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Celebrating the Generosity and Friendship of
Lou and Pat DiCerbo Thursday, March 30, 2017
Saint Francis University
Loretto, Pennsylvania
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Honoring Lou
and
PAT DiCerbo
March 30, 2017
On behalf of the Saint Francis University community, I welcome you to this special
event to honor Mr. and Mrs. Lou DiCerbo. We have a unique opportunity this
evening to recognize the DiCerbos for their generosity to Saint Francis University.
Lou, a 1959 graduate, and his wife, Pat, have funded The Rev. Gabriel J. Zeis, T.O.R.
Endowment in Franciscan Studies and Roman Catholic Theology. Please join me in thanking them for their generosity.
Tonight we will further honor Lou and Pat by bestowing upon them the Assisi Award. From humble
beginnings, Mr. and Mrs. DiCerbo have been generous not only to Saint Francis University, but to the pro-life work of the Sisters of Life in the Archdiocese of New York, and many other charitable causes. By
means of their munificence, they put into action the words of the Prayer of Saint Francis, “where there is
despair, hope; where there is darkness, light.”
We are grateful for the presence of His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York. It
is a privilege for us to have the Cardinal here to assist us in honoring our mutual benefactor.
I thank you for your presence here on this special occasion. The proceeds from tonight’s dinner will support
the Endowment. As the oldest Catholic and Franciscan institution of higher learning in the United States, we
do not take our identity for granted. We treasure who we are as a Catholic university, and celebrate the
uniqueness of our identity which exudes from our Franciscan charism. I relish the opportunity to shine the spotlight squarely on our Catholic and Franciscan character.
The University celebrates its 170th anniversary this year. As we pass this milepost, let us keep in mind the
words of our patron, Saint Francis of Assisi, who said, “Let us begin to serve the Lord, for up until now,
we have done little or nothing.” May the Lord bless us and give us His peace! Sincerely,
Rev. Malachi Van Tassell, T.O.R., Ph.D.
President
On the cover: Wherever Franciscans are found there are replicas of the San Damiano Cross from which St. Francis first heard the voice of Christ. This replica hangs in the John F. Kennedy Student Center on campus. In 2016 the University received an anonymous donation to fund the installation of three new San Damiano crucifixes on campus. The others hang in the Maurice Stokes Athletics Center and Torvian Dining Hall.
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HIS EMINENCE
TIMOTHY CARDINAL DOLAN
nunciature. In 1994 he was named rector at the Pontifical North American College in Rome.
Arguably one of the most influential Catholics in the United States, and, certainly among the most recognized, Timothy Cardinal Dolan and all of his Irish charm heads up The Archdiocese of New York, the second largest Catholic diocese in America, serving over 2.5 million faithful.
The then Monsignor Dolan celebrated the 25th anniversary of his ordination in 2001. That same year Pope St. John Paul II named him the auxiliary bishop of St. Louis. Just a year later he was elevated to archbishop and assigned to the archdiocese of Milwaukee.
The oldest of five children, Cardinal Dolan was born in St. Louis in 1950. At age 14, he entered preparatory seminary school. He completed his priestly formation at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, where he earned a License in Sacred Theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. He was ordained in St. Louis in 1976.
On February 3, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Cardinal Dolan archbishop of New York. Three years later he was named to the College of Cardinals.
Cardinal Dolan has served a three-year term as president of the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He is now chair of the Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities. He is well known for his defense of orthodox theology.
Cardinal Dolan served as associate pastor in a suburban St. Louis parish, before taking up graduate studies in American church history at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., earning his Ph.D. in 1983. His dissertation research focused on Archbishop Edwin V. O’Hara of Kansas City, a tireless advocate for social justice and a vocal proponent of greater lay involvement in the church.
He is a modern communicator, speaking to his flock via web pages, blogs, podcasts, and satellite radio as well as through books and the pulpit. Cardinal Dolan is the author of nine books, including the highly praised A People of Hope: The Challenges Facing the Catholic Church and the Faith That Can Save It, a work he co-wrote with John L. Allen, Jr., in 2011.
Cardinal Dolan returned to parish work in St. Louis for the next four years. He moved back to Washington in 1987 to take up duties as secretary at the U.S. Apostolic Nunciature, a diplomatic mission of the Holy See in the United States, serving as the liaison between Catholic dioceses and the
Timothy Cardinal Dolan is a priest, prelate, and scholar, and a critically important voice of Catholicism in the 21st century.
