Denver Catholic

14 MAY 14-27, 2016 | DENVER CATHOLIC Obituaries JUNE 11-17, 2016 Help Ride to the Rescue of the Homeless Ride the Rockies 2016 Fundraising for Colorado's Homeless SAMARITAN HOUSE 30 YEARS OF MERCY TEAM SAMARITAN HOUSE TEAM 30 YEARS OF MERCY 1.2 million nights of shelter and 457,000 meals in a year For the sixth consecutive year, "Team Samaritan House" will bike in Colorado's Ride the Rockies, June 11-17, with 33 riders pedaling 403 miles, raising money for Catholic Charities homeless shelters in Northern Colorado. Each meal costs only $1.60 Your donation makes a dierence. Help those in the greatest need at Samaritan House and e Father Ed Judy House in Denver, e Mission in Fort Collins, and Guadalupe Community Center in Greeley. For more information contact: Mike Sullivan at (720) 476-7504 or mike.sullivan@tcfalliance.org Donate online at SamHouseDenver.org Father Gawronski, a spiritual father to many A mini-reunion of St. John Vian- ney seminarians took place in Arvada last month at the funeral Mass of Jesuit Father Raymond Thomas Gawronski, a much-loved former spiritual director and theology professor at the seminary. Father Gawronski, a priest of the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus, died April 14 of complications associated with cancer. He was 65. His funeral Mass at the Shrine of St. Anne drew priests and bishops from around the country to pay their last respects to the priest many considered to be a spiritual father and decisive infl uence in their path to the priest- hood. He spent the last two years of his life serving as a spiritual director and professor at St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park, California. Father Matthew Book, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Golden, told the Denver Catholic that he was particularly beloved by seminarians "because with both a smile and a bow of reverence he helped them see and accept their own lives, in their bare humanity and in the mystery of Christ." He added that Father Gawronski "treasured and savored the people he met, and the seminarians could tell this." Born in Brooklyn on Sept. 9, 1950, to Stanley and Blanche Gawronski, Ray- mond grew up in New York and New Jersey. Before joining the Jesuits in 1977, he had earned degrees in philos- ophy, world religions and Asian studies. He was ordained a priest of the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus in 1986. He went on for further studies in Rome, earning a licentiate in theology at the Pontifi cal Oriental Institute, and a doctorate in theology at the Pontifi cal Gregorian University. He is the author of Word and Silence: Hans Urs von Balthasar and the Spiri- tual Encounter Between East and West. He is buried at the Jesuit plot of Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Father Patrick Kennedy F ather Patrick Ken- nedy, a Denver priest, died April 23. He was 88 years old. Father Kennedy was born in Otis, Colo., on Jan. 24, 1928, to Leo J. and Frances Campbell Kennedy. The second of four children, he grew up near the coal mines in Frederick, and later in Denver, where he attended St. Cather- ine of Siena Catholic School and Regis High. He entered St. Thomas Seminary after graduation. Father Kennedy was ordained a priest on May 29, 1953. During his ministerial career, he served principally at Holy Family in Denver, St. Augustine in Brigh- ton, and Our Lady of Grace in Denver. Father Thomas McCormick, a retired Denver priest, remembers Father Kennedy as a fi erce athlete, but more importantly, as a man with a big heart and a genuine love for people. Father Kennedy was known as an avid sports fan and outdoorsman. He pledged loyalty to all of the professional Colorado sports teams, and loved to hunt. What he loved most, however, was to escape to the great outdoors—from Alaska to the Rocky Mountains—to do a bit of fl y fi shing. One of Father Kennedy's cousins, Kevin Campbell, wrote a heartfelt refl ection of the priest's life, and said that Father Kennedy was friendly to everybody, never knowing a stranger. "Until his dying breath, he was draw- ing people ever-closer to God," Camp- bell wrote. "He was […] genuinely inter- ested in all people." Father Manuel Gabel W h e n Fa t h e r Manuel Gabel made his First Holy Communion he wrote to his sister—who was one of two who were nuns with the Sisters Ador- ers of the Precious Blood—and told her quite confi dently, "I am going to be a priest." He made good on his promise as soon as he could, entering St. Thomas Semi- nary immediately after graduating from St. Francis de Sales High School. Father Manuel Gabel died April 29 in Denver at the age of 84. He was buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Manuel Gabel was born on July 25, 1931, in Manzanola, Colo. He was one of nine children. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 31, 1957. His assignments took him to nearly every corner of the archdiocese, from Annunciation in Leadville to St. Martin de Porres in Boulder. He also served as chaplain for Penrose Hospital in Col- orado Springs and for the Knights of Columbus Council 3549 in Julesburg. In 1971, he was assigned as pastor to his old home parish of St. Francis de Sales in Denver, serving alongside then retired Msgr. Gregory Smith, who was Father Gabel's high school religion teacher and old pastor. His last two assignments took him to St. Francis of Assisi parish in Castle Rock and Our Lady of the Mountains Church in Estes Park. It was while there that Father Gabel acquired a great love for hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park.

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