Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Whether you are called to live Religious Life, the Priesthood, married life or unmarried, we are each called to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior:

Jesus told his disciples, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.  For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life?  Or what shall a man give in return for his life?  For the Son of man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay every man for what he has done.  Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” (Mt 16:24-28)

And how blessed by God we are as we follow a vocation to serve Him and His Body, the Church, whether we are spiritual mothers/fathers or expectant mothers/fathers:

Fr. John Lankeit blesses a baby in the womb after Mass on Mothers’ Day.

As we celebrate life given to God in the vocation of the Priesthood, Religious Life and married life expecting the birth of a child…we also celebrate birth into eternal life.

On March 2, Br. Gus Schloesser, OSC was born into eternal life at the age of 77. 

On Saturday, March 2, 2019, a Crosier Brother, Br. Gus W. Schloesser, osc, died at the Banner University Medical Center in Phoenix.  He was 77 years old.

The Crosier Fathers and Brothers mourn the loss of their confrere.  Br. Gus William Schloesser, osc, was born in Jordan, Minnesota, to John W. and Ida Rose (Bauer) Schloesser on May 23, 1941. He attended South St. Paul High School and Nazareth Hall Junior College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and earned a Pastoral Ministry Certificate from the College of St. Catherine, also in St. Paul.

Br. Gus, osc, joined the Crosiers as a novice in 1962 and made his first profession of vows March 19, 1963, in Hastings, Nebraska. He professed solemn vows in Onamia, Minnesota, in 1969.  His assignments and ministries centered around Crosier Religious Life as a member of the Crosier communities in Onamia, Hastings, Anoka, Shoreview and Phoenix, where he lived since 2004.

He served in many different capacities including director of food service for the Crosier Seminary in Onamia; director of the Christian Community Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana; associate vocation director and then province vocation director for the Crosiers; religious superior of the Crosier community in Shoreview; facilities director at Maryhill Retreat House in St. Paul; co-director of the Listening House in St. Paul; member of the Commission on Ministry for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis; Crosier alumni associate director; rector of the Crosier Generalate in Rome and facilities manager at Crosier Village in Phoenix. Br. Gus enjoyed volunteering at Huger Mercy Living Center and coordinating efforts to stock a food pantry at Roeser Senior Village Apartments, both in Phoenix.

Br. Gus is survived by his brothers Stan, Rod and Jack, his sister Doreen Yezek and their families; his Crosier confreres and numerous friends. He is preceded in death by his parents and brothers Kenny and Terry and sister Geri.  His wake and funeral were on March 7.

Sr. Gabby Marry, IBVM was born into eternal life on June 2, 2019 at age 79.

Sister Gabrielle Marry, I.B.V.M. (Marie Therese Marry) was the first baby born in the new Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland on January 18, 1940. She was the daughter of Austin and Bridie (Lenehen) Marry. She entered the Novitiate in Loreto Convent, Navan, on October 17, 1958. A few years later she came from Ireland to join the Sisters and staff of Ss. Simon and Jude School in Phoenix where she taught 2^nd & 5^th grades for a number of years. She also taught at Sacred Heart School in Prescott for some years and worked for a time at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Flagstaff as a Pastoral Associate.

Sister Gabrielle held a B.A degree in History/English from University of San Diego and an M.A. in Counseling and Guidance from the University of Arizona and retained a great appreciation for both of these fine universities.

With the underlying Spirituality and Constitutions of the Loreto Sisters being Ignatian, Sister worked for many years with the Loyola Project, which was sponsored and run by the Jesuit priests at St. Francis Parish and Brophy Preparatory High School in Phoenix. Others projects she loved and volunteered her time for included teaching reading and language skills to children with English as their second language, a pen-pal program with prisoners dealing with anger management issues, and her many years of Pastoral Care work at Baptist Hospital and Palazzo Care Home.

The onset of Multiple Sclerosis, a condition which she bravely and cheerfully handled for more than 50 years, never stopped her from teaching, working, or helping others. To know Sr. Gabby was to love Sr. Gabby! With her bright smile, quick wit and joyful spirit she never met a stranger and was always surrounded by love wherever her scooter took her. She frequently wheeled her motorized chair into the classrooms at Ss Simon and Jude, sharing stories with the children and educating them about the wonderful Foundress of the Loreto Sisters, Venerable Mary Ward. The ‘Companions of Mary Ward’ Group was also blessed by her leadership and direction, and all members are so grateful for her love and her sharing of prayer and spiritual refreshment.

Sister Gabrielle was preceded in death by her parents, Austin and Bridie, and by her brothers, Gerry, Phil, Michael and Oliver. She is survived by her sister, Sister Concepta (Good Shepherd Order) and by her sister-in-law, Rita, and devoted nieces, nephews and cousins, who will mourn her loss, as will her Loreto Sisters and the clergy and staff of Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral and School, also, all those who were co-workers in education ministry and in her pastoral care ministry, her dear friends, her former students, and all who may have been blessed by her care and prayer in their times of ill-health.

