THE PIARIST FATHERS PROVINCE OF THE U.S.A. AND PUERTO RICO Number 10 Winter 2016 PIARIST NEWSLETTER FATHER AGUSTIN LOPEZ, SCH.P. (1933-2015) Father Agustin Lopez Alonso, Sch.P., who was a member of our Community of San Juan (PR), passed away on December 17, 2015. At the time of his death, he was living at the St. Teresa Jornet Nursing Center. Father Agustin was born in Cor- nudilla, Burgos, Spain on June 24, 1933. He entered the Piarist novitiate in August 1948 and pro- fessed his vows in 1949. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 26, 1957. After ministering in different Piarist schools of our Province of Aragon (Spain), he was trans- ferred to Puerto Rico in 1970. Over the years, Father Agustin taught at Colegio Calasanz in San Juan, Colegio Ponceno in Ponce and Our Lady of Mount Carmel School in Playa de Ponce. At vari- ous times, he served as a teach- er of mathematics and as a school administrator. He also ministered at Queen of Peace Chapel in San Juan, the Church of Our Savior in San Juan, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Playa de Ponce and Saint Martin de Porres Chapel in Ponce. Father Cecilio Lacruz, Sch.P., who is the Rector of our Commu- nity of San Juan, was the princi- pal celebrant and homilist at a funeral Mass in the Church of Our Savior on December 21. Bishop Felix Lazaro, Sch.P. was the prin- cipal celebrant and homilist at a second funeral Mass in Saint Martin de Porres Chapel on De- ORDINATION OF FATHER NICOLAS ZUNUN, SCH.P. cember 26. His remains were in- terred at the Cemetery of the Ris- en Christ in Tuque, PR. We request that donations be made in the name of Father Agustin Lopez to the Piarist Fa- thers Seminary or Retirement Funds, P.O. Box 11822, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33339. Thank you. May Father Agustin Lopez rest in peace. Bishop Felix Lazaro Martinez, Sch.P., who is the Bishop-Emeritus of the Diocese of Ponce (PR), or- dained to the priesthood Father Ni- colas Zunun Mejia, Sch.P. The ordi- nation took place in Sibinal, Guate- mala on December 19, 2015. Bish- op Carlos Enrique Trinidad Gomez of the local Diocese of San Marcos was a con-celebrant along with Pia- rist Fathers Fernando Negro, Mario Vizcaino, Emilio Sotomayor, Jose Alberto Moreno and Luis Alberto Cruz and other Piarists from our Province of Mexico. Nicolas’ par- ents, Juan and Valentina, were also present for the ceremony as were many people from Santa Ana Chiautempan in Tlaxcala, Mexico. Father Nicolas celebrated his First Mass in his home village of Chocabj, Guatemala on December 20. Father Nicolas was born in the vil- lage of Chocabj in Guatemala on December 6, 1978. As a young adult, he participated in the Cursillo Movement, Charismatic prayer (continued on page 2)
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THE PIARIST FATHERS PROVINCE OF THE U.S.A. AND PUERTO RICO
Number 10 Winter 2016
PIARIST NEWSLETTER
FATH ER AGU S TIN LOPEZ, SC H . P. ( 1933 - 2015 )
Father Agustin Lopez Alonso,
Sch.P., who was a member of our
Community of San Juan (PR),
passed away on December 17,
2015. At the time of his death,
he was living at the St. Teresa
Jornet Nursing Center.
Father Agustin was born in Cor-
nudilla, Burgos, Spain on June
24, 1933. He entered the Piarist
novitiate in August 1948 and pro-
fessed his vows in 1949. He was
ordained to the priesthood on
May 26, 1957.
After ministering in different
Piarist schools of our Province of
Aragon (Spain), he was trans-
ferred to Puerto Rico in 1970.
Over the years, Father Agustin
taught at Colegio Calasanz in San
Juan, Colegio Ponceno in Ponce
and Our Lady of Mount Carmel
School in Playa de Ponce. At vari-
ous times, he served as a teach-
er of mathematics and as a
school administrator. He also
ministered at Queen of Peace
Chapel in San Juan, the Church
of Our Savior in San Juan, Our
Lady of Mount Carmel Church in
Playa de Ponce and Saint Martin
de Porres Chapel in Ponce.