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Lou
and
Pat DiCerbo
Agents & Managers Association, New York Association of Insurance & Financial Advisors, and New York Society of Financial Service Professionals. He has also served as president of the New York City Life Underwriters Association, and as national director of GAMA International, where he also served on the Board of Directors. In 1984, DiCerbo was the featured speaker at LAMP’s annual meeting, and he received the prestigious GAMA International Management Hall of Fame award in 1995.
A distinguished alumnus of Saint Francis University (Class of 1959), Lou DiCerbo, CLU, ChFC is one of the most celebrated general agents in the history of the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, and is known as an icon in the life insurance based financial service industry.
Throughout his career, DiCerbo excelled as an insurance professional, especially in various leadership roles. When he was named the manager of the New York agency of Penn Mutual in 1967, it ranked 76th out of 100 agencies in the Penn Mutual organization, generating only one-third of the income needed to meet expenses and break-even. Within 10 years, under DiCerbo’s guidance, the New York agency became the number one agency for Penn Mutual and stayed there for more than 19 consecutive years. His years of investment and insurance success prompted Penn Mutual to establish the Financial Consultant of the Year award in his honor.
DiCerbo is governor of Legatus International, an organization of Catholic business owners and their spouses, a member of President’s Council at Ave Maria University in Naples, Fla., and the 1990 recipient of the Torch of Liberty Award from the United Jewish Appeal.
DiCerbo and his wife, Pat, are involved in several philanthropic activities including the Sisters of Life, the Reverend Gabriel J. Zeis, T.O.R. Endowment in Franciscan and Roman Catholic Studies, and the St. Francis Forum which celebrates the life works of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Clare and Dorothy Day.
In addition, when Penn Mutual purchased Janney Montgomery Scott, the company tapped DiCerbo to manage the first merged branch of the organization. His organization led Penn Mutual in insurance and investment sales for 20 years. He won the first “Blue Chip” award at Horner Townsend and Kent for investments and in 2004 personally led the Penn Mutual career force in Gross Dealer Concession (GDC).
He and Pat will be married 53 years in May. They are the proud parents of three children, Louis, Joy, and Cheri, and two sons-in-law, Brian and Parm, who donate their time and treasure to help the less fortunate. They also have four grandchildren. The DiCerbos currently reside in Manhasset, New York.
DiCerbo is the chairman of the Round Table of New York, and was the first person to serve as president of all three financial service associations in the city of New York: General
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The Rev. Gabriel J. Zeis, T.O.R. Endowment in Franciscan Studies and Roman Catholic Theology
Students at Saint Francis University have a unique opportunity to delve into the study of their faith and the CatholicFranciscan tradition that are a vital part of the University’s mission thanks to a generous endowment fund that is covering the costs of workshops, lectures, and travel related to Franciscan and Roman Catholic themes.
In 2013, the Lou and Pat DiCerbo committed $1 million to the University to create this new endowment fund, The Rev.
Gabriel J. Zeis, T.O.R. Endowment in Franciscan Studies and Roman Catholic Theology, in support of furthering the school’s Catholic-Franciscan mission. DiCerbo is a 1959 graduate of Saint Francis, a 1997 Distinguished Alumnus of the University, and a member of the Financial Services Management Hall of Fame.
Activities supported by the fund reach out to those who share affinity with the University's patron saint, St. Francis of
Assisi, as well as St. Clare and Servant of God Dorothy Day (a Catholic social activist whose name adorns the University's peace and justice center.)
Since its inception, the fund has supported activities including:
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u
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a once-in-a lifetime pilgrimage for students and staff to Philadelphia to witness Pope Francis’ historic U.S. visit in September 2015
the annual ceremony to honor those who exemplify Franciscan values with the St. Francis of Assisi Spiritus Paenitentiae (Spirit of Penance) Award guest lectures by renowned scholars including Fr. Dan Horan, O.F.M., who spoke on “A Franciscan Response to Racism and Fear of the ‘Other’ in Today’s World” in October 2016 annual faculty pilgrimage to Assisi
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St. Francis of Assisi Spiritus Paenitentiae (Spirit of Penance) Award The Spiritus Paenitantiae (Spirit of Penance) Award recognizes individuals or organizations whose acts of love, charity, and care of all creation exemplify the Peace Prayer of St. Francis. 2015-2016 Recipient Project H.O.M.E. is a Philadelphia non-profit organization empowering individuals to break the cycle of poverty and homelessness through affordable housing, employment, healthcare, and education.
