You would have to live in a cell not to know

that vocations are down dramatical-ly in North America and Europe. Other sections of the Cath-olic world, especial-ly Africa and Latin America, are faring much better. The Redemptorists of the United States and Canada, comprising five provinces, one vice-province and one region, have a single novitiate in Toronto, Canada. Only the Vietnamese “extra patriam” vice-province maintains its own novitiate. Our novitiate moved out of Ilchester, Md., in 1973. It became a combined novitiate in Oconomowoc, Wis., with the St. Louis Province for 12 years until it moved to Esopus, N.Y. (1985-1996). Then to Glenview, Ill., until 2010, when the novitiate moved

to the Provincial House in Toronto. Our North American novitiate pretty much covers North America, Western Europe, and beyond. This year’s class of novices are from all of North America, the Caribbean, and even Belgium. Many provinces have a difficult time getting enough novices for a novitiate. Last year there was no novitiate in North America because there were not enough novices. The novitiate guidelines require four novices before we can have a novitiate. Over the years we have had novices from Siberia (the Irish Province), Iraq, Vietnam, Ireland, England, Scotland, and Germany. Our novitiate certainly gives us a sense of the global Redemptorist world. Not much of

what we knew of the novitiate 50 years ago is still with us today. The novices rise for meditation at 7 a.m. rather than 5:30. Morning Prayer and Eucharist begin at 7:30, followed by breakfast. Morning Conference is at 9:15, with another conference at 10:15. Most of the conferences are done with PowerPoint.

At 11:45 the novices gather for Midday Prayer and Particular Exam. They have Evening Prayer at 5 p.m. and dinner at 5:15. In the evening they watch a DVD together on one of the novitiate’s themes, but on Thursday evenings they have a Holy Hour. Afternoons are unscheduled, but the novices are

expected to set their own goals for that unstructured time with work, exercise, or reading. It is not a heavy schedule, but the amount of unscheduled time may be the biggest difference from the novitiates of the past. Our novices mix regularly with other novices, both male and female, from

The Redemptorist novitiate in Toronto

The novices for this year are (left to right) Sydney Beckers, French Province novice from Belgium; Michael Cunningham, Baltimore Province novice from Bethpage, N.Y.; Huy Vu, Denver Province novice from Houston; Garvey Blanc, Caribbean Region novice from Dominica; Alfredo Rodriguez, Denver Province novice from Mexico; Ako Walker, Caribbean Region novice from Trinidad; Alfredo Medina, Denver Province novice from Mexico; and Chung Tran, Denver Province novice from Seattle.

St. Mary’s, North East & St. Alphonsus College, Suffield

AlumniNotes

Volume 3, Spring 2014

continued on page 2

2 | Alumni Notes, Spring 2014

Top row, left to right: Rich Furey; Bob Wojtek; Pat Gaffney; and Kevin Sullivan, who lives near Fall River in Massachusetts. He is married with children.   Second row: Tom Knapp; Stanley Kelczewski; Jose Mendez; and Kevin O’Neil. After 25 years of teaching moral theology at Washington Theological Union, he is now on the staff at San Alfonso Retreat House in Long Branch, N.J. Third row: Tom Burke, now rector of the Redemptorist community in Sumter, S.C.; Celso de los Santos, deceased; Sean McGillicuddy, former rector in Philadelphia and Brooklyn and now rector at Third Street in Manhattan; Bill Viele; Jerry Kowalczyk; and Peter Smith. Front row: Raul Fonseca;

José Jimenez; Diego Camacho, a funeral director

in Wisconsin, married with children; Carlos de los

Santos; Ken Berger; and Gary Becker. n

North East graduating class of 1973

different religious communities in the Toronto area. This year the Intercommunity Novitiate has eight Redemptorist novices, two novices from the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood, and two novices from the Society of St. John the Divine

(Anglican). Joe Kenny and Leo Henighan would sit up in their caskets if they saw these changes. The novices still study the life and works of St. Al-phonsus and have conferences on our Redemptorist Constitutions and Statutes (our rule). Each novice has a personal colloqui-

um every week, ei-ther with the Nov-ice Director (Gary Lauenstein from

St. Louis) or the Socius (Ray Dou-ziech from Ed-monton). Ron-

nie Bonneau from Bradford, Vt. (Bal-timore Province), will become So-cius in 2015 and Novice Director in 2017. He served as Novice Direc-tor in Asunción, Paraguay. Please pray that the Lord of the Harvest may call more young men to follow the way of St. Alphonsus. n

continued from page 1

The novitiate house in Toronto

Alumni Notes, Spring 2014 | 3

Father Bill Spillane, C.Ss.R., taught physics, biology, health education, and religion in

North East, Pa., from 1963 until 1975. He was a young seminarian at St. Mary’s from Mission Hill in Boston from 1946 until 1952. He made his novitiate in Ilchester, Md., and was professed in 1953 and ordained in 1958. He studied physics at Catholic University for four years, as his theological and philosophical studies in Esopus did not provide an adequate background for teaching physics to young seminarians. Father Spillane was also the

minister in North East from 1973 to 1975. Father Arthur Gildea

followed him as minister, and the great fire of North East came in 1977, destroying the student building. In 1975, at the age of 43, Father Spillane volunteered as a missionary to Puerto Rico, where he was stationed in Caguas, San Juan (rector), San Lorenzo, Aguas Buenas (rector), and Mayagüez. He came back to the States and was stationed at Holy Rosary in Jacksonville, Fla.; Hampton, Va. (six years); and Concord, N.C. He is now happily at St. Alphonsus Villa, New Smyrna Beach, Fla., the retirement home for the Redemptorists. n

