The Rev. John Wald, 92, a Divine Word Missionary and a pioneer in Papua New Guinea 's education system, died Wednesday, May 22, in Techny, Ill.

“John Wald contributed to the well-being of a nation,” said Rev. Mark Webe , SVD, provincial of the Society of the Divine Word's Chicago Province. “He went to New Guinea at a time when the people sought independence from Great Britain, and he helped them build schools that educated future Church and civic leaders.”

One of 12 children born to Ann Marie and Michael Wald of Karlsruhe, N.D., Fr. Wald was a teenager when he decided to leave the family farm and join the seminary.

In 1930, he entered the Society of the Divine Word at Techny. After completing his pastoral studies and being ordained to the priesthood in 1943, he went to Australia for a year before heading to New Guinea, which later became Papua New Guinea, where he spent most of the next 57 years.

In a brief recounting of his life, Fr. Wald wrote about the conditions on the island in September 1945: “In New Guinea, everything had been destroyed [by the battles of World War II], so we started from scratch. But the people were still there, along the north coast, where there were many mission stations before the war. Life was hard and primitive, but we were young and ready for anything.”

After eight years as a “bush missionary” in Raicoast of Madang, Archbishop Adolph Noser, SVD, sent him to the Chimbu Province. In 1954, Fr. Wald opened the region's first English-language school, which eventually grew into an elementary school and a separate high school. Today, nearly a quarter of Papua New Guinea 's population is Roman Catholic, second only to indigenous beliefs.

“Fr. Wald is well remembered for a vocation boom in the Diocese of Kundiawa,” wrote Rev. Joseph Nene Sakita, SVD, in a recent email from Papua New Guinea. “At the news of his death, thousands of people flocked to the church to attend and celebrate Holy Mass."

In 2001, Fr. Wald thrice received international recognition. Pope John Paul II honored him with the Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, Queen Elizabeth II bestowed the Officer of the British Empire Medal, and the Papua Guinea government gave their Independence Medal to him.

Fr. Wald is survived by two brothers (Alex and Fr. Edward Wald, SVD) and two sisters (Mary Bujnovsky and Ann Ziegler). In lieu of flowers, memorial donations for the care of retired missionaries may be sent to The Rector, Divine Word Residence, 1901 Waukegan Road, P.O. Box 6000, Techny , IL 60082-6000.

The Rev. Joseph H. Gunning, 94, a Divine Word Missionary and a champion for social justice, died Wednesday, April 30 in Techny, Ill.

The fourth of Joseph and Alice Mary (nee Smith) Gunning's ten children, the future Father Gunning grew up in Saugus, Mass., and attended Sacred Heart Parish in Lynn, Mass. As a youth, he studied at public schools in Lynn.

Before becoming a priest, Father Gunning worked in a factory for five years. A meeting with Father Hugo Aubrey, a Divine Word Missionary, changed his life. In the 1930s, when many young men entered the Divine Word seminary in their teens, Father Aubrey appealed to older men to consider the priesthood.

On Oct. 1, 1936, Father Gunning became the first man to respond to Father Aubrey's call and entered St. Michael's minor seminary in Conesus, NY. In June 1942 at Techny, he professed his religious vows as a member of the Society of the Divine Word.

In 1947 at age 34, he was ordained by Most Rev. William O'Brien, auxiliary bishop of Chicago, at St. Mary's Seminary in Techny. Following ordination, Father Gunning returned to the East Coast and served as vocation director and prefect of students at Divine Word seminaries: first in Conesus, N.Y., and later in Miramar, Mass., and Bordentown, N.J.

From 1963 until 1972, he served as pastor at St. Peter Claver, an African American parish. During that time, he helped to abate the 1970 race riots in Asbury Park, N.J. ; established Operation Improve, a $100,000 remedial reading program that increased children's awareness of religion and culture; and overcame many obstacles to restore the church after a 1972 fire.

Father Gunning is survived by two brothers, Vincent and George, and a sister, Grace. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations for the care of retired missionaries may be sent to The Rector, Divine Word Residence, 1901 Waukegan Road, P.O. Box 6000, Techny, IL 60082-6000.

Rev. William (Willie) Hegarty, 71, a Divine Word Missionary stationed at Techny, Illinois, died on April 25, 2008, at Evanston Hospital, after battling multiple illnesses for the past several years.

He was born in County Galway, Ireland, on January 31, 1937. He completed his high school, novitiate and college programs at Divine Word seminaries in England and Ireland. He came to the United States in 1962 where he studied theology at St. Mary's Seminary in Techny, Illinois, prior to his ordination to the Catholic priesthood on January 7, 1967.

He requested to work among African American Catholics in the United States and served for thirty-five years as an associate pastor and pastor in several urban parishes. He ministered at Saint Elizabeth and Saint Anselm parishes on Chicago 's south side, and also at parishes in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the Diocese of Trenton, New Jersey.

He was a much beloved, kindly, caring pastor known for being present with his people. At his wake service attended by many people from St. Anselm's parish where he had been pastor from 1995-2002 and associate pastor from 1969-1977 and 1982-1985, several people testified to the way he had “been there for them in their time of need” and how he “walked with them when a loved one died.” Among the mourners was a 100-year-old woman who said that “Father Willie was all heart!”