2014-2015 Inaugural Recipients The Sisters of Life, a contemplative/religious community of 80 zealous, courageous, and inspiring Sisters founded in 1991 by His Eminence John Cardinal O’Connor.
Fr. Mychal Judge, O.F.M., chaplain to the New York City Fire Department, killed on September 11, 2001, becoming the first certified victim of the 9/11 attacks. He died while anointing a fellow fire fighter and an office worker who had been injured in the North Tower.
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Assisi Award Recipients 1980
Mr. Frank Pasquerilla
1983
Saint Vincent DePaul Society
1982
Salvation Army
1984
Special Olympics
1986
Make-A-Wish Foundation
1985
1987
1988
1989
1990 1991
1992
1993
Mom’s House
Down’s Syndrome Adoption Exchange
Mr. Jan Scruggs, President of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund
Dedicated Library – honored Frank & Sylvia Pasquerilla
Domestic Abuse Project of Blair County
Women’s Help Center of Cambria and Somerset Counties
Birthright International
New Day, Inc.
Habitat for Humanity International
1994
Covenant House
1996
Doctors Without Borders
1995
1997 1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
Oxfam America
Province of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
The Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, Regional Community of Dallas
The Christian Appalachian Project
Operation Safety Net
Fire and Police Departments of Blair, Cambria and Somerset Counties
Exodus Youth Services, Inc.
2003
Victims Remembered, Inc.
2005
REACH Incorporated
2004
The Milton Kutsher Family
2006
Project H.O.M.E.
2008
Dr. Zane Gates, G. Gates Foundation
2007
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2015
2017
Joshua Group
Sr. Marilyn Welch ‘86, Carmelite Community of the Word Special Love, Inc.
Remote Area Medical, Inc.
Dr. Lori J. Bechtel-Wherry, Chancellor, Penn State, Altoona Thomas C. Cosgrove ‘79
Brother Shamus J. McGrenra, T.O.R. ’72 Lou ’59 and Pat DiCerbo
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A Message from the Rev. Gabriel J. Zeis, T.O.R. ‘75 Rev. Gabriel J. Zeis, T.O.R. '75, served as president of Saint Francis University from 2004 to 2014. Currently, he is the chaplain of Catholic
campus ministry at Princeton University and vicar for Catholic Education and Catechesis of the Trenton Diocese. Due to diocesan obligations,
he is unable to be with us this evening and shared this message:
I met Lou and Pat shortly after becoming president of Saint Francis University. Lou invited me to
attend one of his beloved Mets games. It was at that baseball game that I realized how devoted Lou
was to his Roman Catholic faith but also to his beloved Alma Mater, Saint Francis College, now Saint
Francis University. Though he often still refers to it as his college, he has come to appreciate, along
with his wife Pat, how important it is to keep Saint Francis University fully vested in its Roman
Catholic faith tradition and in its Franciscan tradition of excellence. To do this I invited him to be a
partner with the University by investing in the future of its Catholic and Franciscan vision and its
commitment to being an institution committed to its formative values and on-going mission. He
understood the importance of just such a task and rose, as he always does, to the occasion.
Through their great generosity, Lou and Pat have invested in what is most essential to Lou’s beloved
University, that it share the Catholic and Franciscan message to students presently attending the University and students yet to be a part of its growing and exciting future.
Through this endowment students will meet Christ and they will encounter the Little Poor Man of
Assisi, Saint Francis. But they will also hear of other dynamic truths of our faith and hear the stories of
other great Catholics, such as Dorothy Day, whose love for the poor and her call for justice in the world resonates with both the voice of our Church today and also with the life of our University’s patron.
Thank you Lou and Pat for accepting my invitation and that of Saint Francis University to spearhead
this great and necessary undertaking to enliven the faith-life of our beloved University and to advance its mission for many years to come. Gratefully and Joyfully, Fr. Gabriel J. Zeis, T.O.R.
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Our Region’s Catholic Heritage Historically, Saint Francis University is one of the first 20 Catholic universities, and the first Franciscan college, to be founded in the United States. It is also one the first Catholic universities to become co-educational
in the United States. The University is one of two institutions of higher learning sponsored by the Province of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Franciscan Friars, Third Order Regular. The Province is headquartered in Loretto, Pa. within the Roman-Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown.
