Francis Degenhardt was the 4th of 8 children born to Martin and Pauline Leiker Degenhardt in Antonino, Kansas, on December 28, 1931. As a child, he recalled flowers growing around his home and his parents tending a vegetable garden. His interest in horticulture had begun! Walking to St. Joseph Grade School in nearby Hays, Kansas, he noticed flowers and shrubs thriving in yards along the way.
Capuchin friars served at St. Joseph's parish in Hays, and, when the Francis was 12, he traveled with 13 classmates on a train from Kansas to the Capuchin Seminary High School, St. Fidelis, in Herman, Pennsylvania, where he would flourish. He had the added advantage of being able to remind those Easterners how much they were missing out on the beauties of the prairies they'd never experienced.
On July 13, 1952, he received the Capuchin habit as well as the name he would retain for the rest of his life: Gervase. He made his first profession of vows in 1954 alongside confreres who would precede him in death: Marvin Justi (+2009), Mario Mastrangelo (+2022), and Ben Madden (+July 2023). After finishing their collegiate work in 1955, they began theological studies at Capuchin College and were ordained in 1958.
Earning a Licentiate in Theology (STL) from Washington D.C.'s Catholic University in 1960, the young priest began his teaching career as a Professor of Theology at Capuchin College in D.C., teaching friars studying for ordination, men only a year or two younger than he. Next, he was called to St. Fidelis College in Herman in 1965, continuing his teaching of theology while serving as the college's Vice President. Fr. Gervase was known for his love of poetry, literature, and the arts. As a professor at St. Fidelis College Seminary, he shared that love with his students.
He was tapped for further studies and attended classes at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, earning a Master's Degree in English Literature in 1968, and, for the next 11 years, added classes in English Literature to his course load.
Tradition has it that St. Gervase, his patron, was a martyr who, along with St. Protase, were killed during Nero's persecution in the second century. While teaching at St. Fidelis, Gervase had a pair of parakeets, Gervase and Protase, who were exposed to the classical music and operas which would often be playing from Fr. Gervase's stereo. A true renaissance man, Fr. Gervase used poetry and literature to show how God's goodness and beauty showed up in the literary arts.
While teaching at Herman, Fr. Reginald Russo (+2020) requested that Fr. Gervase plant a few rose bushes in front of the school and walkways. When St. Fidelis College closed its doors in 1979, and the seminary program moved to Borromeo Seminary in Wickcliffe, Ohio, Fr. Gervase was named Parochial Vicar (assistant) at St. Joseph Parish in York, Pennsylvania. The flowers and gardens thrived there as much as they had blossomed and flourished in Herman.
At the 1986 Provincial Chapter, Fr. Gervase was elected to the Provincial Council where he served as Vicar Provincial. He also served as the Secretary of Personnel and Ministries and the Director of Retirement at St. Augustine Friary in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh where friars lived out their retirement.
He took a brief sabbatical and took courses in theology at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He was asked once again to take up parish ministry in 1995, this time as Parochial Vicar at St. Augustine Parish in Lawrenceville and served for a time as an elected member of the Clergy Council for the Diocese of Pittsburgh.
In 2002, a chaplaincy to Sisters of St. Francis of Millvale at the Mt. Alvernia Convent in the Millvale Borough, just north of Pittsburgh, was to be his final assignment. He loved the Sisters, and without a doubt, they loved him for the next 15 years.
Throughout his time at the Capuchin motherhouse in Lawrenceville, he continued to bring life to the gardens and shrubbery there. In an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in June 2002, journalist Mackenzie described "a veritable paradise of color and scent; currently it features hundreds of roses – about 250 in all." She asked him about his fascination and attention to all of this growth in nature. Fr. Gervase felt that it all emerged from his graduate studies in English at Carnegie Mellon University: "Shakespeare often wrote about different flowers, about roses. I think my love of poetry fueled my love of flowers, or is it the other way around?" he asked with a laugh.
