Recently Departed Carmelite Priests and Brothers (continued)
The Reverend Carl Pfister, O.Carm., died on Thursday, November
11, 2004, in Englewood, New Jersey, at the age of 79.
Father Carl laid in state at St. Cecilia Parish, in Englewood,
NJ, on Monday, November 15, with a vigil service that evening.
The Mass of Christian Burial was held on Tuesday, November 16.
Interment was held at St. Lawrence Cemetery in Westhaven, CT.
Born on June 7, 1925, in New Haven, Carl was the beloved
son of the late Sebastian and Magdalene (Traub) Pfister. His
family included his two sisters Marie and Anne and three
brothers Paul, Albert and Joseph.
After graduation from St. Lawrence
Grade school in West Haven, he enrolled
at Mt. Carmel Prep in Niagara Falls,
Ont, to study for the priesthood. He
joined the Carmelite Order through his
profession of vows in 1943.
Fr. Carl attained two bachelors
degree’s, one in Philosophy from Mt.
Carmel College in Niagara Falls, Ont.,
and one in Theology from White Friars
Hall in Washington, D.C., and two master’s
degrees, one in German from the Catholic University of
America in Washington, D.C., and the other in Ministry from
Creighton University in Omaha, NE.
On June 7, 1949, Fr. Carl was ordained a Catholic priest in
Washington, D.C. He began his teaching career by teaching
Latin and Religion at Mt. Carmel High School in Chicago, and
then Salpointe Catholic High School in Tucson, AZ. During his
time at Salpointe, Fr. Carl also became school procurator, and
Vice-Principal. Moving to Hamilton, MA, Fr. Carl began a ministry
teaching at the Carmelite Junior Seminary there. He also
served as the Prior at St. Leo’s and became the Pittsburgh
Director of the Society of the Little Flower.
Fr. Carl was also parochial vicar at Mt. Carmel Parish in
Newport News, VA; the co-pastor at St. Joseph Church in
Leavenworth, KS and for a time was parochial vicar at the
combined parish of St. Joseph-Immaculate Conception.In 1984, Fr. Carl began a ministry that would stretch
for the next twelve years as chaplain at the Veterans Administration
Medical Center in Leavenworth, KS.
During his retired years, Fr. Carl was still active in parish ministry
serving the community of Englewood, NJ at St. Cecilia Parish.
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