Felician Sister Mary Sebastian (Helen) Dzwierzynski, 100, died Aug. 14 in Our Lady of the Angels Convent.

Sister Mary Sebastian was born in Chicago, where she attended St. John of God and Hamline elementary schools and Good Counsel High School. She entered the Felician Sisters’ postulancy in 1942 and professed her final vows in 1950. She ministered for almost 25 years as a teacher in elementary schools in Illinois and Wisconsin. Later, she cared for the aged in Illinois and Wisconsin. She also served as a housekeeper at the Cardinal’s Residence.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she ministered at Sts. Peter and Paul (1944-1946), Sacred Heart (1948-1959), St. Bruno (1959-1960), St. Bronislava (1964-1968), St. Andrew Home in Niles (1983-1986), and the Cardinal’s Residence (1986-1994).

Jesuit Father Earl A. Weis, 95, died Aug. 15 in Clarkston, Michigan. He had served as a professor of theology at Loyola University Chicago for almost 40 years.

\Father Weis, who was a Jesuit for nearly 77 years and a priest for 64 years, also served as chair of the theology department at Loyola University Chicago from 1971 to 1980.

Born in Toledo, Ohio, he entered the Society of Jesus in 1941. In addition to teaching, he was a staff editor of the New Catholic Encyclopedia (1963-1966) and editor of Corpus Instrumentorum (1966-1970).

Father Michael A. Olivero, 70, retired pastor of St. Cecilia Parish, Mount Prospect, died Aug. 4.

Born in Chicago, Father Olivero attended St. John Berchmans School, Quigley Preparatory Seminary North and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1974.

Father Olivero was associate pastor at Queen of the Rosary, Elk Grove Village; St. Cecilia, Mount Prospect; and St. Cyprian, River Grove. In 1993, he was appointed pastor of St. Stephen Protomartyr, Des Plaines, and served in that role until 2005, when he became pastor of St. Cecilia. He retired on June 30.

Msgr. John Pollard, retired pastor of Queen of All Saints Basilica, remembers his classmate as a good and faithful priest. “He spent all his years in the priesthood in parishes dedicating himself to the people of the archdiocese,” said Msgr. Pollard. “He was a very fine liturgist and preacher, always present to his people who were always and foremost in his mind.”

Father John J. Powers, 93, died Aug. 10. He was pastor emeritus of St. Jude the Apostle, South Holland.

Born in Chicago, Father Powers attended St. Robert Bellarmine School, Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1951.

Father Powers was assistant pastor at Ascension, Harvey; Ascension, Oak Park; St. Mary, Riverside; and Holy Ghost, South Holland. In 1978, he was appointed pastor of St. Jude the Apostle, where he served until retirement in 1995.

Father George J. Kane, pastor emeritus of Church of the Holy Spirit, Schaumburg, remembers his classmate as “kind, compassionate, joyous and absolutely dependable. All through these years this is how he lived his life as a priest.”

BVM Sister Mary Enid Lodding, 91, died July 27 in Dubuque, Iowa. 

Sister Mary Enid was born in Chicago and entered the BVM congregation in 1944 from St. Joseph Parish.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Mary Enid taught at St. Agatha and was a pastoral associate at Our Lady of the Wayside, Arlington Heights.

She also taught in Rock Island and East Moline, Illinois, and in Iowa, Tennessee, Washington and Oregon. She was a pastoral minister in Iowa and director of religious education in Addison, Illinois. 

Adrian Dominican Sister Jean Charles (Elizabeth Ann) Birney, 94, died Aug. 3 in Adrian, Michigan. Born in Michigan, she was in the 76th year of her religious life. 

She ministered in Michigan, Illinois and Florida.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught St. Celestine, Elmwood Park (1942); St. Philip Neri (1948-1952); and St. Edmund, Oak Park (1957-1958).

Sister Jean Charles is survived by a half-brother, Charles Birney Jr., and two half-sisters, Charlene Sundquist and Patricia Lane.

Sister of St. Joseph-Third Order of St. Francis Mary Anthony Leno, 86, died Aug. 7.