A T-shirt he would wear while working on his gardens expressed his love of gardening: "A kiss of the sun for pardon, the song of birds for mirth, one is nearer God's heart in a garden, than anywhere on earth." To the local Rose Society, he was known as the "Rose Priest." He served as an officer and judge of the Pittsburgh Rose Society and was a certified rosarian consultant. A deep red, miniature rose is named for him, the Fr. Gervase Rose.
At his own request, Gervase relinquished daily pastoral responsibilities at Mt. Alvernia in 2017, becoming a confessor for the Sisters until his physical condition required him to retire on September 14, 2017, at age 87.
Fr. Gervase loved his family and stayed in close contact with them, often taking vacations with them. As a friar, he will be remembered as fun-loving and as one who spoke his mind without hesitation. He loved being a Capuchin. Until his final months of life, he was able to recite from memory lengthy passages from Shakespeare. His passion never wavered even as his body weakened.
Gervase Degenhardt, OFM Cap., passed to the Lord's eternal life at the Provincial motherhouse, St. Augustine Friary, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, September 27, 2023. He was 91. He had been suffering weakness in the past few months and growing increasingly frustrated that the Lord was delaying the moment when he could be freed from the weakness of Brother Body.
Gervase was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Martin and sisters Viola Sack, Dolores Herrman, and Esther Burghardt. He leaves three sisters to mourn his passing: Verna Schumacher and Joyce Pfeifer of Hays, Kansas; and Veronica Ditto of Everman, Texas; as well as many nieces and nephews.
Fr. Gervase was ready for the beauty and goodness alive in an eternal life with the Lord. He experience so much of its joy and abundance while he lived among us.
All events took place in the motherhouse chapel, St. Margaret of Cortona Chapel, St. Augustine Friary, 221 36th St., Pittsburgh, PA 15201.
Monday, October 2:
Reception of the body, for Friars only, 4:30 p.m.
Evening Prayer, 5:15 p.m.
Visitation, 7:00 p.m.
Wake Service, 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, October 3:
Visitation, 10:00 a.m.
Mass of Christian Burial, 10:30 a.m.
Interment followed at St. Augustine Cemetery in the Friars' Plot.
A luncheon was served in the Friary Dining Room.
Information from the Capuchin Franciscan Friars, Province of St. Augustine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, website and from personal knowledge. Edited and submitted by Angela, Member #48520699.
Capuchin friars served at St. Joseph's parish in Hays, and, when the Francis was 12, he traveled with 13 classmates on a train from Kansas to the Capuchin Seminary High School, St. Fidelis, in Herman, Pennsylvania, where he would flourish. He had the added advantage of being able to remind those Easterners how much they were missing out on the beauties of the prairies they'd never experienced.
On July 13, 1952, he received the Capuchin habit as well as the name he would retain for the rest of his life: Gervase. He made his first profession of vows in 1954 alongside confreres who would precede him in death: Marvin Justi (+2009), Mario Mastrangelo (+2022), and Ben Madden (+July 2023). After finishing their collegiate work in 1955, they began theological studies at Capuchin College and were ordained in 1958.
Earning a Licentiate in Theology (STL) from Washington D.C.'s Catholic University in 1960, the young priest began his teaching career as a Professor of Theology at Capuchin College in D.C., teaching friars studying for ordination, men only a year or two younger than he. Next, he was called to St. Fidelis College in Herman in 1965, continuing his teaching of theology while serving as the college's Vice President. Fr. Gervase was known for his love of poetry, literature, and the arts. As a professor at St. Fidelis College Seminary, he shared that love with his students.
He was tapped for further studies and attended classes at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, earning a Master's Degree in English Literature in 1968, and, for the next 11 years, added classes in English Literature to his course load.
Tradition has it that St. Gervase, his patron, was a martyr who, along with St. Protase, were killed during Nero's persecution in the second century. While teaching at St. Fidelis, Gervase had a pair of parakeets, Gervase and Protase, who were exposed to the classical music and operas which would often be playing from Fr. Gervase's stereo. A true renaissance man, Fr. Gervase used poetry and literature to show how God's goodness and beauty showed up in the literary arts.
