Alumni
Notes
Volume 2, Fall/Winter 2013
St. Mary’s, North East & St. Alphonsus College, Suffield
Beatification of the
Spanish Redemptorist martyrs
I
n 1999 Pope John Paul II created a
Commission on New Martyrs. He
shrewdly appointed Bishop Michael
Hrynchyshyn, a Ukrainian Rite Redemptorist, as the chair. The Redemptorists lost many confreres to martyrdom in the 20th century.
In 2001 the Holy Father beatified as
martyrs four Ukrainian and one Slovak Redemptorist.
Although they are not beatified, on
August 6, 1944, thirty Redemptorists
from our community in Warsaw were
executed by German forces: 15 priests,
nine brothers, and six students. They
marched our confreres down the
street, shot them in an open square,
and burned their bodies.
On October 12 and 13, 2013, in Tarragona, Spain, 25,000 people attended
the beatification of 522 Spanish martyrs of the Spanish Civil War. Six of
these modern martyrs were Redemptorists. These six Spanish martyrs died
during the Spanish Civil War.
Some background: the Spanish
Communists had won the national elections in 1931 and deposed the
King of Spain. Francisco Franco, a
general in the Spanish Army, led a revolt against the Communists that developed into the Spanish Civil War,
1936–39, a war of fascism versus communism, the republicans, or Communists, versus the Nationalists, led by
General Franco.
The Church was caught in the middle. The Communists could not silence the bishops nor control the
Church, so they persecuted the
Church and executed between 5,000
and 6,000 ordinary Catholics, especially priests and nuns.
For the beatification ceremony October 13, Pope Francis sent a video message: “Let us implore the intercession
of these martyrs to be concrete Christians, Christians with works and not
just words, so as not to be mediocre
Christians, Christians varnished with
Christianity but without substance.
These martyrs were not varnished;
they were Christians to the end.”
Most of the Redemptorists martyrs were missionaries from the same
community, St. Philip Neri Church
in Cuenca, in northern Spain. They
were martyred in July and August of
1936, the first martyrs in the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer.
When the Communists threatened
our community in Cuenca, the Redemptorists decided to disperse and
take refuge with families in the parish.
When they realized that this put the
families in danger, they took asylum
in the diocesan seminary. Two of the
Redemptorists were dragged out of
the seminary and shot in the head at
close range.
Two other Redemptorists were arrested and dragged through the city as
the people shouted, “Long Live Russia,” and sang Marxist songs. These
two were shot and left to die. As they
lay bleeding on the side of the road,
they encouraged each other and made
their confessions to each other.
Blessed Julián Pozo was the youngest
to die, at the age of 33. Blessed Victoriano Calvo became the second Redemptorist brother to be raised to the
altar, after St. Gerard.
The bodies of our six martyr confreres were later recovered, and their
remains are in Our Lady of Perpetual
Help Church, the Redemptorist parish in Madrid. n
North East graduating class of 1963
Top row: Ned Ken­
ny is a married teach­
er whose daughter
just gave birth to a
son, named Pierce,
in memory of Father
Pierce Kenny, ’62,
who died last year.
Ned and wife Janet
have two adult chil­
dren and now live in
Wall, N.J. Father Tom
O’Connor battled
cancer for 25 years
and died in 1997. He
was the rector in the
Virgin Islands, Phil­
adelphia, and Low­
er Manhattan. Tom
Dengel of New Jer­
sey. His uncle was a
Redemptorist
Third row: Dan Dwy­
er of Bayside Queens is a retired financial adviser. He’s married to Eileen and has two daughters, Me­
gan and Erin, who is recently engaged. Lou Garden. Father Ed Heilmann was a diocesan priest in
Baltimore and died almost 30 years ago. Frank Bergman is retired from IBM. Father Tom Siconolfi
had been rector in Baltimore; Annapolis; Bethpage, N.Y.; Canandaigua; and the San Alfonso Retreat
House in Long Branch, N.J. He now lives in Ephrata.
Second row: Jim Caskey has two daughters and lives in Cincinnati. John Nolan worked for the Fed­
eral Government’s Drug Enforcement Agency. He and his wife have four daughters and live in Clif­
ton, Va. Father José Rached spent his priesthood in Puerto Rico, where he has been Provincial, and
is now stationed in Guayama. John Scanlon died in 1977. Father Jim Wallace was professor of hom­
iletics at Esopus and Washington Theological Union for 39 years. He has written books, articles, and
several collections of homilies and is presently rector of San Alfonso Retreat House in Long Branch.
Ken Knapp, now retired, had worked for the Treasury Department.
Bottom row: Miguel Mahfoud of Las Matas de Farfan in the Dominican Republic worked for years
for Catholic Relief Services in the Dominican Republic. Peter Jurgens lives in Bethlehem, Pa., and is
married, with three daughters. Father Ray Collins, now rector at Mission Church in Boston, was also
rector in the Virgin Islands, Bethpage, and Ephrata. Gerry Dwyer. John O’Shaughnessy owns a med­
ical software company and lives with wife Pamela in Alexandria, Va., and Florida. Father Tom Curley,
1977, did doctoral studies in linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania and taught sacred Scripture
at Esopus. He was tragically hit by a truck while riding his bike and died instantly. Jim Conlan.