Born in Chicago, she had been in religious life for 69 years.

She ministered in Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago, including more than 40 years teaching Spanish at Lourdes High School. After retirement, she composed prayers at Clare Oaks in Bartlett.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Kathleen (Marie Amy) Brady, 69, died Aug. 10 in Sinsinawa, Wisconsin.

Born in Milwaukee, Sister Kathleen made her first religious profession in 1968 and her final profession in 1973. She was an educator, chaplain and family caregiver in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Washington, Montana and Colorado. 

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Kathleen taught at Epiphany (1974-1980) and Immaculate Conception (1980-1981) and was principal at St. Pius (1981-1983). 

Jesuit Father Thomas Widner, 76, died Aug. 13 in Indianapolis. He had been a priest for 49 years and a Jesuit for 33.

Born in Indiana, he did seminary studies at St. Mary’s College in Kentucky and Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis before being ordained in 1969 for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. 

He ministered as an archdiocesan priest in Indianapolis for 15 years, teaching high school English, serving as an associate pastor and co-pastor and working as editor-in-chief of the archdiocesan newspaper, the Criterion.

He entered the Jesuits in 1985 and served as an assistant editor and writer for America Magazine. He was the editor of the New World, as the Archdiocese of Chicago newspaper was known, from 1992 to 1995.

He later was a publications assistant at Company Magazine while serving as director of the Chicago Province communication office, worked in retreat ministry and as the Secretary for Communications at the USA Jesuit Conference.

Father Widner moved back to Indianapolis in 2004, where he served as vice president for mission and identity at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School and rector of the Jesuit community (2004-2010). In 2010, he became the director of spiritual formation at Bishop Bruté Seminary, where he worked until his death.

Father John J. McDonnell, 71, died July 23. He had been the pastor of St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish.

Born in Chicago, Father McDonnell (also known as Father JJ), attended St. Cornelius School, Quigley Preparatory Seminary North, Niles College and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1973. 

Fourteen years into his priesthood, Father McDonnell joined the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome to pursue his doctorate in sacred theology.
Father McDonnell was assistant pastor at St. Louise de Marillac, LaGrange Park, and associate pastor at Holy Name Cathedral Parish. 

He taught Christian anthropology and ecclesiology at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary; was the administrative secretary for Cardinal Francis George from 1997 through 2003; and served as pastor of St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish from 2003 until retirement in 2017.

Adrian Dominican Sister Patricia (Anne Robert) Spangler, 83, died July 29 in Adrian, Michigan. 

Born in Chicago, she was in her 66th year of religious life.

She ministered in Michigan, Illinois, Arizona, New Mexico, California, Kentucky and Kansas. 

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Rita (1961-1966); St. Celestine, Elmwood Park (1966-1967); and Regina Dominican High School, Wilmette (1967). 

She was principal at Queen of Angels (1969-1972); and was a volunteer tutor at Aquinas Literacy Center (2004, 2010-2013).
Sister Patricia is survived by a brother, Thomas Spangler.

Redemptorist Brother Patrick (John Foster) Concidine, 85, died July 25 in St. Louis.

He had been in poor health for several years. 

Born in DeKalb, Illinois, Brother Patrick became interested in the Redemptorists after attending a high school retreat. He professed temporary vows in 1949 and permanent vows in 1955.

He was trained as a tailor and made more than 1,000 habits for his fellow Redemptorists as a young brother in Wisconsin.
He served as a sacristan and porter at communities throughout the Midwest before being assigned as sacristan to St. Alphonsus Parish, which served a large, culturally diverse community. 

With the blessing of his superiors, he began an outreach program to the Filipino community with the Confraternity of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, serving as a link between the Redemptorists in the Philippines and the Filipinos in the Chicago area. 

Brother Patrick was granted permission to devote all of his time to the Perpetual Help Confraternity when he relocated to Old St. Michael’s in 1984. He and an assistant shared a small office in the former convent on the church grounds. Membership in the confraternity grew into the thousands, and members in the Chicago area participated in the Tuesday novena services and the annual novena leading up to the Perpetual Help feast day celebration in June. 