While teaching at Herman, Fr. Reginald Russo (+2020) requested that Fr. Gervase plant a few rose bushes in front of the school and walkways. When St. Fidelis College closed its doors in 1979, and the seminary program moved to Borromeo Seminary in Wickcliffe, Ohio, Fr. Gervase was named Parochial Vicar (assistant) at St. Joseph Parish in York, Pennsylvania. The flowers and gardens thrived there as much as they had blossomed and flourished in Herman.
At the 1986 Provincial Chapter, Fr. Gervase was elected to the Provincial Council where he served as Vicar Provincial. He also served as the Secretary of Personnel and Ministries and the Director of Retirement at St. Augustine Friary in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh where friars lived out their retirement.
He took a brief sabbatical and took courses in theology at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He was asked once again to take up parish ministry in 1995, this time as Parochial Vicar at St. Augustine Parish in Lawrenceville and served for a time as an elected member of the Clergy Council for the Diocese of Pittsburgh.
In 2002, a chaplaincy to Sisters of St. Francis of Millvale at the Mt. Alvernia Convent in the Millvale Borough, just north of Pittsburgh, was to be his final assignment. He loved the Sisters, and without a doubt, they loved him for the next 15 years.
Throughout his time at the Capuchin motherhouse in Lawrenceville, he continued to bring life to the gardens and shrubbery there. In an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in June 2002, journalist Mackenzie described "a veritable paradise of color and scent; currently it features hundreds of roses – about 250 in all." She asked him about his fascination and attention to all of this growth in nature. Fr. Gervase felt that it all emerged from his graduate studies in English at Carnegie Mellon University: "Shakespeare often wrote about different flowers, about roses. I think my love of poetry fueled my love of flowers, or is it the other way around?" he asked with a laugh.
A T-shirt he would wear while working on his gardens expressed his love of gardening: "A kiss of the sun for pardon, the song of birds for mirth, one is nearer God's heart in a garden, than anywhere on earth." To the local Rose Society, he was known as the "Rose Priest." He served as an officer and judge of the Pittsburgh Rose Society and was a certified rosarian consultant. A deep red, miniature rose is named for him, the Fr. Gervase Rose.
At his own request, Gervase relinquished daily pastoral responsibilities at Mt. Alvernia in 2017, becoming a confessor for the Sisters until his physical condition required him to retire on September 14, 2017, at age 87.
Fr. Gervase loved his family and stayed in close contact with them, often taking vacations with them. As a friar, he will be remembered as fun-loving and as one who spoke his mind without hesitation. He loved being a Capuchin. Until his final months of life, he was able to recite from memory lengthy passages from Shakespeare. His passion never wavered even as his body weakened.
Gervase Degenhardt, OFM Cap., passed to the Lord's eternal life at the Provincial motherhouse, St. Augustine Friary, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, September 27, 2023. He was 91. He had been suffering weakness in the past few months and growing increasingly frustrated that the Lord was delaying the moment when he could be freed from the weakness of Brother Body.
Gervase was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Martin and sisters Viola Sack, Dolores Herrman, and Esther Burghardt. He leaves three sisters to mourn his passing: Verna Schumacher and Joyce Pfeifer of Hays, Kansas; and Veronica Ditto of Everman, Texas; as well as many nieces and nephews.
Fr. Gervase was ready for the beauty and goodness alive in an eternal life with the Lord. He experience so much of its joy and abundance while he lived among us.
All events took place in the motherhouse chapel, St. Margaret of Cortona Chapel, St. Augustine Friary, 221 36th St., Pittsburgh, PA 15201.
Monday, October 2:
Reception of the body, for Friars only, 4:30 p.m.
Evening Prayer, 5:15 p.m.
Visitation, 7:00 p.m.
Wake Service, 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, October 3:
Visitation, 10:00 a.m.
Mass of Christian Burial, 10:30 a.m.
Interment followed at St. Augustine Cemetery in the Friars' Plot.
A luncheon was served in the Friary Dining Room.
Information from the Capuchin Franciscan Friars, Province of St. Augustine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, website and from personal knowledge. Edited and submitted by Angela, Member #48520699.
