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Clergy appointment
Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo has announced the following clergy appointment, effective immediately: Rev. Joseph Daniel Otieno K’osir, O.P. (Dominicans) is Parochial Vicar of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Charlottesville. He succeeds Rev. Gregory Maturi, O.P., who was elected Prior of the Dominican Community in Youngstown, Ohio.
OJP contact information
The contact information for the diocesan Office of Justice and Peace has changed.
The offices are now located with Commonwealth Catholic Charities in Richmond. The email address is ojpdirector@cccofva.org. The telephone number is 804-285-5900.
 Father David Stokes SJ, former Richmond pastor, dies
David F. Stokes, a Jesuit priest who served as pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in South Richmond from 1996 to 2007, died Sept. 24 from pneumonia in Sebring, Fla., where he was active in Hispanic ministry. He was 78.
Father Stokes, who was frequently known as Father David by those in Sacred Heart, had been a Jesuit for 59 years and a priest for 46 years. He had spent 25 of those years working in Hispanic ministry in Philadelphia, Vineland, NJ, and Florida in addition to his 11 years in Richmond.
Born in Philadelphia June 18, 1931, he entered the Society of Jesus on Sept. 7, 1950 after graduation from St. Joseph’s Prep and a year of study at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. He pronounced his first vows Sept. 8, 1952.
As a Jesuit Scholastic, he taught English, French and religion from 1957 to 1960 at Georgetown Prep, North Bethesda, Md.
Father Stokes pursued theological studies at the Seminaire Des Missions, Lyons, France from 1960 to 1962 and at Woodstock College in Maryland from 1962 to 1964, where he was ordained to the priesthood June 16, 1963. He completed his Tertianship at Saint-Jerome, Canada, from 1964 to 1965 and made his final profession in the Society of Jesus Sept. 8, 1979.
After earning his Master’s degree in French at Boston College, Father Stokes began his priestly ministry as minister of the Jesuit Community and teacher of Latin and French at Scranton Prep, Scranton, Pa., from 1966 to 1970.
He then served as assistant prefect of student personnel and teacher of French at Loyola Blakefield High School, Towson, Md., from 1970 to 1974 and a teacher of French at St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia, from 1974 until 1977.
Appointed superior of Casa Pedro Claver and associate pastor of St. Bonaventure’s Church, Philadelphia, from 1977 to 1980, Father Stokes began his work in the Hispanic apostolate.
He continued this ministry as parish administrator at Holy Name Church, Camden, NJ (1980-83), parochial vicar at St. Veronica’s Church in Philadelphia (1983-88), parochial vicar, coordinator of Spanish candidates for the diaconate, counselor for Youth Encounter and teacher of Spanish for the archdiocesan seminary at Visitation Church in Philadelphia (1988-90) and the Spanish Apostolate at the Hispanic Center in Vineland, NJ. (1990-96).
In 2007 Father Stokes was at St. Catherine’s Church in Sebring where he lived and worked until his death.
Mass of Christian Burial was held Sept. 29 at St. Catherine Church, with burial Oct. 1 at the Jesuit Cemetery in Wernersville, Pa.
Sr. Alberta Gillen, RSM, dies
Sister Alberta Gillen, a member of the Sisters of Mercy who worked in the Richmond diocesan Office of Catholic Schools from 1967 to 1975, died August 23, at McAuley Convent in Merion, PA. She was 88.
Sister Alberta professed vows as a Sister of Mercy in 1942.
Before coming to Richmond in 1967, Sister Alberta had taught at different schools in Philadelphia and was principal of Annunciation BVM School in Havertown, PA, from 1960 to 1967.
After she left Richmond in 1975, she moved back to Pennsylvania to become Superior at St. Malachy Convent.
Sister Alberta joined the Motherhouse Staff at the Convent of Mercy in 1999 and was on staff until 2005 when she retired to prayer ministry at McAuley Convent until her death.
 Solemn vows professed
Brother Christopher Gaffrey, OFM, native of St. Mark Parish in Virginia Beach, in the middle, professed his solemn vows in the Immaculate Conception Province of the Order of Friars Minor on Sept. 13 in Caledon, Ontario. He was ordained the next day to the transitional diaconate by Bishop Roberto Camilleri, OFM, of Comayagua, Honduras. Brother Christopher, the son of John and Florence Gaffrey of St. Mark’s, graduated from Salem High School in Virginia Beach in 1996 and from George Mason University in 2000. While in college he was active in campus ministry and the Knights of Columbus and participated in the Encounter with Christ retreat in the spring of 1998. He was awarded a Bachelor in Sacred Theology degree from the Pontifical University Antonianum in Rome this past June. He is serving at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Winsted, CT, as he awaits ordination to the priesthood. With him in the photo are Br. Alvin Te, OFM, left, and Br. Giacomo La Selva, OFM who were also ordained transitional deacons.
