Fr. Richard G. Cannuli, O.S.A., February 2, 1947 – August 6, 2019

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Richard Gerald Cannuli, was born on February 2, 1947, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the only child of Anthony Cannuli and Marianna Naimoli. He was baptized on March 23, 1947 at Saint Thomas Aquinas Church, Philadelphia, and attended Saint Thomas Aquinas Grade School and Bishop Neumann High School.

He entered the Augustinian Formation Program for Lay Brothers in New Hamburg, New York, on September 8, 1967, and following his pre-novitiate formation, he was received as a novice on August 27, 1969. He professed simple vows on August 28, 1970 after which he attended Duchess Community College for one year and Villanova University, which awarded him a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1973. He professed solemn vows on October 28, 1973 at Saint Rita Shrine, Philadelphia.

Brother Richard was assigned in 1973 to Saint Joseph Friary, Drexel Hill, where he taught art at Monsignor Bonner High School. In 1978, he was transferred to Mount Augustine Apostolic Center on Staten Island, New York, while he pursued graduate studies at the Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, and from which he received a Master of Fine Arts degree. He then returned to Saint Joseph Friary, Drexel Hill, and taught at Villanova University. In 1981, he was transferred to Saint Thomas of Villanova Monastery, and in 1990, to Saint Thomas of Villanova Friary, Villanova.

As he continued his journey within Augustinian religious life, Brother Richard discerned a call to ordained ministry. Following theological studies, he was ordained to the priesthood on October 30, 1999 at Saint Thomas of Villanova Church, Villanova, by Louis A. DeSimone, Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia. In 2010, he was granted faculties to minister also within the Maronite Rite of the Church.

In 1985, he had begun formal training with a Master Iconographer. His icons have been commissioned by parish communities and private individuals. One of these, Do Not Weep for me Mother, was presented to His Beatitude Patriarch Nasrallah Peter Sfeir, on behalf of Villanova University. Another was accepted into the permanent collection of the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine at Sinai, Egypt, and a third was presented to Pope Francis, at the opening Mass of the Augustinian General Chapter of 2013 in Saint Augustine Church, Rome, Italy.

Father Richard traveled extensively exhibiting his works in Italy, Spain, China, Russia, Belarus and Greece as well as throughout the United States of America. He designed and worked with stained glass windows, fabric, mosaic and liturgical furniture and was called upon in the design and renovation of churches and convents. One of his most recent works has been the design of windows for Corr Chapel at Villanova. He spent his entire life enriching and enhancing the world for others through his artistry, lectures and workshops.

Father Richard was taken ill during the summer of 2019. His disease progressed very rapidly, resulting in his death at Saint Thomas Monastery, Villanova, in the early hours of Tuesday, August 6, 2019, the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.

Funeral arrangements for

Fr. Richard G. Cannuli, O.S.A

are as follows:

Viewing:

Friday, August 9, 2019

St. Thomas of Villanova Church, Villanova, PA

6:30-8:30 pm

and

Saturday, August 10, 2019

9:30 – 10:15 am

Funeral Mass:

Saturday, August 10, 2019

St. Thomas of Villanova Church, Villanova, PA

10:30 am

Burial:

Following the Funeral Mass

Saturday, August 10, 2019

Calvary Cemetery

West Conshohocken, PA

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Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.

And let perpetual light shine upon him.

May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed,

through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.