From 2002 until his death he was the Assistant Novice Director at Techny where he provided spiritual direction to young men entering the Society of the Divine Word.

Although afflicted with a weak heart that required several surgeries and leukemia which sapped his strength in the final years of his life, he did not let infirmity deter him from ministry. Just a few weeks before his death, he assisted at several Lenten penance services at nearby parishes and heard confessions for confirmation candidates at an SVD parish. People observing him walking slowly, using a cane and leaning on a confrere for support, sensed that this was a man who understood human frailty and knew the power of God's mercy.

Father Hegarty was the youngest son of Patrick Hegarty and Margaret Dignan. He is survived by two brothers, Patrick, a religious Brother in the Society of the Divine Word currently stationed in Bordentown, New Jersey, and James, retired and living in Birmingham, England ; and by several nieces and nephews.

This September Father Willie Hegarty would have celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of his religious profession as a member of the Society of the Divine Word. He was a priest for over forty-one years.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on April 30 with burial at St. Mary's Cemetery in Techny, Illinois. Memorial donations for the care of retired missionaries may be sent to: The Rector, Divine Word Residence, 1901 Waukegan Road, Post Office Box 6000, Techny, IL 60082-6000.

The Rev. Matthias Lunzer, 91, a Divine Word Missionary, died on March 18 at Divine Word Residence in Techny. Born in Minneapolis on August 25, 1916, he entered St. Paul High School Seminary in Epworth, Iowa, in 1932. He professed religious vows in 1940 and was ordained to the priesthood on August 15, 1945.

In 1948 Father Lunzer was assigned as a missionary to Papua New Guinea. He and several other classmates were sent there to take the place of the priests who had been killed during World War II.

Father Lunzer remained in Papua New Guinea for fifty-four years. For much of that time his mission territory encompassed numerous small villages where the people lived a rather primitive existence in grass huts with no modern conveniences. His treks through swamps, jungles and mountains took a heavy toll as he went from place to place teaching and administering the sacraments. He suffered many occurrences of malaria. As one fellow missionary stated, “He took the most difficult assignments, but never uttered a word of complaint.”

When his health began to deteriorate, he returned to Techny in February 2002 where he spent the final six years of his life.

Father Lunzer was the second of ten children, born to Matthew Lunzer and Maria Bayer. He is survived by his brother, Dr. Richard Lunzer, and three generations of nieces and nephews.

At the time of his death, he had been a member of the Society of the Divine Word for over sixty-seven years and a Catholic priest for more than sixty-two. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on March 25 with burial at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Techny. Memorial donations for the care of retired missionaries may be sent to The Rector, Divine Word Residence, 1901 Waukegan Road, Post Office Box 6000, Techny, IL 60082-6000

The Rev. Raymond James Weisenberger, 95, a Divine Word Missionary, died on February 17, 2008, at Divine Word Residence in Techny, Illinois. Born in Arcadia, Wisconsin, on June 23, 1912, he entered the seminary at Techny as a high school freshman in September 1926. He went to the seminary at Girard, Pennsylvania, for junior college; East Troy, Wisconsin, for novitiate, and then back to Techny for his major seminary studies. He professed religious vows in 1934 and was ordained to the priesthood on August 13, 1938.

Father Weisenberger spent nearly his entire priestly life in seminary administration. He was the Rector at Divine Word seminaries in Conesus, New York; Girard, Pennsylvania; Perrysburg, Ohio, and East Troy, Wisconsin. He was Provincial Superior of the Eastern (USA) Province from 1955-61.

From 1967-2007 he was stationed at East Troy, Wisconsin, first as Rector, then as business manager and then in retirement. In addition to his administrative duties, he was a music teacher and an accomplished woodworker and artist. The tables and chairs he made are treasured as are his paintings. Even in his 80s and early 90s he remained active and continued to say Mass and provide pastoral service as needed at several parishes in southeastern Wisconsin.

Many former students fondly remembered Father Weisenberger. One notes, “I always appreciated Father Weisenberger’s outlook on life. He was a good soldier and did everything his superiors asked of him, even if it meant never going to the Missions. He fulfilled his calling exactly as our dear Lord intended and made quite an impact on hundreds of starry-eyed teenagers.”

Another former student wrote, “The death of Father Ray touched me deeply. His death is a big loss for all of us. He was indeed a great artist and a wise, practical, humble, simple person and dedicated priest. There was a great sense of easiness in his personality and because of that he was a very approachable and welcoming person. My condolences to the SVDs and his family members. May he rest in peace and may he enjoy the Divine harmony and beauty which in powerful ways shine through the paintings and furniture he made.”

Father Weisenberger spent the final year of his life at the Divine Word Residence in Techny, Illinois, due to declining health. At the time of his death, he had been a professed member of the Society of the Divine Word for over seventy-three years. He would have celebrated the 70th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood this summer.

He was preceded in death by his parents Nicholas and Elizabeth (George) Weisenberger and by four brothers and one sister. He is survived by numerous nieces, nephews and their children who admired and appreciated his gracious, caring manner.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on February 22 with interment at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Techny. Memorial donations for the care of retired missionaries may be sent to The Rector, Divine Word Residence, 1901 Waukegan Road, Post Office Box 6000, Techny, IL 60082-6000

The Reverend Father Ralph Michael, a Divine Word missionary and international authority on the Second Vatican Council, died on December 6, 2007, after suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease for several years. He had resided in retirement at the Divine Word Missionaries residence in Techny, Illinois, until his condition required that he be moved to a nursing home in Des Plaines.

