“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)
Fr. William “Bill” Wiegand
Fr. William “Bill” Wiegand passed away on March 7, 2023. To read his obituary, click here.
Fr. Chet Collins
Fr. Chet Collins passed away on January 12, 2023. After retirement, he entered the seminary and was ordained a priest on Jan. 12, 2013. He was currently the pastor of St. Anthony of Padua, Mancelona and St. Luke the Evangelist, Bellaire. To read his obituary, click here.
Fr. Jonah Wharff, OCSO
Fr. Jonah (Thomas) Warff of New Melleray Abbey died on Tuesday evening December 27th 2022. He suffered from a long term lung disease.
Before entering the monastery Fr. Jonah worked as a Counselor after receiving a Master’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Nebraska. In this capacity he worked for several state agencies and for three years at Boys Town of America helping orphan children who came from abusive homes.
Thomas entered New Melleray in 2000 at the age of 53. He took the name Jonah at that time. He was ordained in 2008 and was appointed guest master and retreat director for New Melleray. He helped many people as a spiritual director and confessor.
Fr. Bernie Rosinski, SCJ
Fr. Bernie passed away on November 03, 2022.
In August, Fr. Bernie was diagnosed with metastatic cancer which had advanced to his lungs, pancreas and liver. He was in hospice care with the SCJ community in Chamberlain, SD.
Fr. Bernie was born in 1934, was professed in 1952 and ordained in 1959.
“What chiefly attracted me to the Priests of the Sacred Heart was their title,” said Fr. Bernie, who was 88. “As early as I can remember I wanted to go to ‘Sacred Heart Seminary,’ located in Detroit. But because of Cardinal Mooney’s policy of having people with Polish surnames attend St. Mary’s at Orchard Lake, I knew that Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit was out of the picture. But then came along Fr. George Pinger, SCJ, who showed color slides at my parish grade school touting ‘Divine Heart Seminary.’ That seemed like a close enough approximation and so I signed up. The school was 270 miles from Detroit, thus my first contact with Priests of the Sacred Heart was with total strangers. But they were professional, competent, resourceful, dutiful, devout, loving, and thus – to me – eminently lovable. I wanted to be like them.”
Except for a brief stint in vocations, most of his ministry was academic or administrative. He taught at Divine Heart Seminary in Donaldson, Ind., at Dehon Seminary in Great Barrington, Mass., and at Sacred Heart School of Theology. In 1990 he was named provincial secretary but stayed with the Provincialate for only a year before being asked to serve on the staff of the Generalate in Rome. He was there from 1992-1998, after which he returned to SHSST. In 2001 he was back to his old job as provincial secretary. He also served on the Provincial Council.
He retired in 2007, but it was an active retirement. In South Dakota he assisted with pastoral ministry and held formation workshops for permanent deacons. Fr. Bernie had degrees from the Gregorian University in Rome, Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology and from Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.
“I am happy to be an SCJ because I am surrounded by saints,” said Fr. Bernie. “There are so many of them, both deceased and still living. I find that by being with them I discover their saintliness, often hidden, but discoverable through attentiveness and observation. It’s not that my SCJ brothers don’t have faults. It’s that they seek to find them out, work on them, weed them out, and face any fault or weakness that prevents the LOVE and SERVICE to others that Fr. Dehon called for. That takes courage and guts. That SCJ tradition is bonding.”
Fr. Jim Schifano, SCJ
Originally from Colorado Springs, CO, Fr. Jim was 77, and was ordained in 1975. Before pursuing his vocation, Fr. Jim served in the US Army; he was at the rank of sergeant when he was discharged in 1967
Fr. Jim did his theological studies at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology and later served at the seminary from 1978-1990. However, his first assignment as a priest was at Divine Heart Seminary in Donaldson, IN.
Besides his many years serving at the seminaries and in the monastery community, Fr. Jim also did pastoral ministry, first at St. Matthew parish in Houston (1977-78). After over 20 years at SHSST, Fr. Jim returned to Houston, where he briefly served at Christ the Redeemer parish (1990-91) and then back at St. Matthew’s for five years.
In 1997, Fr. Jim joined the SCJ community in Mississippi, where he ministered for three years at St. Gregory parish in Senatobia and Sacred Heart parish in Walls. From 2004-07 he served at St. Joseph’s parish in Holly Springs.
Fr. Jim’s final assignment before retirement was with the Sacred Heart Community in Pinellas Park, FL.
