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Around the Province

Father Tony Dosen, CM, is on the faculty of the School of Education at DePaul University in Chicago.  He lives at Perboyre Mission House, where he works with Father Pat McDevitt, CM, helping in the formation of Vincentian seminarians.  He is soon to complete a License in Theology.  When not reading materials for class, he enjoys reading murder mysteries and historical novels.  He is looking forward to several weeks of travel to Washington D.C. and several Civil War historical sites with his ordination classmate, Father Kevin McCracken, CM, this summer.

Father Andy Bellisario, CM, recently moved to Seton Provincialate in Los Altos Hills, California.  After completing his term as Visitor he is happy to continue his ministry with the Daughters of Charity full-time.  As part of his sabbatical experience he looks forward to studying Spanish in Guatemala and visiting friends and relatives. 

Father George Weber, CM, lives at De Paul Residence in New Orleans with Father Louis Arceneaux, CM and Father Don Ours, C.M. pastor of St. Joseph's Parish.  Since Father Weber is retired, he has no pastoral duties but does help out at nearby parishes several times a week.  He loves teaching adult religion courses at St. Stephen's, where he just finished a course on The Reformation and is now working on a course on The Ten Commandments.   Fr. Weber’s passion is opera, especially Richard Wagner.  He has been to Bayreuth, Germany, for the Wagner festival a few times and would be happy to return. 

Father Prudencio Rodriguez, CM, enjoyed celebrating his 45th anniversary of ordination in Dallas with his classmates Fathers Tony Ruiz, Paul Golden, Jack Cawley and Tom Croak, CMs, and Tony's brother from Mexico, Paco.  Never let it be said that Fr. Ruiz can't throw a great party!  Holy Trinity Parish, where he is pastor, welcomed these guests warmly.  Fr. Rodriguez extends his thanks to everyone at the parish--such gracious hosts!

Father Jim Osendorf, CM, is a familiar face at DePaul Evangelization Center in Montebello, California, where he has served for about seven and a half years.  He is in the process of writing talks so that he can help lead Engaged Encounter weekends.  For fun, Fr. Osendorf has a yearly membership to Disneyland and is finding the regular trips to be truly fun.  He highly recommends the experience to anyone who hasn’t visited in a while.

Vincentian priests and brothers are important to many people. If you would like to reach one the Vincentians of the Western Province, please complete the Contact Us form with your name, contact information, and the name(s) of the Vincentian(s) you are trying to reach. We will be sure to pass on your message.

Obituary

Father Louis Joseph Derbes, CM     1924 -- 2010

Father Louis (Lou) Derbes, a Vincentian priest for almost 59 years, died on May 16, 2010, from complications of lung cancer.  He was 86 years old. 

For more than 30 years Fr. Derbes served in high school seminaries.  This included assignments in the following cities:  Bethany, Oklahoma; Lemont and Chicago, Illinois; San Antonio, Texas; Tucson, Arizona; and Cape Girardeau and St. Louis, Missouri.  He taught a variety of subjects, but mathematics was his favorite and the one for which many former students remember him.  For three years he served as rector of St. Louis Preparatory Seminary in St. Louis. 

After his many years in high school work, Fr. Derbes served as the house treasurer at DePaul Vincentian Residence in Chicago.  From there he moved to St. Mary's of the Barrens where he put his degree in library science to work as archivist.   He had a genuine love for the Community and its members and saw it as an honor to help organize and preserve the Community's history in the archives.  Even as his health forced him to slow down, Fr. Derbes continued working in the archives and took on duties as an Apostle of Prayer, the prayer ministry of the Western Province. 

Born in New Orleans on January 21, 1924, Fr. Derbes was one of twelve children.  He met the Vincentians at St. Stephen's Parish in New Orleans and, after a year at Jesuit High School, transferred to St. Vincent's College in Cape Girardeau to respond to the call to be a Vincentian.  He entered the novitiate at St. Mary's of the Barrens on May 30, 1943, and was ordained a priest there on May 20, 1951.   The fruits of his labors will be seen for many years both in the lives of his former students and in the history he helped document and preserve in the archives.