Rev. Patrick J Hedderman 1903 -1955

Look, I am standing at the door, knocking. If one of you hears me calling and opens the door, I will come in to share his meal, side by side with him.

(Revelation 3:20)

Fr. Franco died early this morning in hospital in Rome, he suffered a catastrophic stroke on January 16^th and was in the Policlinico Gemelli.

Fr. Franco was Vicar General of the Society from 1998 to 2004 when Bishop Seamus Freeman was Rector General; he was a General Consultor from 2004 to 2010 and was also Rector of the Community at the Generalate in Rome.

In the words of Bishop Freeman, ‘Franco was a man of culture, of a vast culture,’ and indeed this was very evident throughout his life. He had an encyclopaedic knowledge of St. Vincent Pallotti and of his times and his writings and his contribution to seminars, debates and research is part of the legacy he leaves to the Union of Catholic Apostolate. He edited a major work “St. Vincent Pallotti, Prophet of a Spirituality of Communion” which was first published in 2004 and is now also available in English.

Fr. Franco accompanied the then Rector General, Fr. Fritz Kretz, in the visitation to Ireland in 2006, he had an enduring love of plants and flowers and was captivated by the green of Ireland; the magnolia trees at our house in Dundrum were in full bloom and he great enjoyed the display and often referred to it in later years.

The members of our Province who were based at the Generalate or visited there will remember his welcome, his care and his availability to guide us through bureaucratic business and to share the wealth of his knowledge of our Founder.

May his good and wise soul rest in eternal life with our God.

Derry Murphy, SAC.

Provincial Rector

Brother Nicola Palombi 1871-1952

For us, our homeland is in heaven, and from heaven comes the saviour we are waiting for, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he will transfigure these wretched bodies of ours into copies of his glorious body. He will do that by the same power with which he can subdue the whole universe. (Philippians 3:20)

ANNIVERSARY FEBRUARY 17TH

Rev. Patrick Whelan 1922 -1973

O Lord, how precious is your love. The sons of men find refuge in the shelter of your wings. In you is the source of life and in your light we see light. (Psalm 36)

Rev. Edward Ryan 1910 -1986

The Lord looks on those who revere him, on those who hope in his love, to rescue their souls from death. (Psalm 33)

Rev. Francis Warttinger  1880 -1932

Rev. Charles Flanagan  1924 -1997

In those days Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. (Luke 6:12)