Fr. Ed Kilianski, SCJ
Fr. Ed Kilianski, SCJ, former provincial superior of the US Province of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, died on June 26 while traveling in California. He had suffered from a number of health concerns, including the diagnosis late last year of pancreatic cancer. He was travelling while his health allowed, to visit people and places of significance to him.
A native of Buffalo, NY, Fr. Ed, 67, was elected to his first term as provincial superior in 2015. Professed in 1975 and ordained in 1983, Fr. Ed had been in vocation ministry, served as province justice and peace director, and in parish ministry. He completed his second term as provincial early this year.
To read his obituary, click here.
Fr. Theodore V. Lewandowski
On Wednesday, June 15, 2022, Fr. Theodore (Ted) Vincent Lewandowski peacefully died in his home in Waupaca, Wisconsin. Fr. Ted was a 1997 Sacred Heart alumnus. To read his obituary, click here.
Fr. Daniel Hessling
2004 Sacred Heart alum Rev. Daniel Hessling died on May 17, 2022, at the age of 65. Please pray for Rev. Hessling’s loved ones during this difficult time. To view his obituary, click here.
Mr. Frank Kanaskie
Frank, a past Sacred Heart volunteer, died on March 19, the Solemnity of St. Joseph, patron of a happy death.
His health had declined somewhat in the last few years, but most recently his kidneys failed and he declined dialysis. He had a heart attack on March 13, was in the hospital for a couple of days, then went into hospice. His family was able to spend time with him and they were able to say their farewells.
Frank and Trudy (wife) began volunteering for SHSST in the mid-1980s with the Mission Society as helpers in sorting mass mailings. Frank became a library volunteer shortly after that, and Trudy joined us in the 1990s.
Fr. Beryl Gibson
Fr. Beryl Gibson of the Diocese of Salina died on 26 February 2022. He completed his program at Sacred Heart in 1996 and was ordained to the priesthood on May 18 of that year.
May he and all the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Fr. Thomas Mescall
Former judge turned priest, Thomas Mescall, dies at 74 (December 9, 1947 – February 1, 2022). Mescall attended Sacred Heart School of Theology in Wisconsin and was ordained in 2004 at Mundelein Seminary in Illinois at the age of 56. to read his obituary, click here.
Fr. Tom Novak SDS
Father Thomas Novak, SDS passed away on January 29, 2022. He was a former faculty member at Sacred Heart. Father Tom (formerly Father Aquinas) was 89 years of age and had been professed as a Salvatorian for 68 years; he was in his 62nd year of priesthood.
Fr. Andrew L. Buczyna
Fr. Andrew L. Buczyna passed away on November 29, 2021. Andrew received his BA and Master degrees in social work along with his Mdiv and became an ordained priest in 1987. To view his obituary, click here.
Fr. Thomas Botheroyd
Reverend Thomas J. Botheroyd, age 74, retired Pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Lombard, died peacefully November 29, 2021 surrounded by Little Sisters of the Poor. To read his obituary, click here.
Br. John Monek, SCJ
On September 27, Br. John Monek, SCJ, died following several months in home hospice care. He turned 92 on September 18, and just days before his birthday, he was anointed, surrounded by members of his religious community at Sacred Heart at Monastery Lake.
Originally from Pennsylvania, Br. John served in the U.S. Air Force, assigned to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska before pursuing his vocation as a religious brother with the Priests of the Sacred Heart.
He commemorated his 60th anniversary of religious vows on September 8. Most of his years of active ministry were dedicated to St. Joseph’s in Baileys Harbor, Wis. Initially, it served as a novitiate for the province, and later as a retreat center. When the facility took on a new life in the diocese of Green Bay, Br. John retired and moved to the Milwaukee area. Since 2014 he had been a member of the Sacred Heart Community at SHML.
During his time at St. Joseph’s, one of the projects that Br. John took great pride in was the creation of a “Silo of Prayer.” “I got the idea when I was in the Southwest and saw an Indian kiva,” he said. “I sat inside and thought that it was so peaceful and easy to pray in so when I got back, I turned the old barn silo into a kind of kiva. I liked the idea that instead of a missile silo we had a silo dedicated to prayer.”
The Wake and Mass of Christian Burial will be on Thursday, September 30, at Good Shepherd Chapel, Sacred Heart at Monastery Lake.
WAKE: 9:30 a.m.