Francis Degenhardt was the 4th of 8 children born to Martin and Pauline Leiker Degenhardt in Antonino, Kansas, on December 28, 1931. As a child, he recalled flowers growing around his home and his parents tending a vegetable garden. His interest in horticulture had begun! Walking to St. Joseph Grade School in nearby Hays, Kansas, he noticed flowers and shrubs thriving in yards along the way.
Capuchin friars served at St. Joseph's parish in Hays, and, when the Francis was 12, he traveled with 13 classmates on a train from Kansas to the Capuchin Seminary High School, St. Fidelis, in Herman, Pennsylvania, where he would flourish. He had the added advantage of being able to remind those Easterners how much they were missing out on the beauties of the prairies they'd never experienced.
On July 13, 1952, he received the Capuchin habit as well as the name he would retain for the rest of his life: Gervase. He made his first profession of vows in 1954 alongside confreres who would precede him in death: Marvin Justi (+2009), Mario Mastrangelo (+2022), and Ben Madden (+July 2023). After finishing their collegiate work in 1955, they began theological studies at Capuchin College and were ordained in 1958.
Earning a Licentiate in Theology (STL) from Washington D.C.'s Catholic University in 1960, the young priest began his teaching career as a Professor of Theology at Capuchin College in D.C., teaching friars studying for ordination, men only a year or two younger than he. Next, he was called to St. Fidelis College in Herman in 1965, continuing his teaching of theology while serving as the college's Vice President. Fr. Gervase was known for his love of poetry, literature, and the arts. As a professor at St. Fidelis College Seminary, he shared that love with his students.
He was tapped for further studies and attended classes at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, earning a Master's Degree in English Literature in 1968, and, for the next 11 years, added classes in English Literature to his course load.
Tradition has it that St. Gervase, his patron, was a martyr who, along with St. Protase, were killed during Nero's persecution in the second century. While teaching at St. Fidelis, Gervase had a pair of parakeets, Gervase and Protase, who were exposed to the classical music and operas which would often be playing from Fr. Gervase's stereo. A true renaissance man, Fr. Gervase used poetry and literature to show how God's goodness and beauty showed up in the literary arts.
While teaching at Herman, Fr. Reginald Russo (+2020) requested that Fr. Gervase plant a few rose bushes in front of the school and walkways. When St. Fidelis College closed its doors in 1979, and the seminary program moved to Borromeo Seminary in Wickcliffe, Ohio, Fr. Gervase was named Parochial Vicar (assistant) at St. Joseph Parish in York, Pennsylvania. The flowers and gardens thrived there as much as they had blossomed and flourished in Herman.
At the 1986 Provincial Chapter, Fr. Gervase was elected to the Provincial Council where he served as Vicar Provincial. He also served as the Secretary of Personnel and Ministries and the Director of Retirement at St. Augustine Friary in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh where friars lived out their retirement.
He took a brief sabbatical and took courses in theology at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He was asked once again to take up parish ministry in 1995, this time as Parochial Vicar at St. Augustine Parish in Lawrenceville and served for a time as an elected member of the Clergy Council for the Diocese of Pittsburgh.
In 2002, a chaplaincy to Sisters of St. Francis of Millvale at the Mt. Alvernia Convent in the Millvale Borough, just north of Pittsburgh, was to be his final assignment. He loved the Sisters, and without a doubt, they loved him for the next 15 years.
Throughout his time at the Capuchin motherhouse in Lawrenceville, he continued to bring life to the gardens and shrubbery there. In an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in June 2002, journalist Mackenzie described "a veritable paradise of color and scent; currently it features hundreds of roses – about 250 in all." She asked him about his fascination and attention to all of this growth in nature. Fr. Gervase felt that it all emerged from his graduate studies in English at Carnegie Mellon University: "Shakespeare often wrote about different flowers, about roses. I think my love of poetry fueled my love of flowers, or is it the other way around?" he asked with a laugh.
