See the end of the article for livestreaming links of our brother's Wake and Funeral Mass are below . . .
Our brother, Colman Studeny, OFM Cap., passed to the Lord’s eternal life on Friday. October 18, 2024, at our motherhouse, St. Augustine Friary, in Pittsburgh, PA, less than a month after celebrating his 90th birthday. He had been in residence there since 2022 when he retired from his work as a missionary in Papua New Guinea.
Born to Leo and Germaine (Koehler) Studeny on September 28, 1934, he was given the name James at his baptism at Resurrection Parish in Pittsburgh and also where he was to attend the parish grade school. In 1948, James entered St. Fidelis High School Seminary in Herman, PA. Sadly, within six weeks of his arrival there, the young freshman suffered the unexpected loss of his older brother Leo, Jr.
When he was ready to move on to the novitiate year after his second year of college and recieve the habit of the Order, this was his highlight in the 1953 edition of the school's Yearbook, the Skullcap . . .
Invested with the Capuchin habit in 1955, he was given the name Colman, the patron saint of his classmate’s parish in Turtle Creek, PA. That classmate was our brother Dunstan Jones (+2006); he and another classmate, Bernard Finerty (+2015) preceded him in death, but classmates Brian Newman and Roman Kozacheson survive him, as do Blaine Burkey and Harvey Dinkel of the Province of St. Conrad.
Colman and his family once again suffered a great loss at the death of Colman’s father, Leo Studeny, Sr., in September 1957, one year after their profession of vows while Colman was completing his college studies at the seminary.
With theology studies which followed at Capuchin College in Washington, DC, the class was ordained to the priesthood on June 3, 1961, at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Following a pastoral year, Colman and Dunstan (pictured to the right) prepared for their assignments to our mission in Papua New Guinea. The young priest friars joined those brothers who began the adventure of the missions’ establishment eight years before their arrival. They enthusiastically embraced their work of evangelization in areas where men and women had never heard the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the brothers accepted a life which was particularly rugged and challenging for anyone raised in the comforts of North America.
Colman’s first pastoral assignment was to serve the people of Upper Mendi at the parish in Ekari, along with its many substations and outposts, covering a vast and rugged area. Except for two years when he was assigned to Ialibu and then to Lower Mendi, Colman was the pastor in Upper Mendi until 2011. He's pictured here with our brother Gary Stakem (+2022).
In a 1968 article for the Fort Myers, FL, News-Press, Colman was interviewed with his mother for an article, “Life In New Guinea Outlined By Visitor.” He recounted to reporter Betty Andersen his own experience of the country and people he had come to love:
The natives are a simple people, leading a simple life. They create our churches from logs, grass tied into bundles for the roof, and reeds hammered and woven into matting for the sidewalls. They are hidden in the jungles of the area, with about 200,000 living in the diocese, of which 15 or 16 thousand have been converted to the Catholic religion . . .
These people are completely unaware of wars going on in other parts of the world. They have embraced the Christian religion, but just for good luck they still placate evil spirits through ceremonies and by talismans. We are trying to bring some industry to the area. We raise pyrethrum, [a chemical] used in insect spray, and are starting a tea plantation as a source of income for the natives.
Colman served the mission for 58 years – years which would witness the blossoming of faith, the blessing of increased communication and the building of a working infrastructure. During their time with the people, Colman and Dunstan would witness and share the delight of the establishment of the Diocese of Mendi in 1965 with its first bishop, confrere Firmin Schmidt, OFM Cap. (+2005), and celebrate Papua New Guinea’s declaration of independence from British rule in 1975.
Our brother was a trusted and efficient administrator in the Mendi Diocese. He was definitely a man of detail and precision. First tapped as chancellor and business manager by our brother Frimin, Colman continued his service during another confrere’s successive term as bishop, that of Stephen Reichert, OFM Cap. (1995-2010). Colman also served simultaneously as Vicar General of the diocese for many years.
In 2011, Colman was assigned to Padre Pio Friary in Madang, assisting with the education and training of Capuchin candidates. His long-time interest in Catholic apologetics, the study of the uniqueness and defense of Catholic-Christian belief, made him a perfect teacher for young men interested in becoming Capuchin friars. Before his return to the United States for health reasons, he authored a helpful guide to understanding our faith with the publication of Apologetics: Clarifying some bible texts [Apologetiks: Mekim klia sampela tok bilong Baibel] in 2017.
