1947 – 2012 (September 20)
John Joseph Del Casale was born on August 25, 1947, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Joseph Del Casale and Grazie Buontempo, and one of a family of six sons and four daughters. He was baptized on October 5, 1947, at Saint Monica Church, Philadelphia, and attended Saint Monica Parish School, and Bishop Neumann High School. Beginning in 1965, he worked at Boeing-Vertol, but in 1967, he entered the Province’s Brothers Formation Program, at Good Counsel Novitiate, New Hamburg, New York, and then at Augustinian Academy, Staten Island, New York. On August 27, 1969, he was received as a novice at Good Counsel Novitiate, and professed first vows on August 28, 1970.