A T-shirt he would wear while working on his gardens expressed his love of gardening: "A kiss of the sun for pardon, the song of birds for mirth, one is nearer God's heart in a garden, than anywhere on earth." To the local Rose Society, he was known as the "Rose Priest." He served as an officer and judge of the Pittsburgh Rose Society and was a certified rosarian consultant. A deep red, miniature rose is named for him, the Fr. Gervase Rose.
At his own request, Gervase relinquished daily pastoral responsibilities at Mt. Alvernia in 2017, becoming a confessor for the Sisters until his physical condition required him to retire on September 14, 2017, at age 87.
Fr. Gervase loved his family and stayed in close contact with them, often taking vacations with them. As a friar, he will be remembered as fun-loving and as one who spoke his mind without hesitation. He loved being a Capuchin. Until his final months of life, he was able to recite from memory lengthy passages from Shakespeare. His passion never wavered even as his body weakened.
Gervase Degenhardt, OFM Cap., passed to the Lord's eternal life at the Provincial motherhouse, St. Augustine Friary, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, September 27, 2023. He was 91. He had been suffering weakness in the past few months and growing increasingly frustrated that the Lord was delaying the moment when he could be freed from the weakness of Brother Body.
Gervase was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Martin and sisters Viola Sack, Dolores Herrman, and Esther Burghardt. He leaves three sisters to mourn his passing: Verna Schumacher and Joyce Pfeifer of Hays, Kansas; and Veronica Ditto of Everman, Texas; as well as many nieces and nephews.
Fr. Gervase was ready for the beauty and goodness alive in an eternal life with the Lord. He experience so much of its joy and abundance while he lived among us.
All events took place in the motherhouse chapel, St. Margaret of Cortona Chapel, St. Augustine Friary, 221 36th St., Pittsburgh, PA 15201.
Monday, October 2:
Reception of the body, for Friars only, 4:30 p.m.
Evening Prayer, 5:15 p.m.
Visitation, 7:00 p.m.
Wake Service, 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, October 3:
Visitation, 10:00 a.m.
Mass of Christian Burial, 10:30 a.m.
Interment followed at St. Augustine Cemetery in the Friars' Plot.
A luncheon was served in the Friary Dining Room.
Information from the Capuchin Franciscan Friars, Province of St. Augustine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, website and from personal knowledge. Edited and submitted by Angela, Member #48520699.
Capuchin friars served at St. Joseph's parish in Hays, and, when the Francis was 12, he traveled with 13 classmates on a train from Kansas to the Capuchin Seminary High School, St. Fidelis, in Herman, Pennsylvania, where he would flourish. He had the added advantage of being able to remind those Easterners how much they were missing out on the beauties of the prairies they'd never experienced.
On July 13, 1952, he received the Capuchin habit as well as the name he would retain for the rest of his life: Gervase. He made his first profession of vows in 1954 alongside confreres who would precede him in death: Marvin Justi (+2009), Mario Mastrangelo (+2022), and Ben Madden (+July 2023). After finishing their collegiate work in 1955, they began theological studies at Capuchin College and were ordained in 1958.
Earning a Licentiate in Theology (STL) from Washington D.C.'s Catholic University in 1960, the young priest began his teaching career as a Professor of Theology at Capuchin College in D.C., teaching friars studying for ordination, men only a year or two younger than he. Next, he was called to St. Fidelis College in Herman in 1965, continuing his teaching of theology while serving as the college's Vice President. Fr. Gervase was known for his love of poetry, literature, and the arts. As a professor at St. Fidelis College Seminary, he shared that love with his students.
He was tapped for further studies and attended classes at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, earning a Master's Degree in English Literature in 1968, and, for the next 11 years, added classes in English Literature to his course load.
Tradition has it that St. Gervase, his patron, was a martyr who, along with St. Protase, were killed during Nero's persecution in the second century. While teaching at St. Fidelis, Gervase had a pair of parakeets, Gervase and Protase, who were exposed to the classical music and operas which would often be playing from Fr. Gervase's stereo. A true renaissance man, Fr. Gervase used poetry and literature to show how God's goodness and beauty showed up in the literary arts.
