Our brother Vernon Busch, OFM Cap., passed to eternal life in the Lord on the morning of Saturday, April 18, 2020, at St. Augustine Friary, Pittsburgh, PA, the fraternity in which he has lived for the past 16 years.
Born and given the name “Robert” on October 16, 1934, in Pittsburgh’s Allentown section, he was a proud member of St. George Parish there, one so central to German-American immigrant life in the city. He was also full of pride for his Pittsburgh roots, keeping that distinctive Pittsburgh “accent” throughout his life. After elementary school in the parish school, he was recruited by his pastor to attend St. Fidelis High School and College in Herman, PA.
As was the tradition, following his second year of college, Robert entered the Capuchin novitiate in Annapolis, MD, in 1954 and was given the name “Vernon,” a name he maintained even when friars were permitted to return to their baptismal names in 1968.
Br. Vernon professed his first vows of poverty, chastity and obedience in 1955, completed his college years in Herman and then began his theology studies for priesthood in Washington, DC’s Capuchin College in 1957. He was ordained on June 6, 1960, and the year of his death was to mark his 60th anniversary as a priest friar.
Vernon’s first years of ministry were spent in education. He returned to his alma mater St. Fidelis to serve variously as professor of Latin, Prefect of Discipline, Dean of Students and the college’s Vice-President in his nearly 20 years there. He earned his Masters degree in Classical Languages from Duquesne University in 1966. While at the seminary, he also served briefly as Chaplain for the Veteran’s Hospital of Butler, PA, and as pastor at St. Joseph Parish, North Oakland, PA, for three years.
Vernon was described by one former student on Facebook as a “gentle giant.” Another wrote that “he was a great teacher and strict study hall monitor!” He was renown for his monitoring of the room where students would spend their evenings doing school work. Vernon would leave the study hall when he served as prefect, allowing students to sense a moment of freedom to chat or play pranks on underclassmen. Vernon would often return by entering the rear doors of the study hall, catching unsuspecting students from behind.
This “giant” was respected by students and confreres alike. A former student, now ministering as a diocesan priest, wrote that Vernon was “a tough and demanding teacher, a gentle and kind-hearted priest, a good soul with a great, often subtle, sense of humor. He loved the priesthood and influenced countless young men, me included, in discerning their vocation.” Another alumnus had “such great memories of him sitting in his office and leaning back in his chair whenever any one of us came in.”
St. Fidelis College closed its doors in 1979. Vernon went on to serve briefly as pastor of St. Alphonsus Parish in Wheeling, WV, before returning to Pittsburgh on his election as Provincial councilor in 1980. He ministered as Guardian (local superior) of the friars’ motherhouse at St. Augustine Friary in Lawrenceville until he was asked to be part of a new novitiate team for the Province in 1983. St. Conrad Friary, the novitiate house, moved from Annapolis, MD, to its new location in Allison Park, PA, that year. Vernon spent the next thirteen years of his life in a “day job” as Chaplain to the nearby Kane Regional Center in Ross Township among the elderly and the infirmed and return home to live with the friars and novices, acting as confidant and confessor – and generally providing a central fulcrum of calm and perspective while the others in the house worried about the chaos of discernment and formational pressures.
At 64, desiring a move from his years in a formation setting, Vernon returned to parish ministry in 1996, working with the people of Ss. Peter & Paul Parish in Cumberland, MD, as their pastor. He was described by many parishioners as “a wonderful Pastor and Friend.” In the spring of 2004 at 69, Vernon suffered a serious heart attack which would cause his kidneys to fail. His health concerns and his need for dialysis would force his move back to the motherhouse in Lawrenceville.
The past sixteen years were years of suffering for him, borne with determination, humility and faith. He did not feign toughness; he was resolute and honest about the challenges he faced and surrendered himself to a continuous ministry of prayer, entrusting himself and others, especially the sick and suffering, to God’s providence. To the end he was fully present to others; he always enjoyed good conversation and good company. While a blessed kidney transplant was able to free him from the tether of his tri-weekly dialysis, ultimate rejection of the organ in his final years would bring a return to the therapy.
Vernon was much respected by the friars of our Capuchin Province of St. Augustine. We not only elected him three times to serve as a member of our Provincial Council, but he was asked to be on any number of commissions or projects that involved clear, level-headed thinking. He was not an emotional man, though his tender side would break through more as the years advanced. His intelligence, wisdom and well-grounded good sense were highly valued. His straightforward manner could be disarming, but his sense of humor was never far below the surface. These traits made him a trusted friend, a counselor to young and old alike and a true brother in fraternity.
His passing was sudden. At 6:30 AM, on Saturday, April 18, just outside the chapel of St. Augustine Friary, he collapsed and breathed his last. He was 85 years old, a Capuchin Franciscan friar for nearly 65 years and a priest for almost 60. The friars of the community, already challenged by their age and/or infirmities, have been forced to live in the isolation required by the pandemic. Now they also bear the loss of a brother and friend.
Fr. Vernon was preceded in death by his father Andrew (+1982), his mother Josephine Froehlich Busch (+1994) and his brother Charles (+2016). He is survived by two sisters: Joan Moineau and Mildred Thurber, both of Lower Burrell, PA, and a nephew, Fr. John Moineau, a priest of the Diocese of Greensburg. Our confrere Jim Froehlich, OFM Cap., who serves at the National Seminary of CUA, Theological College, in Washington, DC, is his cousin.
Our brother Vernon would have celebrated his 60th anniversary as a Capuchin priest on June 20th, 2020. Father John Moineau of the Diocese of Greensburg, Vernon's nephew, shared a special tribute to and in memory of our confrere Vernon, his uncle. Numerous pictures of Vernon are displayed from thoughout his life as Fr. Moineau plays a recording of the homily for he delivered for Vernon's Golden Jubilee 10 years ago in 2010. Thanks to Operation Safe Mode (OSM) who shared the video on their YouTube feed.
Funeral Arrangements
The celebration of our brother Vernon’s life was private due to the current laws in place for social distancing.
The friars of St. Augustine Friary in Pittsburgh, PA, received his body on Monday evening, April 20, 2020, and kept vigil for him there.
The Funeral Mass was celebrated at 8:30 AM, Tuesday, April 21, in the friary’s new St. Margaret of Cortona Chapel.
The Mass was streamed on YouTube live.
You can view it here for a period of time.
His burial was held privately at St. Augustine Cemetery, Millvale, PA, where he was laid to rest alongside his confreres.
May he know the goodness and peace
of God’s loving and merciful embrace!
Donations in memory of Father Vernon may be made online to benefit the Capuchin Education Fund which enables us to continue to fund our student friars in their training and formation as Capuchins. You can also choose to send an offering to:
Capuchin Education Fund
Province of Saint Augustine
220 37th Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15201