Dominicans and has known about the Order since he was a child. A cousin and former babysitter of his is a Sinsinawa Dominican Sister; another is a former friar of the Province. Early on he was drawn to the Order and its mission of preaching and teaching that flows from the shared commitment of the brothers to the common life, to contemplative prayer, and to study After obtaining an undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and a law degree from De Paul University, Fr. Mascari spent a couple of years working as an attorney. He joined the Order in 1981 and made profession on August 22, 1982. After five years of study at Aquinas Institute he was ordained a priest on May 24, 1987, one of the major feasts of St. Dominic. His first assignment was at Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois, where he taught Latin and theology. He left Fenwick to begin doctoral studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C, and completed his Ph.D. in patristic theology in 1996, before returning to Aquinas to teach as a professor.

Rev. Thomas Lawrence Kearney, O.P., 90, died Nov. 27, 2010, at Saint Pius V Priory in Chicago from complications due to advanced age. Father was a native of Indianapolis, IN, the son of the late Roger and Mary, nee McShea, Kearney. He is survived by his brother Francis X. Kearney and many nieces and nephews. Father was also preceded in death by his brothers Louis, Roger, James, and William, and by his sisters Sister Ann Francesca, O.P., Elizabeth, Mary, and Agnes. Father Kearney made his religious profession as a Dominican friar on June 25, 1944, and was ordained a Roman Catholic priest on May 30, 1950. During his life as a Dominican, he served as an associate pastor, military chaplain in the US Army and Air Force, hospital chaplain, and missionary in Kenya. Funeral services will take place at Saint Pius V Priory, Chicago, IL, on Tuesday, Nov. 30, with the Reception of the Body at 9 a.m., followed by the Office of the Dead at 9:30 a.m., and the Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 a.m. Interment was at All Saints Cemetery, Des Plaines, Illinois.