MASS OF CHRISTIAN BURIAL: 10:30 a.m.
Interment will follow.
Fr. Byron Haaland, SCJ, will be the main celebrant. Those who are not vaccinated are asked to wear a mask. An obituary is posted here.
Fr. David T. Link
David Link began teaching at Notre Dame in 1970, and in 1975, he was appointed by Father Theodore Hesburgh as the eighth Dean and Professor of Law at Notre Dame Law School. He served as Dean from 1975 until 1999. He also served as the founding president and chancellor of the University of Notre Dame-Perth, Australia, as the founding dean of the law school at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and as the Deputy Vice Chancellor and Provost of the University of St. Augustine in South Africa. Dave Link was also the co-founder of the Center for the Homeless in South Bend.
As Dean, Dave Link coined the phrase, “A Different Kind of Lawyer.”
After Barbara, his wife of 45 years, passed away in 2003, then Dean Emeritus Link followed the suggestion of President Emeritus Theodore Hesburgh and the call of the Holy Spirit when he entered the Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners, Wisconsin. He was ordained to priesthood in the Diocese of Gary, Indiana, on June 7, 2011, at the age of 71. As a priest, he dedicated himself to prison ministry, serving those incarcerated in the seven prisons of Northern Indiana.
Fr. John Yockey
Fr. John Yockey, 77, of Milwaukee died July 28, 2021. He was a Sacred Heart faculty member from 1981-1983. A memorial Mass will be held at St. Jerome Catholic on Saturday, August, 14th. To view his obituary, click here.
Fr. Thomas Dieter
Fr. Thomas Dieter of Seminole, FL., passed away April 28, 2021. Fr. Thomas Dieter was an Alumnus of SHSST. He was ordained a Deacon in the late fall of 1981. To view his obituary, click here: https://www.legacy.com/obi…/tampabaytimes/obituary.aspx…
Please keep his loved ones in your prayers.
Fr. Dale Maxfield
Fr. Dale Maxfield, 68, of New Baden and formerly of Waterloo, Fairmont City, Radom, Scheller, Centralia, and Sandoval, died Friday, April 16, 2021 at his residence. He was a Sacred Heart Alumnus. To view his obituary, click here.
Fr. Kevin Gordon
Father Kevin M. Gordon passed away peacefully on March 11, 2021 at his home. He was born on June 2, 1943 in Hayward, WI, the son of Lawrence and Helen (Hessing) Gordon. His childhood was spent in Red Cliff and he attended St. Francis Catholic grade school. Later, he went on to graduate from St. Joseph’s High School in Westmont, IL. He attended Upper Iowa University and received a degree in nursing. He started his seminary education at Scared Heart in Hales Corners, and received a Master’s Degree in Divinity. Before his priesthood, he had a career in nursing, in respiratory therapy, and as a health care administrator in Marshfield and Ladysmith, WI. To read his obituary, click here.
Fr. Bob Tucker, SCJ
Slightly after 1:00 pm on January 23, Fr. Bob Tucker, SCJ, died. He was 68. Originally from Detroit, MI, he was professed in 1975 and ordained in 1982.
In recent years, Fr. Bob had struggled with a respiratory disorder that led to a lung transplant last July. He was unable to fully recover from the transplant and moved into palliative care shortly before his death. Fr. Quang Nguyen, SCJ (vice provincial superior), Fr. Jim Schroeder, SCJ, (a member of his community at Sacred Heart at Monastery Lake) and Mary Balistreri (province director of healthcare) were with him when he died.
May the angels lead him into paradise. Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.
Here is a link to a video tribute to Fr. Robert Tucker, SCJ created by the Priests of the Sacred Heart (Dehonians).
Rev. Thomas Brundage
Fr. Thomas Brundage, 58, died on January 15, 2021. He is a former adjunct faculty member at Sacred Heart.
His obituary can be viewed here.
Msgr. Michael Yarbrough
Msgr. Michael Yarbrough, 75, died on January 13, 2021 of COVID-19-related illness and other health concerns. He is a former member of the Priests of the Sacred Heart and earned his M.Div at Sacred Heart in 1979.
His obituary can be viewed here.
Fr. Steve Malkiewicz, OFM
Fr. Steve Malkiewicz, O.F.M., 78, died on January 07, 2021 after falling victim to the COVID-19 virus. He served in the SHSST Formation Department from 2011-2018.
His obituary can be viewed here.