During the Catholic Church’s historic Second Vatican Council (1962-65) Father Wiltgen founded and directed the Vatican Council News Service which published and dispatched twice-weekly news summaries in 9 languages to over 3,100 subscribers in 108 countries.

His interviews with hundreds of cardinals, bishops and theological experts during the Second Vatican Council gave him the material for The Rhine Flows into the Tiber: The Unknown Council. The book was universally acclaimed, reviewed in over 125 publications and translated into five languages.

Father Wiltgen was born in Chicago on December 17, 1921, and grew up in the Rogers Park neighborhood. He professed religious vows as a Divine Word missionary in 1943 and was ordained a priest in 1950 at Techny.

During his seminary years Father Ralph dedicated his spare time to preparing individuals for baptism through a use of convert instructions. During the summer months he would use his spare time to distribute printed materials on the Catholic Church, the Lord Jesus, the Blessed Mother, etc. to people in and around the downtown area.

After ordination, he went to Rome to study and received a doctorate in Mission Science (missiology) from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 1953. He was then assigned for several years to missionary work in Papua New Guinea.

Father Wiltgen served briefly as communication director for the Society of the Divine Word in the United States. From 1959 through 1995 he worked in Rome first as the international communication director for the Divine Word Missionaries and then as a dedicated and devoted researcher and writer.

He authored numerous articles and several books. He traced the growth of the Catholic Church on the West Coast of Africa in Gold Coast Mission History 1471-1880. In 1981 he completed The Founding of the Roman Catholic Church in Oceania 1825-1850. The sequel, The Founding of the Roman Catholic Church in Melanesia and Micronesia 1850-1875, will be published early in 2008.

In his younger years Father Ralph was considered to be indestructible. He was strong, sturdy, tireless. Some years ago this sturdiest of the sturdy began to show signs of Alzheimer’s and was hospitalized at Holy Family in Des Plaines. Occasionally he came back for a meal and a visit with his brothers at Divine Word Residence at Techny. Lately his visits to Techny ceased to be as his memory vanished. The last several weeks his memory disappeared all together. Father Ralph came home to Techny on December 5 and at 6:45 a.m. he died, just as the community began gathering for morning prayers and morning Mass.

Father Ralph Wiltgen was one of six children. He is survived by a brother and numerous nieces, nephews and their children.

The Mass of the Resurrection was celebrated in the chapel of the Divine Word Residence on December 11, with burial at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Techny. Memorial donations for the care of retired missionaries may be sent to The Rector, Divine Word Residence, 1901 Waukegan Road, Post Office Box 6000, Techny, IL 60082-6000

The Rev. Chester Nowicki, 87, a Divine Word Missionary, known throughout the worldwide religious community for his financial expertise, died on March 26 at Divine Word Residence in Techny. Father Anthony Pernia, Superior General of the Society of the Divine Word, when contacted in Rome, praised Father Nowicki saying, "He recognized problems but he always projected an attitude which said that our problems should not overwhelm us and our mission."

Born in Chicago on November 9, 1919, Father Nowicki attended both public and parochial grammar schools. He graduated from the seminary high school at Techny in 1937, attended junior college in Girard, Pennsylvania, and returned to Techny in 1939 for academic studies and spiritual formation prior to his ordination to the Catholic priesthood in 1946.

Father Nowicki spent more than two decades of his priestly life teaching students for the priesthood and brotherhood, and serving in administrative positions at Divine Word seminaries in East Troy, Wisconsin; Girard, Pennsylvania, and Techny, Illinois. In 1964, he was assigned to Conesus, New York, where he was both the rector of the religious community and the president of the Society's 150-acre winery. Of his time as a seminary director, one student recalls, "I remember so well many of his precepts and the ways he tried to mold us into real men and responsible religious Brothers."

In 1970 Father Nowicki returned to Techny as assistant treasurer. He was promoted to treasurer and remained in that position for twenty-six years. In addition to overseeing the finances for the entire province, he was responsible for directing fund-raising efforts among both English and Polish-speaking donors. His financial acumen was recognized around the world as he traveled to assist regional units of the Society of the Divine Word.

He was especially interested in providing funds for the education of seminarians in Poland during the decades it was under Communist domination. The continued success of several large Polish seminaries today is a lasting tribute to his interest and ability. Western Province Provincial Father Joseph Miller remarked, "His wisdom, astuteness, courage and generosity have touched so many. We have been truly blessed through his dedication and commitment."

In addition to his administrative work, Father Nowicki said Mass and ministered among Polish-speaking communities in Chicago and the suburbs. He survived several bouts with cancer and open-heart surgery. He also suffered from macular degeneration, but listened to books on tape and asked people to read reports to him so that he could remain active in financial and religious matters even though he was officially retired and legally blind.

His death was attributed to a recurrence of cancer. Beloved son of the late John and Katherine Nowicki (nee Szala); loving brother of Joan (the late Matthew) Madej, the late Sophia and Stanley Nowicki; dear uncle of Patricia J. Madej, Barbara (Daniel) Roos, Mary Ann (Al) Wolski and Monica (David) Babczak; great uncle of eleven, friend and counselor to many.

