By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic

MIAMI | The Archdiocese of Miami will celebrate the World Day of Consecrated Life with a Mass this Saturday, Jan. 31, at 5:30 p.m. at St. Mary Cathedral. Archbishop Thomas Wenski will celebrate the Mass, which will be preceded at 4:30 p.m. by a Holy Hour in thanksgiving for the vocation to religious life.

During the Mass, seven men and women religious will be honored on their 75th, 70th, 60th, 50th and 25th anniversaries of consecrated life. The public is welcome to attend the celebration.

Following are brief biographies of those who are marking those milestones this year:

DOUBLE DIAMOND – 75 YEARS

Brother Norbert J. Rodrigue, Marist Brothers

Brother Norbert was born Joseph N. Rodrigue on Feb. 17, 1922 in Lowell, Mass., and entered the Marist Juniorate in eighth grade, on Aug. 15, 1935. He took his first vows as a Marist Brother on July 26, 1940, and was given the name Brother Norbert Justin. He began his career in education in 1943, teaching sixth grade in Lawrence, Mass. From 1950 to 1952, he taught English as a second language in Guadalajara, Mexico. He also taught English as a second language at the Normal Superior Nueva Galicia during the summers, from 1973 to 1993. He earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Fordham University and a master’s in guidance and counseling from the University of Puerto Rico. From 1975 until 1994, he served as guidance counselor at Marist High School, in Eugene, Ore. He retired for the first time in June of that year, but since 1995 he has volunteered to work in: Tijuana, Baja California; Kobe, Japan; Liberia, Africa; Msgr. Edward Pace High School, Miami Gardens; St. Joseph Academy, Brownsville, Texas; and he still volunteers an hour a week at St. Louis Covenant School in Pinecrest.

 

PLATINUM – 70 YEARS

Sister Mary Patricia Hale, Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur

Sister Mary Patricia was born in Philadelphia, Pa., on July 13, 1926, one of seven children, including her identical twin. Sister Mary Patricia entered the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur on Aug. 12, 1945 and made her first profession on Jan. 21, 1948. After making her final profession on July 31, 1953, she taught in schools in Philadelphia, South Carolina, Maryland and New York, where she also ministered to neighborhood gangs. For several years, she served as principal of a school in Washington, D.C. She then taught in Miami for 16 years while also coaching boys’ junior high basketball in the CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) league. Her identical twin, Sister Patricia Mary, also became a religious, joining the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Before her death in 1996, she taught at Epiphany School and Notre Dame Academy (now Archbishop Curley Notre Dame Prep). Sister Mary Patricia spends her retirement as a substitute teacher, entertaining, and driving elderly friends.

 

DIAMOND – 60 YEARS

Brother Charles Filiatrault, Marist Brothers

Brother Charles was born Francis Xavier Filiatrault on Sept. 15, 1935 in Lowell, Mass., and entered the Marist Brothers on Sept. 7, 1952. He made his first profession of vows on July 26, 1955 and final profession on Aug. 29, 1961. He currently serves as director of one of the communities of Marist Brothers in Miami. Prior to that, he spent most of his life teaching, coaching and moderating youth and parent clubs in Marist schools from coast to coast. With master’s degrees in both sacred theology and French literature, he served as simultaneous translator for two General Chapters at the General Administration in Rome as well as similar work in several foreign countries. He continues to do written translations for the brothers in Rome when asked to do so. For 14 years, he served as primary caregiver for Marist Brothers in the Miami area. His hobbies include swimming, traveling and listening to classical music.

Brother Eladio Gonzalez, Marist Brothers

Brother Eladio was born in Havana, Cuba, on Oct. 8, 1937. He entered the Novitiate Nuestra Señora de la Soledad in Tlalpan, Mexico, D.F., on Dec. 8, 1955, and made his final profession on Dec. 4, 1961. His first assignment was teaching grammar school at Colegio Champagnat in Cienfuegos, Cuba. In 1961, after the government closed all the Catholic schools in Cuba, he returned to Mexico, working in the Marist School at Aguascalientes. In 1964, he began serving in Puerto Rico. He spent 12 years as a teacher and counselor at the Marist schools in Alturas de Torrimar and Manati. In 1976, he was transferred to the Marist Province of the United States and ministered at Champagnat Catholic High School, Hialeah; St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Fort Lauderdale; and Msgr. Edward Pace High School, Miami Gardens. After six year at St. Joseph Academy, Brownsville, Texas, he was transferred to Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, where he has served as a school counselor for the last 25 years. In addition to his ministry in education, Brother Eladio for 50 years has been involved in ministering to youth groups. He currently serves as advisor to the Squires Club at Columbus, a youth group affiliated with the Knights of Columbus; and the Key Club, a service group affiliated with the Kiwanis Club. Both groups have received numerous awards and recognitions over the years.

Sister Joan L. Kehn, Adrian Dominicans

Sister Joan was born Feb. 21, 1937 in Toledo, Ohio. She was so inspired by the Adrian Dominican Sisters who taught her that she knew since fifth grade that she wanted to join them after graduation from high school. She was received into the congregation on Dec. 27, 1955 and made her first profession on Dec. 28, 1956, taking her final vows on Dec. 28, 1961. Her first assignment was as primary grades teacher at St. Helen School in Vero Beach, in 1957. From 1961 to 1973, she taught at a number of schools in the Chicago area. She returned to Florida in 1973 and was assigned to St. Ann School in West Palm Beach. She remained there for 17 years, until being summoned to the motherhouse in Adrian, Mich., to minister in the Office of Financial Services. In 1992, she returned to Florida and began teaching at St. Gregory the Great School in Plantation. She currently serves there as religion teacher and co-director of the religious education program. She has a master’s degree in elementary education from DePaul University in Chicago and has done post-graduate work in education at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton and Barry College (now University) in Miami Shores.

 

GOLDEN – 50 YEARS

Sister Cecilia Chen, Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Sister Cecilia was born April 18, 1941 in Tainan, Taiwan. She joined the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Rome, Italy, and entered their novitiate in Spain on Jan. 9, 1965. She made her first profession there on Aug. 22, 1967. After continuing her religious formation and education in London and Dublin, Ireland, she made her final profession on Aug. 15, 1975 in Dublin. She was a school teacher in Tokyo, Dublin, and London until 1986, when she was assigned to the U.S. Province and began serving at Catholic Social Services in Philadelphia: She represented immigrants before INS and the U.S. Immigration Court from March 1986 to December 2002. Since January 2003, she has served at Catholic Legal Services in Miami as an Accredited Representative for immigrants before the USCIS and U.S. Immigration Court.

 

SILVER – 25 YEARS

Sister María José Socías, Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary 

Sister María José was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, and raised in the Dominican Republic. She met the Servants of the Pierced Hearts when Mother Adela Galindo, foundress of the community, travelled to the Dominican Republic for a mission. In 1990, Sister María José professed her first vows. From 1991 to 1996, she served as a Pre-K teacher at Our Lady of the Rosary Day Care Center in Miami. In 1996, she began working at the Archdiocese of Miami’s Respect Life Office, where she was trained to be a counselor for the emergency pregnancy center and also for Project Rachel. For nine years she helped organize and participated in the Chastity Day program put on by the Respect Life Office for eighth-graders in archdiocesan Catholic schools. She taught middle school religion at Blessed Trinity School and is currently assigned as the Novice Mistress for her community. She is also a member of the Servants’ preaching team and has participated in Marian and Eucharistic conferences and retreats, as well as parish missions in the U.S. and Latin America.