Kurt Holdried, O. Carm. (PCM)

Fr. Kurt Holdried, a member of the PCM Province died on October 27, 2004 at the Carmelite residence in Venice, Florida where he was retired. He was born in Chicago Heights on April 4, 1931. He made his first profession on September 7, 1953 and was ordained priest on May 23, 1959.

Fr. Kurt worked many years in education and later served in several parishes.

Godelieve Hooymans, O. Carm. (NUL)

Sr. Godelieve, a member of the Carmelites nuns in Nuland, the Netherlands, died on November 3, 2004. Originally a member of the Trappistine Order, she joined the Carmelites in Amstelveen in 1954. She was in religious life for 66 years.

Born on May 1, 1920 in Oegstgeest, Zuid-Holland, she was given the name Sophia Johanna Hooymans. She was 84 years old.

Timothy Sklopan, O. Carm. (PCM)

Br. Tim Sklopan, a member of the PCM Province died in Chicago (USA) on November 11, 2004. He was 63 years old.

Br. Tim was born in Pittsburgh (USA) on December 20, 1941 and was professed on September 8, 1963. He was involved in education for many years and was a teacher at Mt Carmel High School in Chicago at the time of his death.

Carl Pfister, O. Carm. (PCM)

Fr. Carl Pfister, a member of the PCM Province, died in New Jersey (USA) on November 11, 2004. He was born in New Haven, CT on June 7, 1925. He made his first profession on August 15, 1943 and was ordained priest on June 7, 1949. He worked in education and parishes for many years. He also served as a hospital chaplain.

James Doyle, O. Carm. (Hib)

James (Jim) Doyle, a member of the Irish Province, died suddenly on Saturday, November 12th, 2004, in Harare, Zimbabwe as a result of injuries in a road traffic accident the previous day. A native of Killaloe, Co Clare, Jim was born in 1938 and entered the Carmelite Order in 1956. He was ordained priest in 1964 and went to Zimbabwe the same year where he gave his life to the spread of the Gospel. In recent years he was a key figure in the formation of Carmelites in Zimbabwe where his loss will be most keenly felt. He will be laid to rest in his adopted homeland at Triashill Mission.

Maurizio Fondacaro, O. Carm. (Neap)

Br. Maurizio Fondacaro died on November 20, 2004 in the hospital in Foggia following a long illness.

He was born in Palmi on February 9, 1939. He made his first profession on June 6, 1966. He live in various communities of the Province during his life, distinguishing himself by his goodness and simplicity.

Joseph (Anselm) Abbley, O. Carm. (Brit)

Joseph Abbley, a member of the British Province, died on December 3, 2004. Fr. Joe was born in London on 13th September 1930. The son of a railway engineer he completed his apprenticeship and qualified as an engineer himself. After national service he went to St. Mary’s College, Aberystwyth which was then a centre for "late vocations". He made his first profession on 8th September 1966. Joe completed his studies in Ireland and was ordained priest at The Friars, Aylesford on 18th July 1971.

He served in a number of communities at Tadcaster, Aylesford and Allington Castle and in a variety of ministries. For many years he was spiritual director to the Carmelite Third Order. For many years he led the regular monthly All Night Vigils in Aylesford and was very much in demand as a retreat director. He was noted for his care of the sick. In 1990 Joe took on the chaplaincy of an old peoples home in Dawlish and, when that closed in 2001 he moved as chaplain to Lakenham Nursing Home.

Joe always had a strong independent streak and even though his own health began to deteriorate from summer 2004 he continued to care for the residents as best he could until only a couple of weeks before his death.

Rocco Di Leonardi, O. Carm. (PCM)

Fr. Rocco DiLeonardi, a member of the PCM Province, died on December 4, 2004, after a brief illness. He was born on June 11, 1931 and made his first profession on August 30, 1950. He was ordained priest on December 8, 1956.

Rocco spent most of his years ministering in the Province’s high schools both as a teacher and later as a guidance counselor. He retired a couple of years ago and lived at the St. Elias Community in Joliet, Illinois.

Mária Teresa Ros Campaña, O. Carm. (TAR)

Mother Mária Teresa, a member of the Carmelite monastery of L’Amor Divino in Tárrega, Spain died on December 4, 2004 at the age of 95 years. She was a Carmelite for 71 years.

She was born on September 5, 1909 and entered Carmel on July 28, 1933. She made her first profession on the feast of Our Ladu of Lourdes in 1935 in the monastery of the Encarnación in Barcelona. During civil war in Spain, Mother and the other members of the community fled to the Carmelite monastery in Vetralla, Italy where they stayed until 1939. In 1948, Mother was asked to return to Vetralla to be Director of Novices.

In 1954, the Carmelite monastery of Amor Divino was founded in Tárrega and Mária Teresa became the first prioress, a position she would hold various times. Because Mother had the gift of connecting well with people, the sasnctuary was filled with family members, friends and acquaintances of the monastery for Mother’s funeral.

Philip Nessinger, O. Carm. (PCM)

Fr. Phil Nessinger, a member of the PCM Province, died on December 13, 2004 following a long illness. He was involved in the founding of several parishes of the Province. He retired a couple of years ago.

Phil was born June 6, 1924 in Chicago, Illinois. He made first profession on August 15, 1944 and was ordained on June 6, 1950.

Jaume Llagostera I Torrent, O. Carm. (Cat)

Fr. Jaume, a member of the Catalonian province, died on January 2, 2005. He was 94 years old. Fr. Jaume was born on March 23, 1910 in Olot (La Garrotxa) in Catalonia. He made his first profession on July 2, 1927 in Caudete. He was ordained a priest on April 15, 1933.

Frank (Florian) McCarthy, O. Carm. (PCM)

Fr. Frank McCarthy, member of the PCM Province, died in Florida on January 7, 2005 where he was living in retirement. A native of Massachusetts, Frank made his first profession on August 15, 1945 and was ordained in New York City on June 9, 1951. He was always involved in education. He was the founder of Colegio Nuestra Senora del Carmel, the Carmelite school in Lima, Peru where he ministered for 11 years. Following doctoral studies, he became principal of Salpointe Catholic High School in Tucson until 1986. In 1989 he moved to Nogales, Arizona, on the border between the USA and Mexico to work with the town’s Catholic high school. He was 79.

Maria Anna Petronella Willemsen, O. Carm. (ZEN)

Sr. Anna Petronella, of the Carmelite monastery of Zenderen, died on January 8, 2005. She was born in Oldenzaal on May 25, 1913. She entered Carmel and professed her first vows on January 9, 1961.

Martin McMahon, O.Carm. (Hib)