In 2006 he celebrated the 60th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood and his 65th anniversary as a professed member of the Society of the Divine Word. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on March 31 with burial at St. Mary's Cemetery in Techny. Memorial donations for the care of retired missionaries may be sent to The Rector, Divine Word Residence, 1901 Waukegan Road, Post Office Box 6000, Techny, IL 60082-6000.

The Rev. Edward M. Tuohy, a Divine Word Missionary priest and long-time retreat director and counselor at Miramar Retreat Center in Duxbury, Massachusetts, died February 24, 2007, one week after his 78th birthday.

Father Tuohy was born on February 16, 1929, and raised in the Bronx, New York, where he attended St. Agnes High School and St. Francis College. He entered the Divine Word Seminary at Bordentown, New Jersey, and was ordained a priest in 1958 at Techny, Illinois. Following his ordination he was assigned to the high school seminary at Bordentown where he taught and served as dean of students during the 1960s.

He attended Fordham University in New York and Catholic University of America where he earned a Ph.D. in counseling. He spent several years at Divine Word College, Epworth, Iowa, where he was a teacher, director of guidance and then rector of the seminary from 1982-1985.

In 1986 Fr. Tuohy was transferred to Miramar Retreat Center in Duxbury where he became widely known and greatly respected as a retreat director, spiritual guide and counselor. Over the years his spiritual programs were very popular due to his gentleness and knowledge of spirituality.

As a priest he was greatly loved, admired and respected. His genuine concern for people along with his smile and distinct laugh endeared him to many.

He is survived by his sister Mary Quinn of Massachusetts, his brothers Donald and John both of New York City, and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.

The Mass of the Resurrection was offered in Plymouth, Massachusetts, on Friday, March 2. A memorial Mass was celebrated at Divine Word Residence, Techny, Illinois, on Monday, March 5, followed by internment at St. Mary's Cemetery in Techny.

Memorial donations for the care of retired missionaries may be sent to The Rector, Divine Word Residence, 1901 Waukegan Road, Post Office Box 6000, Techny, IL 60082-6000

Fr. Francis W. Mahon, SVD passed into eternity on February 3, 2007. He was 96 years old. He was the son of the late Michael and Mary Brennan Mahon, brother of the late Mrs. Anna Coakley of Elizabeth, NJ, Stephen Mahon of Williamstown, NJ, Leo Mahon of Elizabeth, NJ, Sarah Mahon of Elizabeth, NJ and Michael T. Murray of Point Pleasant, NJ. He was the Uncle and great Uncle of many nephews and nieces. Fr. Mahon was born and raised in Elizabeth, NJ, entered the Society of the Divine Word in the late 1920s, professed his religious vows in 1935 and was ordained to the priesthood on August 15, 1940, in Techny, IL. His assignments were to the various Divine Word Missionary Communities in Erie, PA, Conesus, NY, Pittsburgh, PA., and Bordentown, NJ. In each of these areas, he was pastorally active in the various ministries of the Divine Word Community. His last assignment was to the Bordentown, NJ Divine Word Community where he spent some 32 years in residence as the treasurer of the Community.

Fr. Mahon retired from active pastoral ministry when he was 88 years old and has enjoyed the past years of peace and clam with the Bordentown Divine Word Community. Over the past two years, he resided at St. Lawrence Rehabilitation Center, Lawrenceville, NJ.

A concelebrated Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Thursday at 11:00 a.m. in St. Mary R.C. Church, 45 Crosswicks Street, Bordentown. Burial will follow in the parish cemetery. Visitation will be Wednesday from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Divine Word Chapel, 101 Park Street, Bordentown where a prayer service will be conducted at 7:30 p.m. A further visitation will be Thursday, from 9:30 until 10:45 a.m. at St. Mary Church. Memorials may be made to Divine Word Missionaries, 101 Park Street, Bordentown, NJ 08505. Arrangements are entrusted to the Huber-Moore Funeral Home of Bordentown.

"May Fr. Mahon rest in peace."

The Rev. Henricus "Harrie" Vanderstappen, 86, died suddenly on January 25. Born in Holland, the son of the late John and Hanneke Vanderstappen, he had nine brothers and one sister: Antoon, Albert, Will, John, Chef, Lieske Van De Ven, Joseph and the late Martin, Andre and Piet. He was the first of his family to come to America; several other siblings followed. He was a beloved uncle and great uncle to many who came from all across the United States and from Holland to attend his funeral.

Father Vanderstappen was a professor of art history at the University of Chicago for over thirty-five years specializing in Chinese and Japanese art. He was department chairperson from 1965 to 1970. In 1985 he received the Distinguished Teaching of Art History Award, a national award from the College Art Association of America given to one professor annually.

Upon his retirement the University of Chicago established an endowed chair in his honor: The Harrie A. Vanderstappen, S.V.D. Distinguished Service Professorship of Chinese Art History. When the honor was announced, the University president stated, "During his years here, he was among Chicago's most brilliant and committed teachers." His students are now teaching Chinese and Japanese art at more than twenty universities. Others are museum curators.