Her wake was June 10, and her funeral was June 11 at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral.

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What is new with Consecrated Life in Phoenix!

• On Sunday, September 8, 2019, Mother Marie André Campbell, PCPA, Abbess of Our Lady of Solitude Monastery of the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration (The Desert Nuns) in Tonopah, AZ, is celebrating 25 years of Religious Life.

 

• June 24:  the Birth of St. John the Baptist, 15 years ago the Monastery began!

• June 8:  a Desert Morning of Prayer and Discernment with Fr. Fred Adamson.

• We welcome las Misioneras de la Misericordia del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus de Parral, Chihuahua en Mexico!  Three Sisters will arrive on Monday, August 12 to serve at St. Matthew’s Parish and School, beginning this month.  One of the Sisters, Sr. Ana Maria, will be working full-time for the Tribunal of the Diocese.

 

• The Eucharistic Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Los Angeles are settled in their new convent near Cottonwood as one serves as the DRE of Immaculate Conception Parish and another serves as the DRE of St. John Vianney, Sedona.

• The Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate are in a new Convent in Carefree, AZ:

 

Sr. Mary Eileen serves as the the Director of Faith Formation at Our Lady of Joy Parish and Sr. Margery Therese serves in various ministries especially visitations.  They have been warmly welcomed by an abundantly generous Parish community.  The Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate were founded in New York City by Mother Mary Teresa Tallon on the Feast of the Assumption, August 15, 1920.  Now their Motherhouse is in Monroe, NY, about an hour north of the city by the Hudson River.  The Parish Visitors will be celebrating their 100th Anniversary on August 15, 2020!

In imitation of the Sacred Heart of the Good Shepherd, Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate combine a contemplative prayer life with missionary visitation to parish families, and religious instruction.  Parish Visitor Sisters visit families and individuals where they live, door to door as well as along the way, in order to win souls for Christ.

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• The Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity of Manitowoc, WI founded St. Peter’s Mission School here in Bapchule, AZ in 1931, 88 years ago!  This month, August 25, Bishop Olmsted will celebrate their 150th Anniversary, Sister Carol Mathes’ Diamond Jubilee (60th Anniversary) and Sister Martha Mary Carpenter’s Golden Jubilee (50th Anniversary) with a Mass and reception.

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Loreto Sisters at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral celebrate 65 years in Phoenix!

• On August 22, the Loreto Sisters (IBVMs) will celebrate 65 years since they arrived in Phoenix to serve and live at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral School.  Bishop Olmsted will celebrate this anniversary with the Holy Mass on that day at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral at 8:30 a.m. followed by a reception in the Hall.

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The Nazareth House:  A Minor Seminary opens August 14 at St. Gregory’s !

This August 14, Fr. Paul Sullivan (the new Rector of the Nazareth House), Fr. Vinhson Nguyen (Assistant Vocation Director & Spiritual Director), Fr. David Loeffler (Spiritual Director), Transitional Deacon Estevan Wetzel and 6 new seminarians will be moving in the Nazareth House for the priestly formation of the new seminarians. The seminarians will be studying at Phoenix College while undergoing intense preparation for the major seminary.  Please pray for our Priests and seminarians!

Watch a video of the renovations of the Nazareth House here:  https://phoenixdiocese.flocknote.com/note/4374860/video/141382481

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Fr. Paul:  Vocation Director, Rector of Nazareth House and Pastor of a Parish

Have You Seen the Renovations at Sacred Heart Parish in Phoenix lately?

Speaking of renovations, Sacred Heart Parish in Phoenix has been transformed!

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Have You Had a Chance to Visit St. Juan Diego Parish in Chandler?

 

 

 

 

 

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As we celebrate the beauty of Consecrated Life in Phoenix and renovations, we remember that August 14th is the Feast Day of St. Maximilian Kolbe, OFM Conv.

Saint Patrick’s Day weekend, I made a Day of Prayer at the National Shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe at Marytown in Mundelein, IL to prepare for a National Assembly of the National Council of Vicars for Religious, of which I am a member and a leader.  This Shrine is an incredibly beautiful pilgrimage site, not only with a perpetual adoration Chapel that was founded in the early 1900s to pray for Vocations, but also with a historical exhibit on the religious life and martyrdom of St. Maximilian Kolbe.   With enthusiasm, I recommend all of you to visit this Shrine.  Here are a few photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please pray for Consecrated Life in our nation.  In a particular way, I ask you to pray for the LCWR National Assembly that will be held in Scottsdale, AZ this coming week.

God bless you.

Your Sister in Christ,

Sister Anthony Mary Diago, RSM

Director of the Office of Consecrated Life

Diocese of Phoenix