On September 27, Br. John Monek, SCJ, died following several months in home hospice care. He turned 92 on September 18, and just days before his birthday, he was anointed, surrounded by members of his religious community at Sacred Heart at Monastery Lake.
Originally from Pennsylvania, Br. John served in the U.S. military before pursuing his vocation as a religious brother with the Priests of the Sacred Heart.
He commemorated his 60th anniversary of religious vows on September 8. Most of his years of active ministry were dedicated to St. Joseph’s in Baileys Harbor, Wis. Initially, it served as a novitiate for the province, and later as a retreat center. When the facility took on a new life in the diocese of Green Bay, Br. John retired and moved to the Milwaukee area. Since 2014 he had been a member of the Sacred Heart Community at SHML.
During his time at St. Joseph’s, one of the projects that Br. John took great pride in was the creation of a “Silo of Prayer.” “I got the idea when I was in the Southwest and saw an Indian kiva,” he said. “I sat inside and thought that it was so peaceful and easy to pray in so when I got back, I turned the old barn silo into a kind of kiva. I liked the idea that instead of a missile silo we had a silo dedicated to prayer.”
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