 Canonization Mass
Mother Marcel Joseph, second from left, and Sister Eva of the Little Sisters of the Poor gathered recently at the Diocesan Pastoral Center to plan the upcoming Mass at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart to celebrate the canonization of Blessed Jeanne Jugan, founder of that international religious community. Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo will preside at the Mass on Thursday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m. Working with the two sisters in planning the liturgy are Msgr. Thomas F. Shreve, Vicar General of the diocese; Johanna McKee, who will be minister of celebration, and Anne Edwards, Special Assistant and Adviser to the Bishop. The Mass which is open to all will be held after the canonization of St. Jeanne Jugan Oct. 11 at St. Peter’s Square in Rome. Mother Marcel Joseph will be part of the Virginia delegation attending the ceremony.
 Ecumenical service
An Ecumenical Service of Prayer for Forgiveness, Hope and Peace was held Sept. 11 at Williamsburg United Methodist Church in remembrance of the terrorist attacks against the United States on that date in 2001. The homilist, seated in front, was Rev. Lauren McDonald from Hickory Neck Episcopal Church in Toano. Representatives from 11 churches in the Williamsburg area participated, including Father Arlon Vergara, parochial vicar from St. Bede Catholic Church. About 225 people attended.
 Solemn vows professed
Sister Patricia M. Heath, a member of the Holy Union Sisters who is senior vice president of sponsorship for Bon Secours Health System, was recently honored by Bon Secours Hampton Roads for her 50th anniversary in the religious life. Sister Pat joined Bon Secours in November 2007 and is responsible for the Hampton Roads ministry in the areas of sponsorship, mission and governance. She has served on a variety of boards and councils of both religious and professional organizations. A teacher for 11 years, she pursued her interest in religious education to earn her bachelor’s degree in education from the College of the Sacred Heart in Fall River, Mass. and her master’s degree in education from Boston College. Growing up on a farm in Massachusetts, Sister Pat learned that at times a calling to religious life can be as simple as a phone call and a yes. When her pastor asked for help teaching catechism classes, her mother gladly “volunteered” her, knowing that she had always liked the idea of becoming a teacher. “My ministry has been built on taking the next step in ways that I can make a difference in helping people to understand God’s love for them and encouraging them to live the values of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Sister Pat said.
 75-year milestone
Sister Berenice Eltz, a member of the Sisters of Mercy who has lived in Williamsburg since 1951, has celebrated the 75th anniversary of her entrance into the religious life. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Sister Berenice taught English at Walsingham Academy when it was first housed in the former parish rectory at 601 College Terrace. She continued to teach there for 25 years after it moved to its current residence on Jamestown Road. She then became the Social Outreach minister for St. Bede Parish, a ministry in which she worked to bring food or help to find shelter for Williamsburg’s poor and needy community which earned her the unofficial title of the “Mother Teresa of Williamsburg.” Now 93, Sister Berenice still drives and is a volunteer at the Angels of Mercy Clinic near Williamsburg which provides medical care to the poor.
 Dominicans at UVA
Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo presided at Mass Sept. 26 at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlottesville in celebrating the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the Dominican community of the Order of Preachers to establish a chapel for Catholic students at the University of Virginia. A five-acre site on Alderman Road, the last available vacant land adjacent to the UVA campus, was purchased in 1962 for $29,000. Construction on the first church known as St. Thomas Hall was begun in 1966 and it was dedicated in November 1967 by Bishop John J. Russell. Father William Stickle, at far left, then a Dominican priest, served as pastor from 1959 to 1975. He became a Richmond diocesan priest in 1977 and is now retired and living in Kill Devil Hills, NC. Others, from left, are Dominican Fathers Gregory Maturi; Brian Mulcahy, a former pastor; Luke Clark, current pastor; Gregory Salamone, a former pastor, and Jesuit Father Gerald Fogarty, a professor of church history at UVA. Hidden is Dominican Father Joseph Daniel Otieno K’osir, newly arrived parochial vicar from Kenya. An Italian dinner for approximately 350 guests was held in St. Thomas Hall following the Mass. (PHOTO BY DR. LAWRENCE BRANNON).
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Copyright © 2009 The Catholic Virginian Press. Articles from Catholic News Services, including Fr. Dietzen’s column, may not be reproduced due to copyright considerations.
The Catholic Virginian is a biweekly publication serving the people of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond. This website includes some, but not all, of the articles from the print version of The Catholic Virginian.
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