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Communications
HNP Today newsletter
June 9, 2010 |
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RINGWOOD, N.J. — Matthew Gaskin, OFM, 88, died June 5 at Holy Name Friary here. A professed Franciscan friar for 64 years, he would have celebrated the 60th anniversary of his ordination on June 11. He served for many years as the Province’s and Order’s spiritual assistant to the Secular Franciscan Order.
A wake service and Mass of Christian Burial are being offered June 9 and 10 at St. Anthony Church in Butler, N.J.
Early Years
Matthew was born Nov. 20, 1921, in Buffalo, N.Y., to Edward and Irene Gaskin and was baptized Edward George on Dec. 11 at St. Gerard Church in Buffalo. Matthew attended St. Gerard elementary school and Louis J. Bennett High School, graduating in 1939. After working with his father’s company for a year, in 1940 he enrolled in St. Joseph’s Seraphic Seminary in Callicoon, N.Y., to prepare himself as a candidate for the Franciscan priesthood.
He entered the Order of Friars Minor in Holy Name Province on Aug. 12, 1944, at St. Bonaventure Friary, Paterson, N.J., receiving the name Matthew Lawrence. He professed first vows there Aug. 14, 1945, before Bertrand Campbell, OFM.
Matthew then pursued the usual two-year course of studies in philosophy at St. Stephen’s Friary in Croghan, N.Y., and St. Anthony Friary in Butler, N.J., receiving his bachelor’s degree from St. Bonaventure University in 1947. He then studied theology at Holy Name College in Washington, D.C., where he professed his final vows on Sept. 17, 1948, before Bertrand.
He was ordained to the priesthood on June 11, 1950, by Archbishop Amleto Cicognani, apostolic delegate to the United States, in the Chapel of Trinity College in Washington.
Ministry
Upon completion of his studies at Holy Name College in 1951, Matthew was assigned to the Pontifical Anthonian Athenaeum in Rome, receiving his Licentiate in Sacred Theology. After serving for a year at St. Francis Friary in New York City as secretary to the Provincial Minister, he joined the faculty of Bishop Timon High School, Buffalo, in 1953.
Five years later, Matthew began a fruitful ministry as a preacher of retreats, residing — over a 10-year period — at friaries in Paterson, Butler, Boston, and Lafayette, N.J. Desiring to keep up with current developments in theology at the time of the Second Vatican Council, he interrupted this ministry from 1964 to 1966 to engage in theological studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington.
In 1968, Matthew began full-time ministry with the Movement for a Better World, being elected national director the following year. In 1970, he became assistant pastor of Holy Cross Parish in the Bronx, and then in 1971 returned to Buffalo as campus minister and faculty member at Villa Maria College and St. Joseph High School.
In 1974, Matthew entered parish ministry — first as assistant pastor of St. Joseph Parish, West Milford, N.J., and then as pastor of St. Catherine of Bologna Church in Ringwood, N.J., from 1976 to 1979. During this time, he also served as episcopal vicar for the Upper Passaic Deanery of the Diocese of Paterson.
In 1979, Matthew once again returned to Buffalo to be closer to his ailing parents. He served as campus minister at the State University of New York at Buffalo until 1982, and then on the faculty of Timon High School until 1984. In 1982, he also began his long association with the Secular Franciscan Order as spiritual assistant for the fraternities of Western New York. In 1984, he was named spiritual assistant to the Secular Franciscans of Holy Name Province.
Matthew continued to reside in Buffalo until 1986, when he moved to St. Francis Friary in New York, but in 1987 settled at St. Anthony Friary in Butler, which remained his home for the next 17 years. Matthew continued as the Province’s spiritual assistant until 2001, and from 1993 to 1999, also served as OFM national spiritual assistant to the Secular Franciscan Order. He served in this role during a crucial period during the life of the Secular Franciscans in the United States, as they moved from a traditional structure under the oversight of First Order provinces to national regionalization.
He retired from active ministry in Butler in 2002, but, due to failing health, took up residence at Holy Name Friary, Ringwood, in 2004.
Funeral Services
A wake service is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on June 9 at Holy Name Friary. Matthew’s remains will then be removed to St. Anthony Church, 71 Bartholdi Ave., Butler, where there will be a viewing from 6 to 8:30 p.m., with a vigil service at 7 p.m., at which Richard Trezza, OFM, will preach.
There will also be a viewing at St. Anthony Church June 10, from 9 to 10:30 a.m., immediately followed by the Mass of Christian Burial. Provincial Minister John O’Connor, OFM, will be principal celebrant, and Anthony Carrozzo, OFM, will preach the homily.
Interment will follow at Mt. Calvary Cemetery in Butler.
Condolences may be sent to Mrs. Mary Ann Boehm, Matthew’s niece, at 3941 Nottingham Terrace, Hamburg NY 14075. Memorial contributions can be made to St. Anthony’s Guild, 7 Jersey Street, East Rutherford NJ 07073.
