Catholic Diocese Tucson

CATHOLIC OUTLOOK 7 JUNE/JULY 2019 Bishop Edward J. Weisenburger announced the official retirements of three diocesan priests, one religious order pastor and the departure of retired Capuchin Father Walter Balduck to his home community in California. The retirements, effective July 1, include Msgr. Albert Schifano, diocesan Vocations Director and former Moderator of the Curia; Msgr. Thomas Cahalane, pastor of Our Mother of Sorrows Parish in Tucson; Father John Friel, pastor of St. John Neumann Parish in Yuma; Carmelite Father Ronald Oakham, pastor of St. Cyril Parish in Tucson; and Franciscan Father Matthias Crehan, administrator of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Tombstone. Msgr. Schifano Born July 20, 1938, in Detroit to Isidoro and Vita (Parinello) Schifano, he attended a Catholic school there until his family relocated to Tucson in 1945. He attended Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic School and Salpointe High School and graduated from the University of Arizona with a bachelor’s in education in 1961. Eventually, he became a ranking executive at Sundt Construction, Inc., and he and his wife Alice had two children. Alice died in 1991, and then Msgr. Schifano began to experience a call to the priesthood. He entered the seminary in 1996 and studied at Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners, Wisconsin. He was ordained in 2001 and his first assignment was as parochial vicar at Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in Tucson. He was appointed Moderator of the Curia in 2004, leading the Office of Corporate Matters. In March of 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as a Prefect of the Papal Household and the title of “monsignor.” Bishop Kicanas described Msgr. Schifano as “a trusted friend who works tirelessly to improve the functioning of our Pastoral Center and parishes.” Msgr. Schifano will most be remembered for his integral role assisting with the 2004 Chapter 11 reorganization. He stepped down from the Moderator’s position in 2014. In a “Monday Memo,” Bishop Kicanas wrote: “Many of us remember how well Msgr. Al guided us during our diocesan Chapter 11 re-organization – no small task - and how his business savvy, strength and faith led us along until the very long process was complete. The job was so well done, that other dioceses now seem to be following our example as a model in their own similar proceedings. “Without fail, our Msgr. Al kept things steady and moving forward. He was and is a great gift to our diocese!” Msgr. Schifano immediately transitioned to the diocesan Vocations Director for Seminarians, relinquishing his role as Vicar General in 2016. Msgr. Cahalane He was born in Maulmoreen Glendore, County Cork, Ireland Oct. 5, 1938, to Thomas and Hannah (O’Donovan) Cahalane and attended local schools before entering St. Patrick College in Carlow for his seminary studies in 1957. He completed his undergraduate, philosophy and theology studies there. He was ordained June 8, 1963, at Carlow, Ireland by Bishop Thomas Keogh of Kildare and Leighlin. He followed his cousin, Father Cornelius “Con” Cahalane, and moved to Arizona to join the Diocese of Tucson, which then included what is now the Diocese of Phoenix. He has served at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Scottsdale (1963-67); St. Bartholomew Parish, San Manuel; and at St. Augustine Cathedral, Tucson, as associate pastor, 1969-72. His one and only pastorate began at Our Mother of Sorrows in 1981. He became a US citizen in 1969. He served as diocesan director of the Catholic Youth Organization/ Youth Ministry, 1972-76, and later as the Vicar for Education from 1976-82. He has also served in the Priests’ Senate, Presbyteral Council, as vicar forane for Pima East, as the diocesan ecumenical officer and as the regional representative to the National Federation of Priest Councils. Other projects in which he has been involved include the Queen of All Angels Orphanage in Agua Prieta, Mexico; the Casa Maria Soup Kitchen; and the Pima County Interfaith Council. When he marked the 50th anniversary of his priesthood in 2013, he said, “The overwhelming sentiment I have is one of gratitude for God’s call to serve others.” He published a book of poetry in 2013 called “The Poetry Within.” Coming out of the 2004 reorganization, he served as the president of the board of parish corporations for the Diocese. He served as vicar forane of the Pima East Vicariate. In 2015, he received one of 12 national Distinguished Pastor Awards from the National Catholic Educational Association for outstanding support of Catholic elementary education. He was a longtime friend of Catholic columnist and author Father Andrew Greeley, and Our Mother of Sorrows hosted a memorial Mass following Father Greeley’s death May 30, 2013. He also concelebrated at the priest’s Chicago funeral Mass. Msgr. Cahalane received the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Award in 2009 for outstanding contributions to Catholic Education. The following year, he was among a group of priests with the titles of “monsignor” honored by the Catholic Foundation at its annual Cornerstone Gala. He is known for supporting innovative parish ministries, including Jean Fedigan’s Sister Jose Women’s Center and Joan Martin’s Haiti Project. In 2015, Msgr. Cahalane was part of a parish delegation that visited Haiti, where the parish began working in 2005. Father Friel Born March 8, 1942, in Philadelphia to John and Catherine (O’Brien) Friel, he attended local Catholic elementary and high schools. He enrolled at West Chester State College in West Chester, Pennsylvania, before transferring to Niagara University, a Vincentian school in Lewiston, New York. He graduated with a bachelors in 1968. He was ordained for the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales Sept. 12, 1970, in Holy Innocents Church in Philadelphia, by Bishop Edward J. Schlotterback of Keetmanshoop, Namibia. He also did post-graduate work at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California (1979-80) and Webster University in Webster, Missouri, earning a masters from Webster in 1983. He also served in the US Navy in the 1970s. He served in various Oblate ministries (1970-90) before his appointment as the founding president of Yuma Catholic High School in 1999. He served there until 2003, when he was appointed pastor of St. John Neumann in Yuma. He was incardinated into the Diocese of Tucson on July 1, 2004. He survived a bout of gastro- esophageal cancer in 2005, after successful surgery that October. He was part of a 2007 delegation led by Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas to Mexico as part of Catholic Relief Services’ Mexico Project. The goal was to help Mexican workers obtain US H2A visas for working on US farms. He was appointed to a third six- year term as pastor in 2015. Father Oakham Born July 11, 1949, in Newport, Rhode Island, to Herbert and Rita (Theriault) Oakham, he attended St. Anthony Catholic School in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, before entering the Carmelite Junior Seminary in Hamilton, Massachusetts in 1963. He also attended Mount Carmel College in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, (1967-68), and Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (1969-72), earning a bachelor’s degree. He studied summers at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina (1972-75) before enrolling in the Washington Theological Union, Silver Spring, Maryland (1974-77), completing work on a master’s in theology in 1984. He was ordained a Carmelite priest by Bishop Kenneth A. Angell in St. Barnabas Church in Portsmouth on May 7, 1977. His early assignments included as parochial vicar in a parish in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles; as the director of the Catechumenate in the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey; and as a pastor in a parish in Houston, Texas. He served as commissary provincial at the Four senior priests retire from active ministry See RETIREMENTS on page 8