Father Cecilio Lacruz, Sch.P.,
who is the Rector of our Commu-
nity of San Juan, was the princi-
pal celebrant and homilist at a
funeral Mass in the Church of Our
Savior on December 21. Bishop
Felix Lazaro, Sch.P. was the prin-
cipal celebrant and homilist at a
second funeral Mass in Saint
Martin de Porres Chapel on De-
ORDINATION OF FATHER NICOLAS ZUNUN, SCH.P.
cember 26. His remains were in-
terred at the Cemetery of the Ris-
en Christ in Tuque, PR.
We request that donations be
made in the name of Father
Agustin Lopez to the Piarist Fa-
thers Seminary or Retirement
Funds, P.O. Box 11822, Fort
Lauderdale, FL 33339. Thank
you.
May Father Agustin Lopez rest in
peace.
Bishop Felix Lazaro Martinez,
Sch.P., who is the Bishop-Emeritus
of the Diocese of Ponce (PR), or-
dained to the priesthood Father Ni-
colas Zunun Mejia, Sch.P. The ordi-
nation took place in Sibinal, Guate-
mala on December 19, 2015. Bish-
op Carlos Enrique Trinidad Gomez of
the local Diocese of San Marcos
was a con-celebrant along with Pia-
rist Fathers Fernando Negro, Mario
Vizcaino, Emilio Sotomayor, Jose
Alberto Moreno and Luis Alberto
Cruz and other Piarists from our
Province of Mexico. Nicolas’ par-
ents, Juan and Valentina, were also
present for the ceremony as were
many people from Santa Ana
Chiautempan in Tlaxcala, Mexico.
Father Nicolas celebrated his First
Mass in his home village of Chocabj,
Guatemala on December 20.
Father Nicolas was born in the vil-
lage of Chocabj in Guatemala on
December 6, 1978. As a young
adult, he participated in the Cursillo
Movement, Charismatic prayer
(continued on page 2)
Page 2
B ISH O P FELIX LAZARO, SCH . P.
FAT H E R N IC O LAS ( CON TINU ED)
R.I.P. We ask you to
remember in your
prayers our deceased
relatives and friends:
Clara M. Ambrus
Pablo Borrero-Hernandez
Susan Brand
Martha Clother
Denis Connelly
Daniel Cucchi
Patrick Curran
Eleanor Driscoll
Mark Gereffi
Wendy Harris Aceves
Mike Kowalski
Robert Locke
Helen Long
Raphael Mbinkar
David McCormick
Ruth Morris
Vicenta Navascues
Beryl Nelson
Michael Nicholas
Oliver Parker
Alexandra Senesi
Paul Smoczynski
Jane Staub
Deacon John Thesing
John Vonsummern
Number 10
(continued from page 1)
groups, Hispanic leader-
ship seminars and Bible
study groups. These
movements and groups
helped lead him to be-
lieve that the life of a reli-
gious order priest might
be in his future.
He entered the Piarist
novitiate in Celaya, Mexi-
co in July 2006. He pro-
fessed his vows in July
2007. He studied philos-
ophy and theology at In-
tercontinental University
in Tlalpan, Mexico. He
later earned a teacher’s
certificate in middle and
secondary education at
the Marist University in
the borough of Tlahuac,
DF, Mexico. While pursu-
ing his studies, he assist-
ed at Our Lady of Guada-
lupe Church, which is un-
der the care of the Pia-
rists, in the colony of
Tlalcoligia in Tlalpan,
Mexico.
After completing his
studies, in August 2013,
he moved to the Piarist
community in Ocotlan,
Tlaxcala, Mexico. Since
then, he has ministered
at Jose Maria Morelos
Institute as the pastoral
coordinator of the middle
school.
The Piarists thank our
dear Lord for the priestly
vocation of Father Nico-
las. We ask Him to con-
tinue to send His bless-
ings upon the newest
priest of our Province.