Sr. Roseann Wagner
Sister Roseann Wagner, 86, died November 24, 2020. She served as spiritual director, music, instructor, and associate director of liturgical music from 1981-2004. Our condolences to her community, the School Sisters of St. Francis, and in particular her blood sister, Sr. Mary Jane Wagner SSSF.
Her obituary can be viewed here.
Rev. Marty Pable, OFM Cap.
Fr. Marty Pable, 89, died on November 19, 2020. He served as a faculty member at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology for many years.
His obituary can be viewed here.
Rev. Bernard Green SDS
Fr. Bernard Green SDS died on November 9, 2020 in Hartshill (Great Britain). He was a member of the US Province of the Salvatorians and primarily taught pastoral counseling and pastoral courses at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology from 1983-1987.
Deacon Leon Zalewski
Deacon Leon, 89, died on October 28, 2020. He received his MA degree from Sacred Heart in 1999. Please keep Deacon Leon, his wife, Joan, and his family in your prayers.
His obituary can be viewed here.
Rev. David W. Sedlock
Fr. David W. Sedlock, 64, of Gwinn, passed away peacefully on Friday, Oct. 23, 2020. Fr. Sedlock earned a master of divinity degree at Sacred Heart in 1990.
His obituary can be viewed here.
Joanne E. Kriva
Joanne E. Kriva, 86, of Woodbury, Minnesota, passed away peacefully on October 22, 2020. She earned her master’s degree in Theology from Sacred Heart in 1999.
Her obituary can be viewed here.
Rev. Jess Anthony Testa
Fr. Jess Anthony Testa, 82, died on September 30, 2020. He earned his M.Div. degree from Sacred Heart in 1988.
His obituary can be viewed here.
Rev. Angelo Sanchez CSsR
Fr. Angelo Sanchez CSsR, 74, died on September 13, 2020 in the Dominican Republic. He graduated with his M.Div. degree from Sacred Heart in 1992.
Rev. Kendal Faulk
Fr. Kendal Faulk, 62, died peacefully on August 20, 2020. He graduated from Sacred Heart in 2010.
His obituary can be viewed here.
Rev. Arley T. Downie
Fr. Arley T. Downie, 88, passed away on Sunday August 2, 2020 in Rock Island, Illinois. He was a 1988 graduate from Sacred Heart.
His obituary can be viewed here.
Debb Kosut
Debbie Kosut, 68, passed away on July 19, 2020 after a long journey with cancer. She worked in the Pastoral Formation Department, directed the volunteer program, ran the visitor center, and helped in many ways until she retired from Sacred Heart in 2018.
Please keep her husband, Garry and her entire family, related and adopted, in your prayers.
Her obituary can be viewed here.
Rev. Robert E. Keane
Fr. Keane, 95, passed away on July 6, 2020 surrounded by family. Fr. Keane graduated from Sacred Heart in 1978.
His obituary can be viewed here.
Sister Ann McKean, CSA
Sister Ann McKean, CSA, formerly Sister Corona, died peacefully at St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin on April 11, 2020. She was a faculty member at Sacred Heart for five years.
Her obituary can be viewed here.
Sr. Elizabeth Marie Hoell SSND
Sr. Elizabeth Marie Hoell SSND, 87, passed away on March 26, 2020. She was a member of our formation department faculty for a number of years. Please remember her in your and the School Sisters of Notre Dame in your prayers.
Her obituary can be viewed here.
Rev. Rick Eldred
Father Rick, 70, passed away at 2:49 a.m. Wednesday, March 25 after dealing with several health issues.
To view his obituary, click here.
Rev. John P. Carberry
Fr. John Carberry died on January 21, 2020. He was a Sacred Heart alumnus from the class of 1980.
His obituary can be viewed here.
Rev. Tan Van Tran
Fr. Tan Van Tran, 62, passed away on December 10, 2019. He received his M.Div. degree from Sacred Heart in 1992.
His obituary can be viewed here.
Rev. Andrew Marthaler
Fr. Andrew Marthaler, 86, passed away on December 13, 2019. He graduated from Sacred Heart in 1988.
His obituary can be viewed here.
Rev. Paul Kelly, SCJ
Fr. Paul, a member of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, died on Friday, October 26, 2018 after a long illness. He was 68 years old. He professed vows inn 1970 and was ordained in 1977. He was a member of the Spiritual Formation program at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology.
