Fr. Robert Alphonse Savage, SDB, completed
his 97-year-long earthly pilgrimage on May 23, at the Jeanne Jugan Residence in
the Bronx, N.Y. He had resided at Jeanne Jugan since Sept. 12, 2007, under the
loving care of the Little Sisters of the Poor and their staff. During our
notoriously long and difficult winter he hadn’t had any significant health
issues, but in the spring his kidneys began to fail, and by early May it was evident
that he wouldn’t recover.
Fr. Savage was born in Paterson, N.J., on
Jan. 18, 1917, to Robert and Margaret Foy Savage. He was baptized at the church
of St. Mary Help of Christians on Union Avenue—an augury, perhaps, of his
future ministry as a priest in the religious congregation founded by St. John
Bosco under the patronage of the Help of Christians.
Young Bob grew up as a parishioner of St.
Bonaventure’s Church on the other side of the Passaic River, however, and attended
the parish school through ninth grade. He had made the acquaintance of Fr.
Carmine Manzella, SDB, of St. Anthony’s Church in Paterson and, when Bob’s
father died, the kindness of Fr. Manzella deeply impressed the Savage family. That
induced Bob to choose Don Bosco’s sons when he felt a call to the priesthood. He
enrolled in the high school section of Don Bosco Seminary in Newton, N.J., as a
sophomore on Sept. 11, 1932. One of his classmates was the future coadjutor brother
John Versaggi (1917-2004). During Bob’s high school years the kindness of
another Salesian priest, Fr. John Guglielmetto, the prefect (treasurer) of Don
Bosco College, impressed him.
Bob entered novitiate, also at Newton, on
Sept. 7, 1935. Fr. James Szaforz was master of novices. Of Fr. Szaforz Fr. Bob
particularly recalled his constant cheerfulness, despite ill health. His
novitiate classmates included John Versaggi and the future priests Aloysius
Bianchi, Lawrence Byrne, August Bosio, Mario Carpanese, Alphonse DiCairano,
John Faita, and Felix Martocchi
On Sept. 8, 1936, Bob and his classmates
made their first religious profession. Three years of college studies followed,
and Bro. Bob graduated from Don Bosco College in June 1939 with a B.A. in
philosophy.
Bro. Bob did his practical training at Salesian
HS in New Rochelle (1939-1940) and St. Michael’s School in Goshen, N.Y.
(1940-1942). At St. Michael’s, a grammar school, he taught just about every
subject. At the end of practical training Bro. Bob made his perpetual profession
(Sept. 8, 1942, in Newton). World War II had made it impossible for Americans
to travel to Europe to study, as had been the Salesian practice throughout the
1930s, so Bro. Bob and his classmates did their theological studies in Newton. Upon
completing their theology in 1946, they were ordained in the Don Bosco College chapel
on June 29 by Bishop Louis LaRavoire Morrow, SDB, of Krishnagar, India. In 1971
most of the class were able to gather at Fr. Bosio’s parish, St. Anthony’s in Elizabeth,
N.J., to celebrate their 25th anniversary with Bishop Morrow.
Apparently Fr. Bob wrote a letter after his
ordination to the Rector Major, Fr. Peter Ricaldone. In his personal papers we
find Fr. Ricaldone’s response, dated Oct. 9, 1946:
My Dear
Fr. Savage,
Your
noble, filial sentiments have truly brought me satisfaction. Heartfelt thanks!
On
you, your holy proposals [perhaps a plan of life?], and your priestly
apostolate, I invoke abundant heavenly blessings.
Do
you want to be a holy Salesian priest?
1. Live in union with God by means of a
solid, humble Eucharistic piety, nourished by angelic candor and generous
sacrifice.
2. Live in union with souls through the
Catechetical Crusade and the gentlest charity.
3. Live in union with Don Bosco by means
of the exact observance of the Rules, the Regulations, and our traditions.
Take
courage. Be an apostle of our precious devotions to Mary Help of Christians and
St. John Bosco.
Pray
for me.
I
bless you from my heart.
Yours
affectionately in Christ Jesus,
Fr.
P. Ricaldone
Whether it was because of the Rector Major’s
three suggestions or because of his own inclinations and the formation he had
already received, those three suggestions were the soul of Fr. Bob’s priestly
and Salesian life.
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| Fr. Bob's portrait in the Don Bosco Tech yearbook for 1957 |
Fr. Bob’s first assignment as a priest was
to Hope Haven, the New Orleans archdiocesan orphanage run by the Salesians in
Marrero, La. (1946-1948). The first of two stints at Don Bosco Prep, Ramsey,
N.J., followed (1948-1951), then six years at Don Bosco Tech in Boston. Those
six years, which included the transfer of DBT from its original site in East
Boston to its new site in downtown Boston, Fr. Bob thought were the best years
of his Salesian life, largely because of the wonderful Catholic environment that
he found in Boston. Four years back at St. Michael’s School, Goshen, followed
(1957-1961); for the last two, he was principal. St. Michael’s was closed in
1961 to make way for the transfer of the high school seminary there from
Haverstraw, and Fr. Bob returned to Ramsey for a long assignment that he very
much loved, teaching algebra, biology, and religion there until 1978. Ever
after, he retained an active interest in the doings at the Prep, particularly
the accomplishments of the school’s football team.