Father Vanderstappen was born on January 21, 1921, and grew up on a family farm in Holland wearing wooden shoes. He attended seminaries in Germany just before and during World War II, at one time living with his classmates in a windowless basement for nearly 100 days to avoid capture by the Nazis. He was ordained in 1945 and sent to China where he was asked to teach art. Three years later the Chinese Communists expelled him and many other foreign missionaries.

Over the next decade he studied art in the United States and then taught briefly in Japan before receiving an invitation to teach at the University of Chicago. At that time it was most unusual for a Catholic priest to be offered such a position at a secular institution.

Some years after retiring from the University of Chicago he moved to the Divine Word Residence at Techny where he maintained contact with many former students. After decades of teaching art history, he did some painting in his retirement years - but, in his own words, strictly as an amateur. He remained active and maintained his engaging, humble, cheerful outlook until the day he died suddenly of an apparent heart attack.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Monday at the Church of the Holy Spirit at Techny Towers, with burial St. Mary's Cemetery at Techny. Memorial donations for the care of retired missionaries may be sent to The Rector, Divine Word Residence, 1901 Waukegan Road, Post Office Box 6000, Techny, IL 60082-6000

To read the obituary for Father Harrie Vanderstappen that is posted on the University of Chicago website, go to:
http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/07/070202.vanderstappen.shtml

The Rev. Otto George Shellenberger, a Divine Word Missionary, died at Techny on January 9, 2007, at the age of 92. He was born in 1914 in Georgetown, Indiana. One of twelve children, an older brother became a priest in the diocese of Evansville, Indiana, and a sister joined the Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters and served as a nurse in Australia.

Father Schellenberger pronounced his religious vows in 1937 and was ordained a priest on August 15, 1942. The last surviving member of his class, he was known in his student days for his near Olympic prowess as a swimmer.

In 1944 he was sent to Papua New Guinea, a South Pacific island, as a missionary. He spent the next 48 years serving in various capacities on that island and in nearby Australia. In addition to his priestly duties, he actively helped the people of New Guinea advance their living conditions. He used the skills he learned growing up on a farm to modernize agricultural processes and promote soil conservation. A 1954 newspaper article hailed his discovery that a mixture of volcanic ash and sand, ingredients readily available in New Guinea, could cheaply replace concrete and last far longer than wood which rotted quickly in the tropical conditions.

Much of his priestly ministry was spent preaching retreats and counseling. In Australia, he was a pioneer in the Cursillo Movement introducing people to a deeper relationship with God. He remained in Australia and continued to say Mass regularly for parish congregations and at a large Catholic nursing home until he was nearly 88 years old. He retired to Techny in 2002 as his health began to fail and remained there until his death.

He was looking forward to this coming August when he would have celebrated his 70th anniversary as a member of the Society of the Divine Word and the 65th anniversary of his ordination as a priest. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on January 13 with burial at St. Mary's Cemetery in Techny. Memorial donations for the care of retired missionaries may be sent to The Rector, Divine Word Residence, 1901 Waukegan Road, Post Office Box 6000, Techny, IL 60082-6000

The Rev. Joseph Michael Connors, 80, a Divine Word Missionary, died on October 4 at Divine Word Residence at Techny. Born in Boston on November 19, 1925, he entered St. Francis Mission House, the high school preparatory seminary conducted by the Society of the Divine Word at Miramar, Massachusetts. He professed religious vows in 1945 and was ordained to the priesthood on August 28, 1952.

He obtained a doctorate in communications from Northwestern University, served as professor of homiletics at St. Mary's Seminary in Techny, founded the Catholic Homiletic Society and twice served as its president.

Father Connors was elected Provincial Superior of the Northern Province of the Society of the Divine Word in 1964 and remained in this leadership position for six years. He was then named the first Executive Secretary of the Catholic Mission Council of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, D.C. In this position he organized research projects, mission education programs and seminars for missionaries on home leave.

In 1974 he was called to Rome to assist at the Vatican in the preparation for the International Synod (meeting) of Catholics Bishops on the topic, "Evangelization of the Modern World." Following that work, Father Connors gave many retreats and seminars, especially in the Far East.

Father Connors return to the United States in the late-1970s and then experienced various health problems that limited his ability to engage actively in pastoral ministry. He served in a parish in Ocala, Florida, for some years, and then returned to Techny where he lived in failing health until his death.

At the time of his death, he had been a member of the Society of the Divine Word for over sixty-one years and a Catholic priest for more than fifty-four years. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on October 10 with burial at St. Mary's Cemetery in Techny.

The Rev. Robert Edward Pung, a Divine Word Missionary priest, died on Thursday, September 28, 2006, at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, Illinois, at the age of 90. He had been in failing health for several months.

Father Pung was born in Westphalia, Michigan, on January 8, 1916, the youngest of ten children of John Nicholas Pung and Julianna Simon. He entered St. Mary's Seminary in Techny, Illinois, in 1931. He professed religious vows in the Society of the Divine Word in 1939, and was ordained a Catholic priest in 1944.

He was assigned to teach at St. Augustine's Seminary in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and remained there for ten years rising to the position of seminary rector. He was named provincial superior of the Southern Province in 1955. After three years, he was transferred to Rome, Italy, where he served on the general council of the Society of the Divine Word.

Father Pung spent the next forty-five years, from 1958 to 2003, in Rome serving his religious community and the Catholic Church in numerous high-level administrative and leadership positions. From 1971-1985 he was the administrator of the Pontifical Commission on Justice and Peace at the Vatican.

