Augustinian Communications
Fr. Robert Hagan, O.S.A, is Officially the New ...

Fr. Robert P. Hagan, O.S.A., who was installed on June 13, 2022, as the new Prior Provincial of the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova!

Fr. Robert Hagan, O.S.A, is Officially the New Prior Provincial

Be A Giving Day Ambassador!

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The Province is gearing up for its first-ever giving day—Tolle Lege Day—on Saturday, April 24, 2021. Ambassadors are needed to help us spread the word and reach out to friends of the Augustinians. We will provide messaging and images to share on your social media networks, and you can track the difference you make in securing gifts for the Province. Look who has already volunteered here. Won’t you consider joining them? It’s easy and will only take a few minutes of your time. Your involvement will make a difference. Learn more here.

Fr. Joseph F. Girone, O.S.A., April 12, 1954 – February 13, 2021

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Joseph Francis Girone was born on April 12, 1954, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, one of three sons of Joseph Girone and Angela Tate. He was baptized at Saint Denis Church, Havertown, Pennsylvania, on May 9, 1954 and attended Saint Denis School and Archbishop Carroll High School, Radnor, PA. He enrolled at Villanova University in 1972 and was received into the Order as a novice in August 1974. Following his novitiate year in New Hamburg, New York, he professed simple vows on August 23, 1975 and then returned to Villanova where he completed his BS degree in Education in 1977. He pursued theological studies at the Washington Theological Union, Washington, D.C., was solemnly professed in May 1980, and was awarded his MA in Theology in 1981. Joseph was ordained to the priesthood on September 19, 1981 at Our Mother of Good Counsel Church, Bryn Mawr, by Bishop Patrick Ahearn, Auxiliary Bishop of New York.

Father Joe’s first assignment was to Saint Nicholas of Tolentine Parish, the Bronx, New York as parochial vicar, where he ministered both to the English-speaking and Spanish-speaking parishioners. In 1988 he was also named director of Casa Tolentino, the initial formation program for Hispanic men discerning a vocation to the Order, and director of Hispanic Vocations for the province. In 1994, he volunteered for the Peruvian Missions and was named pastor of Parroquia San Jose Obrero in Chulucanas. He returned to the United States in 1999 and served as parochial vicar at Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Staten Island, New York. From 2001 to 2005, he was a member of the Saint Augustine Friary Community, Villanova, while serving as Assistant Director of Hispanic Ministry for the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware. In 2005, he returned to the Bronx as pastor of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine Parish, where he remained until 2016 when he was transferred to Saint Augustine Preparatory School, Richland, New Jersey, and became a member of the faculty.

In 2019, Father Joe began chemotherapy treatment for cancer but faithfully and determinedly continued his ministry in the classroom. In early 2021, he contracted the coronavirus and shortly after was admitted to the hospital. He passed away peacefully on Saturday, February 13, 2021 in AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, Pomona, New Jersey.

Father Joe was a conscientious and dutiful religious, and a zealous pastor and educator, whose special interest was always for the poor, a significant factor in his apostolic preferences. Even in his last assignment in the classroom, he volunteered to spend the summer months ministering among the poor with our friars in Panama. Father Joe was 66 years old at his death and had been a professed religious for 45 years.

Friday, February 19, 2021

Viewing and Funeral Mass:

St. Thomas of Villanova Church, Villanova, PA

6:00 -7:20 pm (Viewing)

7:30 pm (Mass)

Saturday, February 20, 2021

Burial:

Augustinian Plot - Calvary Cemetery

West Conshohocken, PA

10:30 am

(Meet at Cemetery)

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Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.

And let perpetual light shine upon him.

May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed,

through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Fr. Thomas R. Cook, O.S.A., October 30, 1930 - January 25, 2021

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Thomas Raymond Cook was born on October 30, 1930, in Norristown, Pennsylvania, one of three sons and two daughters of Thomas R. Cook and Catherine Loeper. Thomas was baptized on November 16, 1930, at Saint Francis Church, Norristown, and attended Saint Mauritius School, Ashland, PA., Saint Patrick School, and Saint Patrick High School, Norristown. He entered Augustinian Academy, Staten Island, New York, as a postulant in 1949, and was received into the Order as a novice on September 9, 1950 in New Hamburg, New York. He professed simple vows on September 10, 1951 and then attended Villanova College where he received his BA in Philosophy in 1954. He professed solemn vows on September 10 of that same year and went to Augustinian College, Washington, DC, for his theological studies. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 8, 1957, at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, DC, by Bishop John McNamara. He received an MA in Education from Villanova University in 1959.

Father Tom’s first formal assignment was to Immaculate Conception Parish, Hoosick Falls, New York, as teacher and as principal of the parish high school. In 1965, he was assigned to the faculty of Archbishop Carroll High School, Washington, DC. In 1968, he became Director of the Brothers’ Formation Program at Mount Augustine Retreat House, Staten Island, NY. From 1969 to 1970 he was assigned to the faculty of Malvern Preparatory School, Malvern, PA, and from 1970 to 1980 to Biscayne College, Miami Gardens, FL, as Dean of Men, the Development Office, and Assistant to the President. From 1980 to 1983 he was a member of the Saint Augustine Parish Community, Casselberry, FL, while pursuing graduate studies at the University of Florida, Gainesville, where he received the Ed. D.

In 1983, Father Tom moved north to Our Mother of Good Counsel Monastery, North Andover, MA, where he taught both at Merrimack College and at Austin Preparatory School, Reading. In 1987, he returned to Casselberry, Florida, and attended the sabbatical program at Notre Dame University. From 1988 to 1995 he was assigned to Saint Thomas Monastery, Villanova, as Director of the Augustinian Seminary Guild until 1991, Director of Missions, from 1989 to 1991, and Director of Development, from 1988 to 1995. He then returned to Biscayne, now named Saint Thomas University, where he worked in the school’s admissions office. In 2007 he was assigned to Saint Augustine Friary, Villanova, Pennsylvania where he remained until August 2020 when, due to declining health, he moved to The Willows, Hatfield, PA.

Father Tom Cook, always cordial, friendly and gentlemanly, contributed greatly to the province’s advancement efforts in the early days of its operation. He died unexpectedly and peacefully on the morning of January 25, 2021.

Saturday, January 30, 2021

Viewing and Funeral Mass:

St. Thomas of Villanova Church, Villanova, PA

9:30 -10:30 am (Viewing)

10:30 am (Mass)

The livestream Mass will begin at 10:25 am on Saturday, January 30.

Burial:

Following the Funeral Mass

Augustinian Plot, Calvary Cemetery

West Conshohocken, PA

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Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.

And let perpetual light shine upon him.

May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed,

through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.