Brother Patrick I. Pennell, CFX, a member of the Congregation of the Brothers of Saint Francis Xavier for 75 years, died on Feb. 26.
He was 95.
Born in Cambridge on Dec. 21, 1930, he was the son of the late Joseph and Zita (Sutton) Pennell.
He was first introduced to the Xaverian Brothers at Saint Joseph’s School. He graduated from Saint John’s High School in North Cambridge and entered the Congregation on Sept. 19, 1950. On March 19, 1951, he was vested in the Xaverian habit and given the religious name Brother Gavril.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from The Catholic University of America.
In 1961, he came to Xaverian High School in Brooklyn, where he would serve generations of students as a foreign language teacher, guidance counselor, and track coach for the following 42 years.
In 2003, Brother Pat moved to Xaverian House in Danvers, Massachusetts, where he took on the role of assistant director. During his time at Xaverian House, he served his brothers with tireless devotion until his retirement at age 90 in 2021.
His funeral Mass was celebrated on March 6 at St. Richard’s Church in Danvers.
Burial followed in Xaverian Brothers Cemetery, Danvers.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Brother Pat’s name may be made to the Xaverian Brothers Retirement Fund, 4409 Frederick Ave., Baltimore, Maryland 21229.
Sister Maureen Catherine Ashe, a Sister of St. Joseph for almost 70 years, died on Feb. 4.
Born in Brooklyn, she was raised with seven brothers and sisters by her parents, Thomas and Catherine Gallagher Ashe, natives of Ireland. The family were parishioners of the Parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Brooklyn.
Sister Maureen and her siblings attended OLPH elementary school, and Maureen graduated from St. Joseph High School.
A year later, she entered the Sisters of St. Joseph and received the name Sister Catherine Lourdes. Her sister, Nora, who has already passed, also became a Sister of St. Joseph.
Sister Maureen’s ministerial journey included education, social work, social justice, and religious education, beginning her ministry in the Diocese of Rockville Centre schools.
Sister Maureen’s unique giftedness in social work and therapy/counseling brought her to the Consultation Center for Religious in Douglaston (1991-1995), to Queens Hospital in Maspeth, and finally to Maria Regina Residence, Brentwood.
Sister Maureen’s Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Feb. 12 in Sacred Heart Chapel, Brentwood.
Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Raymond Chappetto offered the Mass. Burial was in Calvary Cemetery, Brentwood.
Sister Ann Elizabeth Diliberti, OP, passed away on Feb. 22. She served as a Sister of St. Dominic for 67 years. She was 91.
Siater Ann was born on Oct. 3, 1934, to Gaspari and Anna (Como) Diliberti, who lived in Bushwick.
She attended St. Joseph Patron School, where the Dominican Sisters taught her.
She went on to graduate from Grover Cleveland High School and then worked as a working girl for 6 years. The family moved from Brooklyn to St. Elizabeth Parish, Ozone Park.
On Sept. 6, 1958, she entered the novitiate of the Dominican Sisters of Amityville, and on Aug. 5, 1959, she received the habit and her religious name, Sister Ann Elizabeth.
The young women in her “set” were collectively known as the Calla Lilies. She professed First Vows on Aug. 5, 1960, and Final Vows on Aug. 6, 1963.
Sister Ann Elizabeth received a Bachelor of Arts from St. Francis College
Sister’s first teaching assignments were at St. Luke School in Whitestone, Our Lady of Hope School in Middle Village, and St. Joseph Patron School in Brooklyn.
She was then a pastoral minister at St. Luke Parish in Whitestone. Returning to Brooklyn in 1976, she continued in pastoral ministry in Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish and then in Sts. Simon & Jude Parish, also in Brooklyn.
The wake and Mass of Christian Burial were celebrated on March 4 in St. Albert Chapel in Amityville.
Interment in St. Dominic Cemetery on the Motherhouse grounds followed.