In his role as postulator general for the Society of the Divine Word, he promoted the cause of sainthood for Arnold Janssen, the Society's founder, and Joseph Freinademetz, one of the Society's first missionaries to China. The culmination of these efforts was the canonization at Saint Peter's Basilica of Saints Arnold and Joseph by Pope John Paul II in October 2003.

Father Pung retired to Mississippi after the canonization. He was elected as a delegate to the General Chapter and traveled to Rome this summer for six weeks of international meetings to chart the future directions for the more than 6,100 Divine Word Missionary Priests and Brothers serving in over seventy countries worldwide.

He became ill in Rome, was treated there and returned to Techny in July. He received care at the Divine Word Residence in Techny and was in and out of the hospital several times prior to his death.

The wake service and Mass of the Resurrection were held at the Divine Word Residence in Techny, Illinois. At his request and in accordance with the laws of the Catholic Church, his body was cremated after the religious services. The ashes will be interred at the Divine Word cemetery in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

Father Pung was preceded in death by his nine sisters and brothers. He is survived by numerous nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.

In the reflections offered at the funeral service, Rev. Joseph Simon, provincial of the Southern Province, echoed the thoughts of many when he said, "We thank God for Father Pung's life of leadership and holiness, knowing that his accomplishments and example have positively impacted the lives of every living Divine Word Missionary and those yet to come for many generations."

"The Lord will come in glory and show Himself wonderful in His saints."

A few days ago in East Troy I was saying my office when the telephone rang to tell me that Tony Krajci had died and would I attend the funeral? As I reached for my office it occurred to me that Tony would never say his again. Then I took up the breviary again to read the daytime prayers and the words struck me: The Lord will come in glory and show Himself wonderful in His saints."

In the life of Tony Krajci the Lord certainly showed Himself wonderful. Tony told us, his fellow seminarians that he came from the streets of Chicago with the bright eyed awareness of everything around him, much like a sparrow coming in to our bird feeder. His intelligence and his excellent work habits kept him near the top of his class. His great athletic ability made him stand out on playing field. And his deep Catholic faith made him one of those seminarians you instinctively felt would survive when so many failed, to become a missionary priest to carry to the end of the world the words of Jesus: "Preach the Gospel to every creature."

After ordination in August 1945, our class had to study theology for one final year and then be dispersed among parishes and seminaries while the world tried to recover from World War II. But in 1947, Fathers Krajci, Shadeg and Lunzer took a ship to Singapore and then New Guinea where they found a jungle full of people just emerging from the Stone Age. Far from being primitive, they are intelligent, industrious, highly motivated, and curious about the civilization pressing in upon them.

The prefect apostolic, Father Willem van Baar, wanted an English secretary to manage his huge vicariate, which is now nine dioceses and chose Tony who did everything so well and so cheerfully. But new bishops were appointed, English speakers at Australia's wish. So Dutch Fr. van Baar retired in Australia to write his excellent memoirs, and Tony got a jungle parish beyond Wewak. He worked here for years till the Franciscans were given the whole lot as a diocese for themselves.

Meanwhile I had followed my trio of classmates to New Guinea and received a huge slice of new territory which is now six parishes. It was the farthest away from the bishop and the most remote segment of it was Landor at the top of the Ambum valley. Tony got this for his own and with his intelligent application made it an outstanding parish with good schools and classes of catechumens preparing for baptism. When the country became ready, had high schools full of Catholic young men and women, it was time to open a major seminary to prepare local men for the Catholic priesthood. This is certainly opposed to much of the local culture which values warrior strength, sex, polygamy, material wealth, popular honor and especially grandchildren. But there is a deep religious feeling among the people, an appreciation of motivation, a willingness to make great sacrifices and a great love for others. These last virtues they saw demonstrated in the lives of the missionaries. Father Krajci had no difficulty in finding young men to study for years to become priests "like Father Tony". Down the Ambum valley at Sikir, Father George Schubbe was giving the same lesson to his people. And getting Catholic laity and seminarians just as was Father Tony. One of the young priests, I think his name is Father Arnold, has become a bishop. I don't know exactly where his father's house is, in Tony's parish or George's, but the young men knows and values both these foreign missionaries, one from Chile and one from Chicago. God has worked his wonders through both these SVDs. And the people of the Ambum valley, who were in the Stone Age when Tony was ordained to the priesthood, have received the preaching of the Gospel of Christ and are now an adult portion of the Catholic Church.

All this demanded an immense sacrifice of Father Tony's energy and time, but he was glad to give that to God in order to further the designs of God for Tony's people, the human race. Though an outstanding one, Tony is not the only one; there are tens of thousands of Church leaders doing the same, each in his individual fashion. But, as the Old Testament assures us, such people shall shine like the stars of heaven forever.

If we were thinking of raising a monument to Tony and soliciting funds, I am sure you all would consider giving something. I do suggest a monument, not of stone or jewels, but of prayers. Tony was a human being and therefore, by definition, imperfect, sinful. I could not list any of his sins, but God could. Even Tony himself could; he was remarkably candid. So I now ask: before you leave this church will you each say one prayer for the eternal repose of Tony's soul! And I can make you a promise. Tony, who was so gracious and helpful and thankful during his earthly life, will certainly be no less so now that he is in eternity. We can pray to him, confident that he is close to God who will give him his close attention. Tony, pray for us as we do for you that we all may end up in the same place, the kingdom of God in heaven.

