Gulf Pine Catholic

8 Gulf Pine Catholic • September 3, 2021 Deacon Emery Elder, 79, dies after a prolonged illness Deacon Emery Earl Elder, 79, of Moss Point passed away Friday, Aug. 13, at University of South Alabama Medical Center in Mobile, Alabama. Deacon Elder was born Feb. 6, 1942, to Oscar and Esther Elder at their home in the Orange Grove Community. He graduated from Moss Point High School in 1961 and was employed with Ingalls Shipbuilding and theMississippi Gulf Coast Community College as an instructor for 45 years. On June 26, 1993, he was ordained as a permanent deacon for the Diocese of Biloxi by Bishop Joseph Lawson Howze and served faithfully as Deacon of St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church for 28 years. He was a dedicated servant of his parish, fulfilling many functions within the Church, both inside and outside of the liturgy. A Mass of Christian Burial was held Aug. 17 at St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church in Moss Point. Bishop Louis F. Kihneman III was the celebrant. Deacon Warren Goff was the homilist. “Nobody has ever loved his God more than Emery did and, if you didn’t believe it, all you had to do was ask him and I promise you that he’d go on and on and on,” said Deacon Goff who, like Deacon Elder, attend- ed St. Joseph the Worker Parish, graduated from Moss High School, got married at St. Joseph and was ordained to the permanent diaconate on June 26, 1993. “I was so proud to have been part of (the 1993 dia- conate class). We were so close, and we all loved God so much,” Deacon Goff continued. “We truly did. We weren’t scholars or nothing like that. But I’ll tell you what we heard more than anything else: You’ve got to be a servant, and truly all of our guys have served God well through the years. There’s only four of us left out of that class of eight.” Deacon Goff said Deacon Elder truly epito- mized what it means to be an intentional disci- ple. “He was that a long time ago,’ said Deacon Goff. “He loved to serve by visit- ing the shut-ins, hospitals and nursing homes and fulfilling all the other ministries that God has called us to do. But now he doesn’t have to hurt, and he doesn’t have to suffer anymore and (his family) doesn’t have to worry about him anymore. One day, in another time and another place, I promise you that we’re all going to gather together again, and what a celebration that’s going to be.” Father Peter Varghese, pastor of St. Joseph the Worker Parish, called Deacon Elder’s passing a great personal loss as well as a tremendous loss for the par- ish. “Deacon Emery was the second deacon I have lost in two years. Last year Deacon Bob Everard, who served me in Bassfield and was a classmate of Deacon Elder’s, died after a prolonged illness,” said Father Vargese. “Deacon Emery was my good friend, right hand and a great helper at the Church. He was very faithful and fully committed to his duties as a deacon. He was very much concerned about the sick and homebound, visit- ing and giving Holy Communion to them regularly. In St Paul’s words, Deacon Emery ‘competed well, fin- ished the race and kept the faith.’” Along with his parents, Deacon Elder was preceded in death by his brothers, Roland Hocherl and Edwin Hocherl, and his in-laws, Charles and Delores Hudson. He is survived by his loving wife of 53 years, Patricia Elder; his son, Matthew (Amy) Elder; his daughter, Ashleigh (Ellen) Elder; his grandchildren, Sam Elder, Daniel Elder, and Alexander Langford- Krause; his brothers, Hollis (TJ) Elder and Harold (Sandy) Hocherl; his sisters-in-law, Ann Lemaitre and Janice (Michael) Carney; his brother-in-law, Ron (Laura) Hudson; along with numerous nieces, neph- ews, and his parish family. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to St. Joseph The Worker Catholic Church, P.O. Box 8549, Moss Point, MS 39562-8549. Deacon Emery Elder Vatican suppresses Italy-based community founded by married couple BY CAROL GLATZ Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- With the approval of Pope Francis, the Vatican has ordered the dissolution of an Italy-based community, which had its headquarters in Verona and communities in Medjugorje and Brazil. The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life determined the Regina Pacis Community was to be “suppressed,” citing prob- lems with a lack of “maturity” in its charism and insti- tutional structure, which would have been necessary for “a healthy development in the future,” according to the decree, quoted by Bishop Giuseppe Zenti of Verona. Visitations and oversight of the community showed there had been “institutional weaknesses, especially in governance” as well as difficulties in relations between members, the bishop said in a written communique sent Aug. 17 to members of the diocese. Verona’s daily newspaper, L’Arena , published news of the suppression and passages from the bishop’s note Aug. 24. The Vatican decree, dated July 24, said the commu- nity’s foundational charism lacked authenticity and “trustworthiness,” and there was a “lack of substance” in the community’s texts, especially concerning eccle- siology and formation, according to the bishop’s note. The Regina Pacis Community was founded in 1986 by a married couple, Alessandro and Luisa Nottegar, to be a community based on prayer, evangelization and service to the poor. It was made up of families, lay- people, nuns, priests and friars. The process for the beatification and canonization of Alessandro Nottegar, a doctor who died at the age of 42 of a heart attack just one month after founding the community, began in 2007. In 2017, Pope Francis rec- ognized him as having heroically lived the Christian virtues, attributing to him the title of “venerable.” The candidate’s sainthood process is now suspended. Bishop Zenti wrote that this “painful decision” to suppress the community was made after a “sufficient amount of time” of study and investigation, including a diocesan-led visitation four years ago. The results of that visitation were sent to the Vatican, which appointed a religious sister as “pontifical commissioner” to inves- tigate further. The Vatican decree was based on those investigations. They sought to understand the situation by listening to people who were still part of the community as well as those who had left, the bishop wrote. “A few dozen people” were still members of the community at the time of the decree. The community’s real estate assets, including its headquarters, two hous- es in Italy, an establishment in Medjugorje and other properties in Brazil, belong to the Regina Pacis Foundation, which is governed by state -- not church -- law. The foundation is led by Brother Giuseppe Brunelli of the “Opera Don Calabria.”