Profile: Father Bill Spillane

Father Bill Spillane

Hi, John: Has it really been 40 years since we graduated? That would make us how old? Not a chance! Since leaving the Mount in 1980, I’ve landed in many places and done a variety of things. In the here and now, my wife, Nancy, and I live in Michigan. I supervise a family counseling initiative in two counties that works with the parents of teens who are either in or on the way into the juvenile justice system. I’ve also served on a local board of education for almost seven years. My wife just got her graduate degree in social work last year and works in children’s services for the state. Our five children are all out of the house, with two in Michigan, one in Wisconsin, one in Ohio, and one in

Manhattan. We also have two grandchildren. Four years ago I got the running bug, and I’ve been running half-marathons and smaller races all over. One gets much more likely to place in his age group

when the number in the age group thins out. In May I’ll be in Cincinnati for my first marathon, the Flying Pig. I may have left the Mount in 1980, but the C.Ss.R. will always be part of who I am. Everything I’ve done has had

something to do with helping others, whether it’s been in the prisons, soup kitchens, or even under bridges. The Redemptorists instilled something in me that’s lasted, and I’m grateful for that. Take good care. Ken Berger (SMS Class of ’73) n

Keep us informedHow about it? Let us know what you are doing. Send me your fondest and funniest memories of North East. Better yet, send me some pictures. Or scan them and send me the pictures as an attachment to your e-mail. Tell us what prof most influenced you. Maybe you could send me a picture of you and your family. Keep those letters coming.

—Father John Murray, murraycssr@gmail.com

Letters from our alumni

4 | Alumni Notes, Spring 2014

Once again Mercyhurst North East will welcome St. Mary’s Seminary alumni home for a

three-day reunion celebration from Friday, July 25, to Sunday, July 27, 2014. In the same Redemptorist spir-it seen during reunions in 1998, 2006, and 2010, the alumni and their families can renew old friend-ships, share cherished memories, and celebrate our common heritage fostered at North East.

The schedule will remain the same as before. On Friday after-noon, settle into your room in the town houses, dorm suites, or the former priests’ house, then greet your fellow alumni at a welcoming evening reception. On Saturday, following break-fast, we will celebrate the litur-gy in the chapel, then enjoy lunch in the refectory and a free after-noon (e.g., a softball game for for-ever-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. For more information, e-mail Jack Breslin at jbreslin@iona.edu or call him at 914-632-9805. See you on the promi! n

St. Mary’s reunion: July 25–27, 2014

Father Vincent Douglass, C.Ss.R., ’60, died suddenly on January 10 at St. Alphonsus Villa in New Smyrna Beach, Fla. Vinny had been retired at the Villa for the past eight years. He graduated from North East in 1960, professed his vows as a Redemptorist in 1961, and was ordained in 1966. He was stationed at St. Michael’s in Baltimore for a short time and then was transferred to the Vice-Province of Richmond, where he spent the rest of his life. He became rector at Holy Rosary, Richmond, Va. (1971-75); St. Benedict the Moor, Winston-Salem, N.C. (1975-78); St. Gerard, Ft. Oglethorpe, Ga. (1984-90); St. Joseph, Hampton, Va. (1990-93); Holy Rosary, Jacksonville, Fla. (1993-

96); St. John the Evangelist, Hapeville, Ga. (1996-2002); and Holy Family Retreat, Hampton (2002-05). Edward J. Geran of East Dennis, formerly of Weymouth, died January 13 at age 83. Ed was a former Redemptorist and former Catholic priest. He served as a missionary in Brazil. After he left the ministry, he worked as an accountant for the State Treasury Office in Boston. Ed was the beloved husband of Lucille R. (Comeau) Geran and the loving father of MaryBeth McCarthy and her husband, Ed, of Weymouth. He had three grandchildren—Eddie, Ryan, and Brendan—and was brother of the late Marjorie Davin, John Geran, and Edith Mahoney. Charlie Koerber, ’50, of Haymarket, Va., died on Sunday, December 8. Charlie is survived by his beloved wife, Gay; son, Chuck; daughter-in-law, Kim; grandchildren Ella and Collin; and brother, Jim. Charlie received his doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He was a professor of theology in Esopus, N.Y. He then served as director of Drug and Alcohol Treatment Centers in the Department of Veterans Affairs and senior advisor to the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. He was the nephew of Father Charlie Schruefer, C.Ss.R., and Brother Norbert, C.Ss.R. Timothy Driscoll, ’61, of Brooklyn, N.Y., died on March 1. He graduated from Fordham Law School in 1984. Tim served as an infantryman in Vietnam and was later appointed by Governor Hugh Carey as his liaison to veterans. He taught at City College in New York for 40 years. He is survived by his wife, Hilda, and his sister, Isabelle. Terry Murphy, ’51, of California n

Remember our deceased alumni