The Chancellor’s Office received the news that Raymond Mann, OFM, 89, a professed friar for 68 years and a priest for 62, died on September 23, 2021  at St. Anthony Friary, St. Petersburg, where he had lived for seven years. He had spent his religious life mainly in Massachusetts and Bolivia.

Father Mann professed his final vows as a Franciscan on August 19, 1958 at Christ the King Seminary in Allegany, New York, before Reverend Celsus Wheeler, OFM.  He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Phillip Hannan on April 25, 1959 at Mt. St. Sepulchre at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in Washington, D.C.  He was known for his reflections and retreats, authored several articles, including one for Commonweal magazine in 2008 titled “The Empty Box: Why Catholics Skip Confession.”   In 2014, Father Mann retired to St. Petersburg.

He is survived by his brother, Br. William Mann, OFM, who lives in St. Petersburg, and a cousin and her son — Joan Kramer and Stephen Kramer — of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Funeral services are planned for September 29 in the chapel of St. Anthony Friary on 2nd Street North, St. Petersburg.  A wake will be offered at 9:30 a.m., followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 a.m. at which Reverend Vincent Laviano, OFM, will preside.  Reverend Thomas Jones, OFM, will give the homily.  Burial will follow at Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Clearwater, Florida.

Memorial donations may be sent to Franciscan Friars – Holy Name Province, 144 West 32nd Street, New York, NY 10001-3202.

Complete obituary at this link.

Keep Father Raymond, his family and the Franciscan Community in your thoughts and prayers.

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May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.