At age 61 Fr. Bob retired from the classroom
and took up parish ministry, serving at Holy Rosary Church in Port Chester,
N.Y. (1978-1980), and the Salesian parishes in Birmingham, Ala. (1980-1982 and
1987-1988), with a period also at the Sacred Heart Retreat House in Ipswich,
Mass. (1982-1984). But for most of the period 1984-2006 he was part of the
Salesian Provincial House community in New Rochelle (1984-1987, 1988-2006). He continued
parish ministry in those years almost until he turned 90, going faithfully
every Sunday morning to celebrate the early Mass at St. Theresa’s Church in the
Bronx. Like the proverbial postman, he was deterred neither by “rain nor snow
nor dark of night”—nor blizzards!—although illness occasionally intervened. He
also delighted in offering Mass four days a week for the Christian Brothers at
St. Joseph’s Nursing Home in New Rochelle. At both St. Theresa’s and St.
Joseph’s his faithfulness was very much appreciated.
 |
| Fr. Bob (right) with his close friend Fr. Joe Doran in 2006 |
At the provincial house Fr. Bob was in
charge of the province’s photographic archives. When he began that assignment,
he was confronted with what was, effectively, chaos: a mountain of
uncatalogued, mostly undated, and otherwise unidentified photos. Painstakingly
he assaulted that mountain, identifying a very high percentage of persons,
places, and occasions, organizing the files, and cataloguing them by computer. That
work was never finished, of course, with new photos arriving regularly from all
over the province—which was just the way Fr. Bob liked it. He also liked very
much to put the fruits of his labors into the hands of provincials, editors,
and other Salesians who needed pictures for letters, flyers, press releases, magazines,
etc.
Until one goes looking for a document or
photo, archival work is mostly unseen. Still more unseen was the service that
Fr. Bob performed for many years at the provincial house of taking care of the
brothers or priests who were sick—bringing meals to them, seeing what else they
might need, taking them to the doctor. Those who experienced that service truly
appreciated it, and the confreres who witnessed it were truly edified.
For Fr. Bob, life as a priest and as a
teacher revolved around his Catholic faith. He believed that teaching religion
was more important than teaching math. “The greatest thing” for him was “to say
Mass and deliver the word of God” in its Catholic fullness. So he treasured his
daily Masses with the Christian Brothers and Sunday Masses at St. Theresa’s. He
was vigorous—some would have said too vigorous—in protesting any dilution of
what he perceived to be the Church’s authentic magisterium in faith or morals and
zealous in proclaiming the Faith “in season and out of season” in his homilies,
Good Night talks, conversations, and writings.
 |
| At his jubilee celebration in 2006 at Salesian HS chapel, Fr. Bob expressed his thanks to many people, to God and Mary above all. |
After poor health compelled his retirement in
2006 to a series of three nursing homes—the Schaffer Extended Care Center
in New Rochelle, St. Cabrini Nursing
Home in Dobbs Ferry, and finally Jeanne Jugan—the other services that Fr. Bob performed
faithfully were prayer and example. In community he was always regular at times
of prayer, besides his private prayer; away from the community he continued a
regular prayer regimen that included daily Mass, Divine Office, the Rosary,
Stations of the Cross, and more, as long as he was physically able, and his
life and conversation edified sisters and residents alike at Jeanne Jugan. At
the end of any visit at the nursing home, he would ask a priest for a blessing,
and then he would give his own blessing to the visitor. Thus, to the end, he
continued to be of service to the whole Salesian world, to the young, and to
the rest of God’s people.
One of Fr. Bob’s former students in Ramsey,
Fr. Louis Molinelli, SDB, writes: “I first met Fr. Bob as a young altar server
at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church [in Mahwah]. He would often come for Mass
and confessions. I remember a stirring and wonderful homily he gave at the May
crowning in the parish in 1975. As the Algebra I teacher at Don Bosco Prep, he
instilled in all of us a sense of discipline and fortitude. He insisted on
quality work and helped us to give our very best. Always devoted to our Lady,
he instilled that devotion in all of us, especially a great love for Mary Help
of Christians. He really laid the foundations for my Salesian vocation.”
From Dec. 30, 2012, until his death, Fr. Bob
was the senior confrere of the New Rochelle Province. That distinction now
passes to Fr. Philip Pascucci, who is 95.
Fr. Robert Savage is survived by his brother
Henry of Sparta, N.J., and several nieces and nephews.
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| At his 2006 jubilee Mass, Fr. Bob extends the sign of peace to his brother Henry and other family members, assisted by Fr. Jim Heuser, provincial |
His wake is scheduled for Tuesday, May 27,
at Salesian HS’s chapel from 3:00 to 5:00 and 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be
celebrated at the high school chapel on Wednesday, May 28, at 10:00 a.m. Fr. Jim Heuser, a former provincial, preached the funeral homily
and Fr. Tom Dunne, provincial, was the main celebrant.
Burial in the Salesian cemetery at Goshen
followed the funeral Mass.
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