Fr. Franco died early this morning in hospital in Rome, he suffered a catastrophic stroke on January 16th 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