The region’s Catholic heritage began with the establishment of
McGuire’s Settlement (now Loretto) in the 1780s by Captain Michael
McGuire. Captain McGuire was a Revolutionary War hero and the first
settler in what is now northern Cambria County. This Catholic presence
expanded when the Russian prince-turned-priest Demetrius Augustine
Gallitzin visited the region in 1795 to answer a sick call.
Mrs. John Burgoon, a Protestant, who lived at McGuire's Settlement, ardently desired to become a
Catholic before her death. Father Gallitzin travelled 130 miles through the wilderness to instruct Mrs.
Burgoon in the faith and sacraments, and receive her into the Church.
It was during this sick call to McGuire
Settlement that Gallitzin conceived the idea
of forming a Catholic settlement there and
purchased land adjoining the acreage donated
to the Church by Captain McGuire. This
strong Catholic foundation established in
Loretto by Captain McGuire and Prince
Gallitzin set the stage for the community’s next phase of development, led by the arrival of six Franciscan friars from Ireland.
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These brothers from the Archdiocese of Tuam requested
permission from the bishop of the Pittsburgh diocese to
bring their dream, rooted in Saint Francis of Assisi's vision,
to fruition in the Americas. Arriving in this country in the
1840s, they eventually established a house of their order “near
the town of Loretto.”
In doing this, they were fulfilling Gallitzin’s dream, recorded
in a letter to Archbishop Marechal almost twenty-five years
earlier, that “...a college, seminary, and all that is required for
an episcopal establishment” one day be built on the land
where Saint Francis University now stands.
The six brothers formally established Saint Francis Academy
in 1847. As followers of St. Francis of Assisi, the brothers
infused the curriculum with the Franciscan principles of humility, generosity, reverence, service, respect,
prayer, joy, and love to guide their students to a meaningful life.
In 1908, Rome approved union of the Loretto Franciscan
community with the Third Order Regular of Saint Francis of
Penance. On September 25, 1910, the Province of the Most Sacred
Heart of Jesus was established in Loretto and The Very Reverend
Jerome Zazzara was appointed its first Minister Provincial. Today,
The Very Reverend Richard L. Davis, T.O.R., serves as Minister
Provincial of the Sacred Heart Province.
Over the decades, under the sponsorship of the Province, Saint Francis Academy evolved into Saint
Francis College and, ultimately, Saint Francis University. Today, members of the institution, led by University President, Father Malachi Van
Tassell, T.O.R., Ph.D., continue to be
faithful stewards of the legacy of the
founding Franciscans.
The Franciscans who founded the University remained under the authority of the Diocese of Pittsburgh until 1901
when the Diocese of Altoona formed. It
was renamed the Diocese of Altoona-
Johnstown in 1957.
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The Church of Altoona-Johnstown is
home to 87 parishes, which are served by Diocesan priests and priests from various
religious communities, including the
Third Order Regular Franciscans, the
Conventual Franciscans, and the Order
of Saint Benedict.
Communities of nuns and sisters have served locally since 1848, and today
engage in a variety of ministries including
Catholic education, healthcare, social services and contemplative lives of prayer. There are two Cathedrals in the Diocese — the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Altoona and Saint John Gualbert Cathedral in Johnstown — as well as the Basilica of Saint Michael the Archangel in Loretto, which Pope John Paul
II named a Minor Basilica in 1996. Additionally, the Diocese has three shrines — the Prince Gallitzin
Chapel House/Our Lady of the Alleghenies Shrine in Loretto, Saint Joseph Mission Church at Hart’s
Sleeping Place in Carrolltown, and Immaculate Conception Shrine in Bitumen.
Since its establishment in 1901, eight
Bishops have led the Diocese of
Altoona-Johnstown.
The
current
Bishop, the Most Reverend Mark L.
Bartchak, J.C.D., was ordained a Bishop on April 19, 2011.
The Church of Altoona-Johnstown
boasts a proud tradition of education
with fourteen Catholic elementary
schools and four independent Catholic high schools. Saint Francis University is one of two institutions
of Catholic higher education with the Diocese.
Reproduced and adapted from Stewards of the Vision, Saint Francis College: 1847-1997 by John F. Woznak, Ph.D. and information provided by Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona - Johnstown with the kind permission of the Dr. Woznak and the Diocese’s Communication Office.
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Peace Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen.
Support the Endowment To learn how you may support The Rev. Gabriel J. Zeis, T.O.R. Endowment in Franciscan Studies and Roman Catholic Theology, contact the Office of Advancement at 814-472-3021 or visit francis.edu/endowments.