Reverend Fergus Jerome Lickteig, O.Carm.

By: Rev. Kevin Shanley, O.Carm., and Br. David McGinnis, O.Carm.

The Order of Carmelites of The Most Pure Heart of Mary Province under the direction of the Very Reverend John F. Welch, O.Carm., Prior Provincial mourns the loss of the Rev. Fergus Lickteig, O.Carm., who died on Saturday, July 8, 2006, at Villa Saint Francis Nursing Home in Olathe, Kansas. He was 78 years old.

Jerome Lickteig was born in Greeley, Kansas, on November 27, 1928. He was the son of the late Frank and Elizabeth (Wolken) Lickteig. After attending Saint John the Baptist School in Greeley, Jerome entered the Carmelite Order at Mount Carmel Preparatory Seminary at Niagara Falls, Ontario, in September of 1944. He professed his simple vows and took the religious name Fergus at the Carmelite Novitiate in New Baltimore, Pennsylvania, on August 22, 1949, and his solemn vows three years later to the day at Whitefriars Hall in Washington, DC.

Fergus Lickteig was ordained a priest in Kansas City, Kansas, on May 28, 1955. He obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy from Saint Bonaventure University, Olean, New York, and his Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Chicago. He also did graduate work at the University of Houston; Loyola University in New Orleans; and the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.

Following ordination, Father Fergus taught at Joliet Catholic High School in Joliet, Illinois; DeSales High School in Louisville, Kentucky; Mount Carmel High School in Houston, Texas; and the Carmelite Junior Seminary in Hamilton, Massachusetts. In 1963, he was appointed seminary rector there. He also served as principal at Carmel High School in Mundelein, Illinois, and Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino, California. He was also the Director of Carmel Retreat in Mahwah, New Jersey, and director of on-going formation for his Province and the Carmelite Novice Director in Middletown, New York. He returned to Kansas in 1997 to serve as Parochial Vicar of Immaculate Conception-Saint Joseph Parish in Leavenworth until his retirement in early 2001.

Visitation was held July 13, 2006, at Saint Joseph Church, in Leavenworth, Kansas. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated, July 14, at Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church in Greeley, Kansas, with a prior visitation in the Church. Burial immediately followed at Saint Boniface Cemetery in Scipio, Kansas.

Donations in memory of Father Fergus Lickteig O.Carm., are being accepted at: The Society of Mount Carmel, 8501 Bailey Road, Darien, Illinois 60561. Donations will be used for improvements to the Carmelite Priory in Scipio, Kansas, or a memorial garden at Saint Joseph Church in Leavenworth.

May he rest in peace.

Reverend Peter Thomas Sherry, O.Carm.

Oldest Carmelite in America Dies

Peter Thomas Sherry, O.Carm., the oldest member in America of the Order of the Most Pure Heart of Mary, died Tuesday, March 28, 2006, in Peabody, Massachusetts, just weeks after his 94th birthday.

Visitation for Reverend Peter Sherry, O.Carm., was held at Our Lady of the Scapular Priory, in Peabody, Massachusetts, on Friday, March 31, 2006. The Mass of Christian Burial took place Saturday, April 1st, at the Monastery of the Discalced Carmelites in Danvers, Massachusetts. Burial immediately followed at Saint Mary’s Cemetery in Salem, Massachusetts.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, on March 12, 1912, Thomas Sherry became the only son of the (late) William and (late) Margaret (Murphy) Sherry and the brother of two sisters. He attended Holy Cross and later Saint Felicitas grade schools, both in Chicago, Illinois. Entering high school, he attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary. Joining the Carmelites and taking the religious name Peter, he made his simple profession of vows at Mount Carmel Preparatory Seminary in Niagara Falls, Ontario, on August 15, 1935, and received his solemn profession of vows three years later to the day.

Entering college, he attended De Paul University where he received his Bachelor’s degree in Education in 1938. He also received a Master’s degree in Religious Studies, from Canisius College, in Buffalo, New York, in 1971.

Reverend Peter Thomas Sherry, O.Carm., was ordained a priest on November 1, 1938, in Washington, DC. After ordination, Reverend Sherry began his career as a Carmelite priest, mainly serving in the role of teacher, but he also performed pastoral work in parish ministry. Father Peter taught in five different Carmelite schools during his thirty-seven year teaching career. He served in Mount Carmel high school in Chicago; Saint Clara’s grade school in Chicago; Joliet Catholic high school in Joliet, Illinois; Mount Carmel College in Niagara Falls, Ontario, and the Carmelite Junior Seminary, located at that time in Hamilton, Massachusetts.

In between his years as teacher, Father Peter served the U.S. Army as Chaplain, and worked in two parishes; Saint Joseph’s in Bogota, New Jersey and Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Newport News, Virginia. His last assignment prior to retirement was in Shopping Mall Ministry at Saint Therese Chapel in Peabody, Massachusetts.

May he rest in peace.