2 | Alumni Notes, Fall/Winter 2013
Remember our deceased alumni
F
ather Dan Carboy, ’60,
Lieutenant Colonel in the
U.S. Air Force, died on August 22, 2013, in hospice care
at the St. John Neumann wing
of Stella Maris in Timonium,
Md. The cause of death was
cancer. Dan had been in declining health for the past few years
Father Dan Carboy
after suffering a stroke.
Born on November 6, 1939,
Dan was raised on the 400 block of 63 Street in Our
Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Brooklyn, N.Y. After graduating from North East in 1960, he professed
his vows as a Redemptorist in 1961 and was ordained
in 1966.
He spent two years as a parish priest at Our Lady of
Fatima Parish in Baltimore. After a short time at our
retreat house in Canandaigua, N.Y., and time as assistant Novice Master in Ilchester, Md., Dan served
20 years as an Air Force chaplain in the Archdiocese
for the Military.
In 1992 Father Carboy retired from the Air Force
with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He returned to
the Vice-province of Richmond as rector in Concord,
N.C. (1993–99), and in Sumter, S.C. (1999–2005).
He then became rector at our St. Alphonsus Villa
in New Smyrna Beach, Fla. After a year in Hampton,
Va., ill health forced his return to the Villa from 2009
until just a few months before his death.
Father Clem Cahill died on
August 3. He was from our Redemptorist parish of Our Lady
of Perpetual Help on 61st Street
on the East Side of Manhattan.
For most of his 62 years as
a priest, Father Clem was in
Puerto Rico, with short stays in
the Virgin Islands. He was stationed in Fajardo, Christian­
Father Clem Cahill
sted, and Aguadilla before he
became rector in Ponce.
He was also chaplain to the military personnel in
Puerto Rico. Father Clem was especially devoted to
the sick and was faithful to visiting the hospitals in
the parish.
Father Willie Straub, ’52,
died on October 21. From
his days in North East he was
known as “Willie,” and from
his days in Puerto Rico he was
known was Father Pablo, but
his real name was Robert.
Willie was ordained in 1958
Father Robert Straub
and spent the next 20 years
doing priestly work in Puerto
Rico. Willie was a dynamic and charismatic priest, and
he was soon ministering all over the world: throughout the United States, Canada, Peru, and the Philippines—and in Mexico for his final 20 years.
Willie was a regular preacher on EWTN television
and radio in both English and Spanish. Father Straub
founded two religious communities: Los Consagrados y Consagradas del Santisimo Salvador—the Consecrated of the Most Holy Savior. Their convent and
seminary is located on the Pacific Coast, just north of
Acapulco.
Father Alec
Reid died on November 22. He
was an Irish Redemptorist priest
who was central
to the peace process in Northern
Father Alec Reid
Ireland. He was
stationed at our
Redemptorist Monastery in Belfast, right on the dividing line between the Catholic Community on Falls
Road and the Protestant Shankill Road. He was also
involved in the peace process between the Basques
and the Spanish government. He was frequently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. In the photo Father Reid is giving the last rites to two British soldiers
killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army.
John Slymon, ’65, and Celso de los Santos,’71, also
died recently.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and may the
light of Our Mother of Perpetual Help shine upon
them forever. Amen. n
Alumni Notes, Fall/Winter 2013 | 3
Above, Redemptorist seminarians in the Bronx pose with a banner depicting the recently beatified
Spanish martyrs (see the story on page 1). They are (from left) Richie Hennessy, Kevin McGraw,
Peter Le, Guy Mier, Royce Thomas, Phuong To, Vincent Nguyen, Father Francis Mulvaney, C.Ss.R.,
Ken Stigner, Augustus Rivière, Eumir Bautista, and Ivan Dzhur.
St. Mary’s reunion: July 25–27, 2014
M
ercyhurst North East
will welcome the St.
Mary’s Seminary alumni
back home for a three-day
reunion celebration from
Friday, July 25, to Sunday, July 27, 2014.
In the same Redemptorist spirit that fostered
three previous reunions
in 1998, 2006, and 2010,
the alumni and their families can renew old friendships, share cherished
memories, and celebrate
our common heritage fostered at North East.
The schedule will remain the same as before.
On Friday afternoon,
settle into your room either in the town houses,
dorm suites, or the former priests’ house, then
greet your fellow alumni
at a welcoming evening
reception.
On Saturday, follow-
From a past reunion in North East, class of 1961
(from left): Joe Happeny, Brian Morgan, Paul
Coyle, and Tom Ryan, with Brian’s son.
4 | Alumni Notes, Fall/Winter 2013
ing breakfast, we will celebrate the liturgy in the
chapel, then enjoy lunch
in the refectory and a free
afternoon (e.g., a softball
game for forever-young
athletes). After OLPH devotions in the grotto, we
will gather for a barbecue
and gab fest.
Although the formal
reunion concludes with
Mass and lunch on Sunday morning, you can
enjoy an afternoon boat
ride on Lake Erie. Accommodations will be
also available for Thursday and Sunday evenings.
Website and reservation information will be
mailed out (via electronic and snail mail) in January, but save the date now
to join us.
For more information, contact Jack Breslin by email (jbreslin@
St. Mary’s Chapel
iona.edu) or by phone
(914-632-9805).
See you on the promi! n