THE LATE JOHNNY BEARY HONOURED WITH FRIARY SEAT
A SEAT in the Franciscan Friary in Wexford has been dedicated to the memory of a man who was a member of the Third Order of St. Francis for more than 50 years.
In a surprise ceremony at the end of Mass, Fr. Aquino Maliakkal, Guardian of the Friary presented a plaque to Margaret Beary, widow of the late Johnny Beary and his son Patrick on behalf of the Third Order in Wexford, a secular movement of men and women within the Catholic Church who try to live by the example of the Saint.
Johnny, a former secretary in the Friary joined the Order when he was a teenager and met his wife Margaret through the group. He was a very active member, organising annual trips to Knock, coffee mornings and fundraisers.
The plaque inscribed to ‘Johnn Beary, A Lifelong member of the Secular Franciscan Order’ was erected on his favourite seat in the Friary church.
The Guardian Fr. Aquino was celebrating Mass and before the end, he said he had a special announcement to make. He said the Friary lost a very good friend in April with the death of Johnny Beary and on behalf of the Secular Franciscan Order, he wanted to present Margaret and Patrick with the specially-commissioned plaque. ‘We didn’t know anything about it until Fr. Aquino announced it’, said Patrick who is the current secretary of the Friary. ‘My mam who is a member of the Third Order was attending Mass and I was in the office and got a phone call asking me to go into the church. It was a lovely gesture and a very nice surprise’. On the same morning, four new members were welcomed into the Secular Franciscan Order in Wexford - Ann Butler, Barbara Veal, Debbie Furlong and Breda Fowler who were congratulated by the Regional President Margaret Deacon, Local President Colm Mac Confhaola and the Friary Guardian.