Brother Finbar M. Gallagher, T.O.R.
Brother Finbar Michael Gallagher, T.O.R., 72, Franciscan Friar of the Sacred Heart Province, died on October 16, 2009, at Saint Francis Friary, Loretto. Born in Brooklyn, NY, on February 20, 1937, he was the son of the late Thomas and Suzanne (Coughlin) Gallagher. He is survived by his sisters Mary O'Reilly in Florida, and Margaret McLaughlin, Rita Byrne, and Virginia Ruggieri, and brothers Thomas and James Gallagher, all of New York, and by his Franciscan community.
Brother Finbar came to Loretto as a candidate for the religious brotherhood of the Franciscan community in 1955 and entered the novitiate of the Province of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus of the Third Order Regular of Saint Francis at Portiuncula Friary, Washington, D.C., in 1956. He professed his first vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience at the Portiuncula Friary in 1957, into the hands of the late Very Reverend Adrian Veigle, T.O.R., Minister Provincial. Brother professed his solemn vows at Mount Assisi Friary, Loretto, in 1960, also into the hands of Father Adrian Veigle.
Brother Finbar received his elementary education at Saint Anselm School and was a graduate of Fort Hamilton High School in Brooklyn. Later he also attended courses at Stonehill College in Massachusetts and the Cornell University School of Hotel and Restaurant Management. From 1959 to 1974, he served as dining hall and kitchen manager at Saint Louis Friary in Philadelphia, Mount Assisi Friary and Saint Francis University in Loretto, and at Saint Francis Prep School in Spring Grove, where he also worked as prefect and instructor. He also served as a staff member of Bishop Egan High School in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, while residing at Saint Anthony Friary, Fairless Hills, PA.
From 1976 to 1991 and again from 1993 to 1995, Brother Finbar was engaged in Franciscan missionary ministry in the Vice Province of Our Lady of Aparecida in Brasil, stationed primarily in Manaus, Amazonas.
Brother Finbar was assigned to Sacred Heart Friary, Winchester, VA, from 1996 to 1998, serving as treasurer of the Friary. While in Virginia, he also served as spiritual assistant for the Portiuncula Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order and as president and chaplain of the Father John J. Munley division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. For eleven years he was assigned to Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Church in Baltimore where he also ministered to the region's poor and needy at the Franciscan Center. There he worked as supervisor of purchases, monitoring the needs of the Center's food pantry and clothing departments. In Baltimore, he was also spiritual assistant for Mary our Queen Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order. In July of 2009, he was assigned from Baltimore to Saint Francis Friary, Loretto.
In addition to his various assignments in this country and abroad, Brother Finbar received the ministries of Lector and Acolyte in 1978, served as chairman of the Justice and Peace Committee of the Province for several years, and was elected a delegate of the Provincial Chapter in 1999.
The Franciscan life of Brother Finbar was blessed with various ministries, all of which he performed willingly and joyfully. He accepted every assignment as a way to serve the Lord and His people and, inspired by the example and spirit of Saint Francis, he had a special loving concern for the poor and needy in Brasil, Baltimore, and everywhere else. For him, work was never a burden but brotherly service to others, whether assisting his fellow friars and secular Franciscans, working with high school and college students, cooking and other kitchen duties, or serving in foreign missions.
Friends will be received on Monday, October 19, at the chapel of Saint Francis Friary, Loretto, from 2 p.m. until the time of the Vigil Service at 7 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial will be concelebrated at the chapel of Saint Francis Friary on Tuesday, October 20, at 10 a.m., with the Very Reverend Christian R. Oravec, T.O.R., Minister Provincial, as principal celebrant. Following the Mass, burial will take place at the Franciscan Friars Cemetery on the campus of Saint Francis University. Arrangements by Gibbons Funeral Home, 301 Church Street, Gallitzin.