While teaching at Herman, Fr. Reginald Russo (+2020) requested that Fr. Gervase plant a few rose bushes in front of the school and walkways. When St. Fidelis College closed its doors in 1979, and the seminary program moved to Borromeo Seminary in Wickcliffe, Ohio, Fr. Gervase was named Parochial Vicar (assistant) at St. Joseph Parish in York, Pennsylvania. The flowers and gardens thrived there as much as they had blossomed and flourished in Herman.
At the 1986 Provincial Chapter, Fr. Gervase was elected to the Provincial Council where he served as Vicar Provincial. He also served as the Secretary of Personnel and Ministries and the Director of Retirement at St. Augustine Friary in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh where friars lived out their retirement.
He took a brief sabbatical and took courses in theology at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He was asked once again to take up parish ministry in 1995, this time as Parochial Vicar at St. Augustine Parish in Lawrenceville and served for a time as an elected member of the Clergy Council for the Diocese of Pittsburgh.
In 2002, a chaplaincy to Sisters of St. Francis of Millvale at the Mt. Alvernia Convent in the Millvale Borough, just north of Pittsburgh, was to be his final assignment. He loved the Sisters, and without a doubt, they loved him for the next 15 years.
Throughout his time at the Capuchin motherhouse in Lawrenceville, he continued to bring life to the gardens and shrubbery there. In an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in June 2002, journalist Mackenzie described "a veritable paradise of color and scent; currently it features hundreds of roses – about 250 in all." She asked him about his fascination and attention to all of this growth in nature. Fr. Gervase felt that it all emerged from his graduate studies in English at Carnegie Mellon University: "Shakespeare often wrote about different flowers, about roses. I think my love of poetry fueled my love of flowers, or is it the other way around?" he asked with a laugh.
A T-shirt he would wear while working on his gardens expressed his love of gardening: "A kiss of the sun for pardon, the song of birds for mirth, one is nearer God's heart in a garden, than anywhere on earth." To the local Rose Society, he was known as the "Rose Priest." He served as an officer and judge of the Pittsburgh Rose Society and was a certified rosarian consultant. A deep red, miniature rose is named for him, the Fr. Gervase Rose.
At his own request, Gervase relinquished daily pastoral responsibilities at Mt. Alvernia in 2017, becoming a confessor for the Sisters until his physical condition required him to retire on September 14, 2017, at age 87.
Fr. Gervase loved his family and stayed in close contact with them, often taking vacations with them. As a friar, he will be remembered as fun-loving and as one who spoke his mind without hesitation. He loved being a Capuchin. Until his final months of life, he was able to recite from memory lengthy passages from Shakespeare. His passion never wavered even as his body weakened.
Gervase Degenhardt, OFM Cap., passed to the Lord's eternal life at the Provincial motherhouse, St. Augustine Friary, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, September 27, 2023. He was 91. He had been suffering weakness in the past few months and growing increasingly frustrated that the Lord was delaying the moment when he could be freed from the weakness of Brother Body.
Gervase was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Martin and sisters Viola Sack, Dolores Herrman, and Esther Burghardt. He leaves three sisters to mourn his passing: Verna Schumacher and Joyce Pfeifer of Hays, Kansas; and Veronica Ditto of Everman, Texas; as well as many nieces and nephews.
Fr. Gervase was ready for the beauty and goodness alive in an eternal life with the Lord. He experience so much of its joy and abundance while he lived among us.
All events took place in the motherhouse chapel, St. Margaret of Cortona Chapel, St. Augustine Friary, 221 36th St., Pittsburgh, PA 15201.
Monday, October 2:
Reception of the body, for Friars only, 4:30 p.m.
Evening Prayer, 5:15 p.m.
Visitation, 7:00 p.m.
Wake Service, 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, October 3:
Visitation, 10:00 a.m.
Mass of Christian Burial, 10:30 a.m.
Interment followed at St. Augustine Cemetery in the Friars' Plot.
A luncheon was served in the Friary Dining Room.
Information from the Capuchin Franciscan Friars, Province of St. Augustine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, website and from personal knowledge. Edited and submitted by Angela, Member #48520699.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
