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May 2021 www.thefloridacatholic.org
YOUR MIAMI COMMUNITY
STAFF REPORT
MIAMI Funeral services were held April 29, 2021, at St. Katharine Drexel Church in Weston for Father John Fink, a retired archdiocesan priest who died April 24, a month shy of his 50th anniversary as a priest. Father Fink was 80 and had been receiving rehabilitation at St. John's Nursing Center in Fort Lauderdale, having been in and out of the hospi- tal the last few months. He had re- tired from fulltime ministry in July 2010 but continued his involvement with the English-speaking Catho- lic Charismatic Renewal, where he had served as spiritual director since 2004. He also served as spiritual di- rector of the Broward Curia of the Legion of Mary from 1978 to 1985. From 1992 until his retirement, he served as chaplain at Broward Gen- eral Hospital. It is a beautiful coincidence that this fine shepherd passed away on the eve of Good Shepherd Sunday," wrote Father Alfredo Hernandez, rector of St. Vincent de Paul Re- gional Seminary in Boynton Beach, in an email to seminary supporters. Father Fink was a staunch sup- porter of St. Vincent de Paul Region- al Seminary, of which he is a 1971 graduate, and was a familiar face at all our events," Father Hernan- dez wrote. "Perhaps more importantly, he was a great sup- port and spiritual father to a number of our faculty and seminarians." He noted that Fa- ther Fink assisted at Ruthenian Byzan- tine parishes, hav- ing been trained to celebrate the East- ern Rite Mass dur- ing his early years as a priest. He was also a lay discalced Carmelite. He retired in 2010 but was very active in ministry in the years pre- ceding his death," Father Hernan- dez added. "In spite of significant handicaps, he worked tirelessly for the faithful at the parishes of St. David, St. Malachy, St. Andrew, St. Bonaventure, and St. Katharine Drexel." Father John was very spiritual, very faithful," said Father Domi- nick O'Dwyer, who retired as pas- tor of St. Malachy in June 2019. He recalled that Father Fink helped at a lot of parishes. "We had him at St. Malachy for many, many years." Father O'Dywer first met Father Fink when they worked together for four years at St. Bartholomew in Miramar. Father O'Dwyer was the pastor, Father Fink his associate. Father O'Dwyer said the Charismat- ic Renewal had been Father Fink's "pas- sion for a long time." He also was instrumental in promoting the Tridentine Mass," Father O'Dwyer said. Father Fink introduced it at St. Malachy and celebrated it on weekdays at St. Bo- naventure in Davie. This man has impacted literally thousands because of his minis- tries," said Sandi LeBel, former as- sociate director of the archdiocesan Respect Life Office. Father Fink had been her spiritual director since 2006. She noted that he had been very involved and supportive of the respect life ministry and its preg- nancy help centers. He also was a Knight of Columbus and served as spiritual director for the Broward chapter of Magnificat, a ministry to Catholic women. He is so beloved," LeBel said. The people who knew Father John and those he ministered to, they all felt like they were his spiritual sons and daughters." John Sause, a retired professor of philosophy and health law at Barry University, was one of Father Fink's lifelong friends. They both served on the ethics committee at Broward General. It is extremely difficult to en- capsulate the personality and mag- nitude of his fifty years of service to his beloved Jesus and the Church," Sause said. He characterized Father Fink as "indefatigable" in fulfilling the promise he made on the day of his ordination. "The archbishop in- quired, 'Are you resolved to conse- crate your life to God for the salva- tion of his people and to unite your- self more closely every day to Christ the High Priest, who for us offered himself to the Father as a perfect sacrifice?' To which John answered emphatically, 'I am, with the help of God,'" Sause said. Born July 2, 1940 in Cleveland, Ohio, Father Fink graduated from the University of Dayton with a bachelor's degree in education. He obtained a master's in theology from St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in Boynton Beach and was ordained May 29, 1971 for the Archdiocese of Miami. He served as parochial vicar at Nativity Church in Hollywood (1971-72); St. Margaret in Clewis- ton, now part of the Diocese of Ven- ice (1972-75); St. Hugh in Coconut Grove (1975-77); St. Joseph in Stu- art, now part of the Diocese of Palm Beach (1977-78); St. Bartholomew in Miramar (1978-91); and San Isidro in Pompano Beach (1991-92 and in residence 1992-94). Archbishop Thomas Wenski presided at the funeral Mass, which was livestreamed on St. Katharine Drexel's YouTube channel. Father Fink is survived by his brothers, David and Thomas and their wives, all of whom live in Ohio, as well as nieces and nephews.
