Denver Catholic

8 I ANSWERING THE CALL DECEMBER 3, 2014 I DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER BY ROXANNE KING Father John Canjar, the eldest priest in the Archdiocese of Denver, died Nov. 20. He was 93 and had been a priest for 65 years. Born June 24, 1921, in Denver to Frank and Mary Canjar, he was the sixth of 10 children and was named after St. John the Baptist, whose feast is shortly af- ter his birthday. Reared in the Globeville neighborhood, family members said that as a boy he would don a rug as a "vestment" and pre- tend to celebrate Mass, distrib- uting crackers or candy wafers as Communion hosts. He attended Holy Rosary Grade School and Annunciation High School before entering St. Thomas Seminary. He was ordained a priest on June 4, 1949, by Archbishop Urban Vehr. "Father John was a model priest," fu- neral Mass homilist Father Marty Lally told the Denver Catholic Register. "He had a warm smile, he was always gracious and very kind and nonjudgmental. … steady, caring, reliable." Father Canjar served as assistant pastor or pastor at the parishes of Holy Ghost, Holy Family and St. Vincent de Paul in Denver, and at St. John in Stoneham and Sacred Heart in Cheyenne Wells. He also briefly served as administrator pro tem at St. Pius X in Aurora. He was pastor at his boyhood parish, Holy Rosary, for a decade. He then went to Cure d'Ars, where changing demograph- ics had resulted in a too-large facility for the diminished congregation. He took on the hard tasks of closing the school and selling the church building. When he left, he turned over a small but strong parish for the next pastor to build on, said Father Lally, who served as pastor of Cure d'Ars shortly after Father Canjar left. Father Canjar's last stint as pastor was also his longest. He led St. Mark in West- minster for 18 years, during which time he expanded the facilities to han- dle the burgeoning growth the parish was experiencing. His leadership roles included ministry as dean of the North Denver Deanery, chairman of the Council of Priests, and as a member of the College of Consultors and of the Presby- teral Council and service as a pro-synodal examiner. He retired from active ministry in 1996. Over the years, in addition to conferring sacraments on his parishioners, he also married and baptized numerous family members. "The closeness and the genuine love that he shared with his parents … and with his nine siblings were his greatest blessings," Father Lally said. Over the last year, Father Canjar's health had deteriorated. "He dealt with it as he dealt with every- thing," Father Lally said, "calmly, faith- filled and grateful for his life, family and his priesthood." A rosary was held Nov. 21 at Mullen Home, where Father Canjar lived. Arch- bishop Samuel Aquila celebrated a funer- al Mass Nov. 22 at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. 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Pendants, Rosaries, Crucifixes Sterling • Gold Filled • 14KT Religious supplies 1175 North Santa Fe Drive Store Hours: M-F: 9 to 5:30 pm SAT: 9 to 4:00 pm ( 303 ) 534-8233 Fine Art Edition $49.00 Family Bible ACROSS 1 "…he ___ and buried." 5 "___ Noster" 10 "On the day he again" 14 Memo 15 Make 16 Ancient day 17 Greek of strife 18 Discontinue 19 Justice, (abbr.) 20 Kierkegaard's The ___ Death 22 "Dying destroyed ___…" 23 Intentionally kept concealed 26 Roman olic Native American leader 30 OT prophetic book 31 WWII president 34 Island is part Archdiocese Papeete 35 Biblical 36 Noxious 37 Exorbitant of interest 38 "…___ sand times…" 39 Paroxysm 40 Lake or CROSSWORD A sweet way to support the Poor Clares BY JULIE FILBY As a means of supporting their clois- tered community, Denver's Capuchin Poor Clare sisters bake and sell home- made butter cookies, known as Clarisa's Cookies—a popular item for Christmas giving. Proceeds from the cookies—made on-site at Our Lady of Light Monas- tery, in four flavors: coconut, orange, cinnamon and vanilla—will help fund the nuns' plans to move the monastery from its current urban location in the Highlands neighborhood, to a more tranquil location conducive to their monastic lifestyle. Earlier this year, the Poor Clares pur- chased a 35-acre property surrounded by farmland on the Eastern Plains near Watkins, with the support of donors and their brother community, the Ca- puchin Franciscan Friars. Now, they are working to raise the money needed to build a home which will include a dor- mitory wing, chapel, visitors' area, in- dustrial kitchen, sewing room, library and infirmary to care for elderly sisters. To date they have raised about $200,000 of the total $1.5 million need - ed for the new monastery, according to Sister Maria de Cristo Palafox. "So far we are still at the very be- ginning," she said of their fundraising efforts. Each 1.5-pound box of Clarisa's Cookies costs $13. Cookies are for sale at parish gift shops and can be ordered online at www.ourladyoflightmonas tery.com. The Poor Clares are also raffling two tickets to the Dec. 28 Denver Broncos game against the Oakland Raiders. The winner will also receive a parking pass, dinner for two at the ChopHouse and Brewery, and a set of hats, scarves and a blanket. Raffle tickets are $20 each, or two for $35. The drawing will be Dec. 14. For more information or to arrange pick up of cookies or raffle tickets at the monastery at 3325 Pecos St., call 303- 458-6339 or email denver.capclares@ gmail.com. The cookies are available year-round. Julie Filby: 303-715-3123; julie.filby@ archden.org; www.twitter.com/DCRegister Julie DCR FILE PHOTO BY JAMES BACA CAPUCHIN Poor Clare sisters box up home-made Clarisa's Cookies in the kitchen of Our Lady of Light Monastery in north Denver. The cookies are for sale for $13 a box. FATHER JOHN CANJAR Archdiocese's eldest priest dies No matter what God's vocation is for you, the result of faithfully following him will bring joy to your heart. That does not mean you will be free from suffering, the cross is promised to us by the Lord, but it does mean that you will be sustained by the deep joy of knowing that you are loved by God—a joy that no one can take away from you. Let us begin this Advent and the Year of Consecrated Life by recognizing the gift of the men and women who have given their lives to Christ, and by listening to Jesus' personal call to each of us. Then we will be able to encounter Jesus with a deeper joy when we celebrate his birth at Christmas, as he gazes at us with love. This Advent season, may your hearts be filled with courage and strength to respond to the call of the God who is love! YEAR OF CONSECRATED LIFE Nov. 30, 2014 — Feb. 2, 2016 Request prayers What: Carmelite sisters are offering intercessory prayers for the entire com- munity of the Archdiocese of Denver. Each week, prayer requests submitted will be delivered to the sisters at their convent. How: Visit www.archden.org/ year-consecrated-life Aquila From Page 2

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