Our brother’s missionary life on “the other side of the world” did not stop him from keeping up with the Pirates and Steelers of his hometown roots in Pittsburgh. From his days in formation he always figured out a way to learn the latest sports scores. His keen attention to sports earned him the nickname “Babe.” He couldn't always get the games. He once wrote that "The Armed Forces [shortwave network] keeps us informed. The Pirate games are aired once in a while, but," he lamented, "the Dodgers or Angels are the regular fare."
The classic picture, taken by photographer Karl Hans Stellmach for the documentary film of our work in the country (left), Then Came Dawn, shows that Colman was even able to acquire Steeler T-shirts for his young friends.
Colman was a happy Capuchin friar and priest. Always faithful to prayer, he never allowed his work, administrative duties or hobbies to excuse him from the community’s prayer life.
While his administrative skills impressed bishops and superiors, his golf game kept them humble. He was a fierce but friendly competitor, and his annual two-week golfing vacation in Madang with confreres like Steve Reichart and Dominic McGuiness (+2016) were just about as sacred as his prayer life.
Colman’s memory skills were legendary, ever able to recall details. He was a practical man who understood the importance of record keeping and statistics and would recommend (and sometimes insist?) on a correction to liturgical norms or figures on a budget. He was part of the weather reporting system in Papua New Guinea and faithfully kept daily records of climatic conditions in the Southern Highlands.
He loved the people of Papua New Guinea and was devoted to their spiritual and material well-being. In 2013 Queen Elizabeth II honored him with the Order of the British Empire Award for his service to PNG and to the British Commonwealth.
A humble and good-natured man, Coleman possessed a ready smile and generous spirit that would put friends and strangers at ease.
Along with his dad and brother mentioned above, Colman was preceded in death by his mother, Germaine, in 1997. The other profound family losses for him were those of his stepfather, Francis Roney, and their two children, stepsisters Patricia Wettach and Mary Warbaneth. They and their surviving families fondly remembered Colman’s home visits from Papua New Guinea as the “highlight of their lives.”
On learning of Colman’s passing, current superior of the Capuchin Custody of Papua New Guinea, Modest Sangia, OFM Cap., offered this tribute:
We are saddened by the death of our Brother Fr. Colman Studeny. The Custody is praying for him.
On Friday, October 11th, I was at Saint Fidelis Seminary- Madang for a Board Meeting. Fr. Colman called and said goodbye to everyone he could remember. He seemed to have been well prepared for his death.
The Diocese of Mendi remembers him as the founder of the Upper Mendi Parish and many other administrative assignments in the Diocese. The Custody remembers him for many assignments he did and finally as part of the formation staff at Padre Pio postulancy, where he finished his missionary work in Papua New Guinea before going back to Pittsburgh.
All brothers in the Custody remember the good moments they had with him. He was peaceful, joyful and fraternal. He inspired several Seminarians to join the Capuchins when he was teaching Apologetics at Saint Fidelis Seminary-Madang. His life as Capuchin challenges us today. We pray for his peaceful repose.
See the photo tribute to our brother's final days compiled by
our confrere Dennis Klemash, OFM Cap., Director of our friary Health Services,
Funeral Arrangements
Livestreaming links are below . . .
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
Reception & Wake Service
St. Augustine Friary
St. Margaret of Cortona Chapel
221 36th Street
Pittsburgh PA 15201
4:00 p.m.
Reception of the body (friars only)
4:30 p.m.
Evening Prayer
5:00 p.m.
Visitation
7:00 p.m.
Wake Service
______________________________________________
Thursday, October 24, 2024
Mass of Christian Burial
St. Augustine Friary
St. Margaret of Cortona Chapel
221 36th Street
Pittsburgh PA 15201
9:00 a.m.
Visitation
10:00 a.m.
Mass of Christian Burial
Interment at St. Augustine Cemetery, Shaler Township, PA
Arrangements by D'Allesandro Funeral Home (Pittsburgh)