Father Wilbert Wagner, born in Pittsburgh on November 19, 1912, was the third of eight children. He was a Divine Word Missionary for nearly seventy years and a priest for 65 years, one week shy of 66 years. Wilbert is the younger brother of Father Larry Wagner, for many years director of the Mission Press and fellow missionary to Mexico.

After completing the sixth grade, at the age of twelve he was accepted into our minor seminary at Girard, PA. Wilbert entered novitiate in 1933 at East Troy, WI, but because of a toboggan accident necessitating longer hospitalization he did his novitiate the following year and made his first vows in 1936. In 1937, along with classmates James Mullaley and Robert O'Leary, he went to our theologate at St. Gabriel's major seminary in Moedling, near Vienna, Austria. They were at St. Gabriel's when the German (Nazi) army occupied the major seminary. Our three Americans were first sent to Switzerland and then to Holland to continue the theological studies. When the German army occupied Holland, the three fled Holland on bicycles with little more than the clothes on their backs and, at St. Augustine's in Germany, they met Fr. Bernard LeFrois and Fr. Herman Popp. The five of them went from Siegburg to Genoa, Italy by train. In Genoa they boarded a ship for the return voyage to the United States. The three deacons, Jim Mullaley and Bob O'Leary, arrived back in time for their ordination to the priesthood along with their other classmates.

Due to impending World War II none of the newly ordained were sent to the Missions. Father Wilbert was assigned to the Society's seminary in Conesus.

Our seminary in Conesus was a school for belated vocations. Besides teaching, he served as prefect of students; he later taught and prefected at Sacred Heart Seminary in Girard, PA. Subsequently he served as novice master initially for the Eastern Province, USA and eventually for all four provinces. Wilbert was novice master for thirteen years.

In 1957, after Louis Luzbetak studied the suitability of various Latin American countries as sites for seminaries, Wilbert Wagner was called on to open a seminary in Mexico. After consulting with Jose Garibi Rivera, Cardinal Arch-bishop of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. However, it was five years later in 1962 when Fr. Wilbert could be released from his States-side commitments. Along with Fr. Andrew Rentko, he went to Cuernavaca, Mexico to study Spanish. It was June, 1962.

After finishing the language course in December 1962, Father Wilbert went to Peru as representative of Msgr. Ivan Illich, the founder of the language school. While attending the meeting, he contracted a staph infection which continued to plague him over the years and necessitated long stays in hospitals, several surgeries and quite a few years of ill health.

At Fr. Wagner's initiative, work was begun in Emiliano Zapata, Morelos, where we accepted the parish of San Francisco Zaculpan in January of 1963.

In January, 1963 Father Wilbert set up the provincial headquarters in Mexico City; he also acquired property in Guadalajara for the first seminary which opened its doors in August, 1964 when seven students were received into the seminary. Wilbert was plagued with poor health. He persevered for six years as provincial, though his health was an ongoing problem. In his six years as provincial, the Society's work had expanded to include chapels in Lomas del Valle, Guadalajara, and in Our Lady of Good Health and St. Francis Xavier and a large parish, the Ascension of Our Lord (with a mission attached: the Sacred Heart of Jesus).

After his second term as provincial, Fr. Wilbert accepted the position of Chaplain and teacher at Colegio Marymount in Cuernavaca where he continued until April, 2003. In April Fr. Wilbert returned to the United States and to Techny for ongoing medical treatment.

Since his return to Techny, Father Wilbert has been a resident of the Infirmary. Initially his health was quite good. The past several months have witnessed an inexorable decline in the quality of his health. The staff of the Infirmary has given hin quality care. On Monday, August 7th, Father Larry Wagner visited Father Wilbert and found him comatose; he drifted in and out of consciousness. In the early hours of August 8th, the Good Lord called Wilbert home to himself.

May the Good Lord reward Father Wilbert Wagner, who loved the Lord for over 90 years.

In the Prologue to our Constitutions we find the words:

We propose to make the goodness and kindness of God visible in our life and service.. . Our communion with the Lord and with one another is strengthened and deepened by celebrating the Eucharist, by attentively listening to the Word of God and by praying together in the joy of the Holy Spirit.

MAY WILBERT WAGNER REST IN THE PEACE OF THE LORD.

Rev. Gerry Mellert was born in Freiburg, Germany, in October 1938. He went to school in Germany, being officially accepted into the Missionary Society of the Divine Word in the year 1959. For higher studies in Theology, to prepare himself for Ordination as a Catholic priest, Fr. Gerry was assigned to his Order's training centre in Manila, Philippines. There he was ordained a Catholic priest in 1965. Thence, he became an itinerant preacher of God's Word, starting in the Philippines. A few years after his Ordination, because of his facility with languages, his Superiors appointed him to Rome to work in the Order's General Headquarters. His next move was to Columbia, where he became very involved in the Catholic Biblical Federation. From Columbia he moved in 1997 to the Caribbean. He became well known in Antigua and in other Caribbean islands for his zeal and his care of people of the Spanish speaking community. In 2003 he was asked to become Pastor to the Catholic Community on the island of Montserrat. There, on Saturday, July 22nd. 2006, when he failed to turn up for an evening service, he was found dead in his residence.