Deacon John (Jack) O’Leary died April 26 in New Lenox, Illinois. He was ordained in 1984 and had served at St. Joseph Parish, Homewood. As part of his diaconate ministry, he trained altar servers and was a minister of care. 

He is survived by his children Sheila and Tom; daughter in-law Erin; grandchildren Colleen, Courtney, Kara and Michael; and great-grandchild Jayden.

Adrian Dominican Sister Therese (Mary Jane Therese, Therese Marcel) Reynolds, 82, died July 5 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Michigan, she was in the 63rd year of her religious life.

She ministered in Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Our Lady of Loretto, Hometown (1962-1970).

Sister Therese is survived by a brother, Marcel Reynolds, and a sister, Dorothy Waldbillig.

Providence Sister Maureen Ann McCarthy, 89, died July 6 in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Born in Chicago, she attended St. Genevieve School and the Immaculata before entering the Sisters of Providence in 1947. She professed final vows in 1954. 

She ministered in Indiana, Illinois, North Carolina, Maryland and Texas. 

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she served at St. Angela (1959-1960), St. Columbkille (1960-1965), St. Francis Borgia (1967-1972), St. Andrew (1973-1975), St. Genevieve (1976-1982), Immaculate Conception (1985-1986); and Providence-St. Mel (1986-1997).

Felician Sister Mary Francesca (Josephine) LaCerba, 79, died July 9, in Our Lady of the Angels Convent.

Born in Chicago, she attended Mulligan and Newberry elementary schools and St. Michael Central High School. She entered the Felician Sisters in 1957 and professed her final vows in 1965. She ministered in elementary and high schools as a teacher and librarian in Illinois and Wisconsin. She was moderator of the Mother of Good Counsel Ladies Auxiliary for 15 years.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she ministered at St. Turibius (1960-1961); St. Hubert, Hoffman Estates (1963-1969); Good Counsel High School (1974-2004); and Our Lady of Tepeyac (2006-2015).

Redemptorist Father John Paul Andree, 76, died July 10 in Liguori, Missouri, after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Born in Detroit, he joined the Redemptorists in 1963 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1968. 

Father Andree served in retreat ministry in Rolling Meadows; was a member of the Redemptorist Chicago Mission preaching team; and was in residence at both St. Alphonsus and at Old St. Michael’s (Cleveland Avenue). He served for 23 years as director of the Co-Redemptorist Association.

Poor Handmaid of Jesus Christ Sister Lucy (Rose) Megaro, 86, died July 12 in Donaldson, Indiana. 

Born in Chicago, she was educated by the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ and after finishing high school, she worked as a beautician on the North Side of Chicago. 

She took care of children and teenagers at Angel Guardian Orphanage from 1957 to 1974.

After earning associates and bachelor’s degrees, she taught preschool at Angel Guardian Day Care on the South Side from 1985 to 1990 and ministered in home health care to the elderly in Chicago and Cincinnati from 1991 to 2011, Ohio. After semi-retiring, she became a volunteer for the Little Brothers of the Poor to continue service to the elderly.  

Providence Sister Pauline (Janet Agnes) Brockelsby, 79, died July 13 in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.  

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, she entered the Sisters of Providence in 1960 and professed final vows in 1968.  She was a teacher and chaplain who ministered in Indiana, Virginia, New Hampshire, Illinois and California.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she was a chaplain at St. Ann Hospital (1981-1983).

Father John L. Harvey, 67, died June 9. He was pastor of St. Mary Queen of Apostles Parish in Riverdale.

Born in Chicago, Father Harvey attended Hales Franciscan High School, earned a bachelor’s degree at the St. Louis University and a pursued a master’s degree at the Chicago Theological Seminary.

He was ordained to the priesthood in 1986.

Father Harvey served at the following parishes: St. Felicitas, St. Benedict the African-East and West, St. Mary of the Assumption, and St. Mary Queen of Apostles Parish in Riverdale. For many years, Father Harvey served as the cardinal’s liaison to the Charismatic Renewal.