Pope Francis accepted the retire-
ment of Bishop Felix Lazaro Mar-
tinez, Sch.P. as the Bishop of
Ponce (PR) on December 22. As
required by Canon (Church) Law,
Bishop Lazaro had submitted his
letter of resignation when he
reached the age of 75 years in
2011.
Bishop Ruben Antonio Gonzalez
Medina, CMF, who is formerly the
Bishop of Caguas (PR), was ap-
pointed to serve as the new Bishop
of Ponce. He was installed as the
new Bishop on January 31, 2016.
Bishop Lazaro was born in Logro-
ño, La Rioja, Spain on March 2,
1936. He entered the Piarist novi-
tiate in 1951 and professed his
vows in 1952. He was ordained to
the priesthood on April 9, 1961.
He moved from Spain to Puerto
Rico in 1970. During the next
several years, he taught at the
Pontifical Catholic University of
Puerto Rico in Ponce. He was or-
dained as the Coadjutor Bishop of
Ponce on April 25, 2002 and be-
The bishops of Puerto Rico met with
Pope Francis on June 8, 2015.
Bishop-Emeritus Lazaro is third from
the left. Bishop Gonzalez is on the far
left.
came the Bishop of Ponce on
June 11, 2003.
Bishop Lazaro was instrumen-
tal in two important occasions
for our Province in the recent
past. He ordained to the priest-
hood Father Luis Alberto Cruz,
Sch.P. in April 2015 and Father
Nicolas Zunun, Sch.P. in De-
cember 2015.
The Piarist Fathers wish to
thank Bishop Felix Lazaro for
his many years of service as a
Piarist priest and as the Bishop
of Ponce. We ask our dear Lord
to continue to send his bless-
ings upon him as he begins a
new chapter in his life as the
Bishop-Emeritus of Ponce.
PIARIST NEWSLETTER Page 3
VOCATIONS MINISTRY The future of a religious order
largely depends upon the Catholic
Christian example of its members.
In the spirit of Saint Joseph Ca-
lasanz, who is our Founder, the
Piarists in the Province of the
United States and Puerto Rico
strive to serve the people of God
in schools, parishes and other
ministries. We have a team of
five members, who are directly
responsible for working with all of
our religious to identify and ac-
company young men, who might
be interested in becoming Pia-
rists. The members of our Voca-
tions Secretariat are: Father Fran-
cisco Aisa (PA), Father Luis Alber-
to Cruz (FL), Father Jose Javier
Vanegas (FL), Brother Ricardo Ri-
vera (NY) and Brother Jorge
Ramirez (PR).
In November, twenty young men
visited our Community of Miami,
FL for our annual Thanksgiving
Vocational Retreat. In December,
seven men visited our Community
of Ponce, PR for our annual Ad-
vent Vocational Retreat.
On these occasions, our voca-
tions personnel and the other
members of the local communi-
ties had the opportunity to share
our life and ministry with our
guests.
We ask our friends, relatives, co
-workers and benefactors to keep
in your prayers these twenty-
seven men and others, who are
thinking about their future lives,
which might include life as a Pia-
rist priest or brother.
When a young man prepares for
ordination as a priest, he pursues
an intensive course of studies,
which includes philosophy and
theology. During this process, he
is also instituted in the ministries
of lector and acolyte and is or-
dained as a deacon and finally a
priest.
Brother Vinod Angadathu,
Sch.P. was installed in the minis-
try of lector at St. Joseph's Major
Seminary in Yonkers, NY on Octo-
ber 21, 2015. Brother Ruben Pla-
ta, Sch.P. was installed in the min-
istries of lector and acolyte in Co-
lombia on November 14.
We thank almighty God for the
vocations of Brother Vinod and
Brother Ruben. We ask Him to
continue to send His blessings
upon them as they progress in our
formation program, which will
hopefully lead to full membership
in our religious order and service
as a Catholic priest.
FORMATION MINISTRY
Vocational Retreat on Thanksgiving weekend in Miami, FL. (top left)
Brother Vinod is installed in the Ministry of Lector. (top right)
Brother Ruben is installed in the Ministries of Lector and Acolyte. (bottom right)
THE PIARIST ANGLE (BY FR. JESUS MARIA LECEA, SCH.P.)