He has a brother and sister-in-law in Germany and some very close friends. Others who mourn his passing are his parishioners on Montserrat, members of the Hispanic community in the Diocese of St. John's-Basseterre, Bishop Donald Reece, his fellow clergy and his brothers in the Divine word Missionaries. May God grant him eternal peace.

The Requiem Mass will be celebrated on Friday, August 4th 2006 at St. Martin's Catholic Church, Salem, Montserrat, commencing at 2 P.M., and the mortal remains of Fr. Gerry Mellert, SVD., will be laid to rest on the Church grounds of St. Martin.

Divine Word Missionary Father Werner Shadeg, 86, died April 5 at Divine Word Residence, Techny.

A native of Union Hill, MN, Fr. Shadeg was one of fourteen children born to Rose and Henry Shadeg. Fr. Shadeg had two brothers who became priests and five sisters who became nuns. Surviving brothers and sisters are: Mildred Shadeg of St. Paul, MN; Sr. Clare Shadeg, OSB, of St. Joseph, MN; Esther Turbak, of St. Cloud, MN; Sr. Mary Rose Shadeg, OSC, of Sauk Rapids, MN; Sr. Anne Marie of the Eucharist, OCD, of Iron Mountain, MI; and, Divine Word Missionary Fr. Norbert Shadeg, working in Indonesia.

A graduate of Farming, MN public elementary school, Fr. Shadeg began his missionary training in 1932 at Divine Word Seminary, Epworth, IA. He completed his studies for the priesthood at Divine Word Seminary, Techny, IL and was ordained there in 1945.

Following two years of teaching classical languages at Techny, Fr. Shadeg was missioned to New Guinea in 1947. Where he served as secretary to Bishop Leo Arkfeld in Wewak until 1957, when he was made headmaster of a high school on Kairiru Island.

In 1956, Fr. Shadeg returned to the U. S. and earned a Master's Degree in Education from Loyola University, Chicago. Returning to New Guinea two years later, continued his service in education, in seminaries and high schools.

In 2002, Fr. Shadeg returned to Techny to retire after fifty-five years of missionary service in education in New Guinea.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated for Fr. Shadeg at the Techny Residence on April 7, with burial in Techny's St. Mary's Cemetery.

Fr. John Musinsky, 87, died March 2 at Mt. Grace Convent, St. Louis, where he was temporarily serving as chaplain to a community of cloistered Sisters.

Born in Farrell, Pennsylvania, in 1918, Fr. Musinsky entered the Society at Sacred Heart Seminary, Girard, Pennsylvania, in 1931. He was ordained at Techny in 1944 and earned a Doctorate in Sacred Theology at the Gregorian University in Rome in 1947. He received a papal award for his doctoral dissertation as the best dissertation submitted for that year. He taught philosophy, lecturing in German at St. Augustine’s Seminary, Sieburg, Germany, from 1947 to 1949.

Following his return to the U.S. in 1949, he served as prefect of seminarians at Techny, Illinois, and Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, then as novice director at Divine Word Seminary, Conesus, New York. He was spiritual director at Divine Word Seminary, Epworth, Iowa, from 1961 to 1967. In 1967, at the age of forty-nine, Fr. Musinsky became the first American to be elected Superior General of the Society of the Divine Word. He served as Superior General of the Society for ten years.

Fr. Antonio Pernia, Superior General of the Society, gave the funeral homily at Techny for Fr. Musinsky. He said in part, “On March 2, when we heard that our dear Fr. John Musinsky had died, there was shock and sadness all over the SVD world—from St. Louis to Santiago in Chile, from Chicago to Rome, from Nemi to Steyl, from Mumbai in India to Mozambique in Africa.

“This universal outpouring of grief revealed how much he was loved and respected. We knew him as a truly good person, a generous confrere, a humble priest, an understanding superior and an insightful spiritual guide.

“Moreover, my predecessor in office, Fr. Henry Barlage, told me that he considered Fr. Musinsky as probably the greatest among the superiors general of the Society. This was because Fr. John presided over the Society during one of the most difficult times facing the Society in particular and the Church in general, the times immediately after Vatican II. The reforms introduced by Vatican II were meant to renew the Church and religious life. But these reforms also had the potential to divide religious communities and the Church itself—progressives against conservatives, the young against the old, the left against the right, reformists against traditionalists. Fr. John’s insightful and effective leadership kept the Society united during those turbulent years after Vatican II.

“I believe Fr. John was the right superior general at the right time. His twofold challenge for us to be open to the world and to be rooted in the Spirit renewed the Society and kept it united after Vatican II.”

In 1977, he became director of the Society’s house of studies at Nemi, near Rome and also served as spiritual director for religious Sisters working in Rome. Semi-retired in 1990, he remained on the staff at the house of studies. He stayed in Rome long enough to attend the canonization of the Society’s Founder, St. Arnold Janssen, on October 5, 2003. Following the canonization, he retired at Techny.

Fr. Musinsky remained active in retirement, preaching retreats to priests and Brothers and presiding at Masses at the Convent of the Holy Spirit in Northfield and at Techny Towers. He is remembered by his confreres as “compassion and graciousness personified.”