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ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO
of the Florida Catholic staff
MIAMI When she left Miami for her motherhouse in 2016, Sister Clementina Givens promised this: I've already told the mother gen- eral: I may be 94, but I don't intend to sit down, waiting for death." And indeed, she didn't. She just did a lot of reading and praying and going to Mass," said Mary Sells, a parishioner at St. Pat- rick who struck up a friendship with Sister Clementina after a chance meeting at the church. Sells visited her whenever her job took her near the Oblate Sisters of Providence motherhouse in Baltimore. Sister Clementina died there April 17, 2021, at the age of 99. Fu- neral services took place April 22. Parishioners at St. Patrick, where Sister Clementina served for more than 20 years, found out via an an- nouncement on the parish website that weekend. They celebrated a memorial Mass April 30 at the Mi- ami Beach church. Although Sister Clementina suf- fered from diabetes, her death was not expected, very quick," Sells said. A fellow Oblate put it more po- etically at her funeral: "You slipped away so silently April 17. We did not expect to see you go so soon. No one got to say a proper farewell. But then, you were always so reserved." Reserved, and equal parts tough and tender. "A strict teacher but filled with empathy, For both par- ents' and students' foibles, Having empathy for frail human nature," continued the tribute. Sister Clementina was born Gladys Givens Nov. 15, 1921. Her mother died when she was a toddler and she was raised by her Meth- odist uncle. But her father extracted from him a prom- ise that she would be educated in the Catholic faith. An Oblate sis- ter was her high school teacher, and they became good friends," Sells said. Sister Clementina used to tell the story that, at her confirmation, that sister asked for prayers for a young woman "who has a vocation but doesn't know it yet." That young woman, of course, was Sister Clem- entina. She entered the Oblates - the first congregation founded for and by women of color - right after high school, Sept. 8, 1940. At a celebration for her 75th an- niversary as a religious, Father Da- vid Russell, a retired archdiocesan priest who helps at St. Patrick, not- ed that Sister Clementina's life had been full of challenges as a Black woman during a time of racial dis- crimination. There was a time when Sister Clem- entina had to ride in back of the bus," he said. "Through all that, Sister was rock solid. When I think of Sister I think of her smile. It comes from her soul where Jesus Christ dwells." That's prett y much what Donna Moore, Sister Clem- entina's niece, told the Florida Catholic at that same cel- ebration. "The Spirit of God is so strong in her; when you sit near her, you feel it. Sometimes it's dizzying. I've always loved to be around her. She's been a source of strength and prayer and patience." The Oblates' tribute puts it this way: "Beware of sly smiles from quiet nuns, Who have Jesus as their main flame. They will have a Jesus- talk about you, Sometimes right there, in your face." She could look at somebody and just read them," Sells said. "She al- ways knew what she needed to say, what the message from God was." Sister Clementina served as a teacher and administrator in vari- ous venues - Chicago, Charleston, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. - before arriving at Holy Redeemer as teacher and principal from 1962 to 1973. She returned as administra- tor from 1981 to 1988. (The school closed in 1990 and now houses a Catholic Charities Head Start pro- gram.) After her second term at Holy Redeemer, Sister Clementina took a one-year sabbatical at the Oblates' motherhouse in Baltimore; then she served from 1989 to 1996 as di- rector of the Office of Black Catholic Ministry in Rockford, Illinois. She then went to St. Patrick as director of religious education, where she remained until 2016. Few of her former students, whether in school or religious edu- cation, ever forgot her. You see this woman? She is God's gift," Miranda Albury of Mi- ami told the congregation at Sister Clementina's farewell Mass. She then addressed her former teacher: You loved every child. You touched every life. You gave us hugs and hope." Albury added later in an inter- view: "What she gave us as African Americans was pride. With Sister Clementina, you got your educa- tion. She said it was our ticket to wherever we were going in life. There was no such thing as failing." What fond memories we have of her," said another former student, Katrenia Reeves-Jackman, director of the archdiocesan Office of Black Catholic Ministry. Speaking at Sis- ter Clementina's 75th anniversary celebration, Reeves-Jackman said: She taught us a lot about being Black and Catholic. We know that we matter. She told us we could be and do anything we wanted. She's a star." In her honor, St. Patrick Parish started the Sister Clementina Giv- ens Endowment Fund for disad- vantaged students. It was launched in 2015 with $100,000 and a goal of $1 million. At that 75th anniversary celebration, Sister Clementina mar- veled at her life: "I wanted a big fam- ily with a lot of children. And God gave me all these children." Sells summed up the sorrow of those children when she said of Sister Clementina's passing: "She was 99. She was always ready. But I wasn't."
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Fine shepherd' served as spiritual director of Charismatic Renewal
FATHER JOHN FINK, 80
Oblate Sister of Providence remembered as 'God's gift' and 'a star'
SISTER CLEMENTINA GIVENS, 99
Sister Clementina Givens Father John Fink
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