Item 14 - Letter from Fr. Berchmans Cantillon

Francis Cantillon was born near the village of Glounthaune in County Cork on 20 June 1880. He attended the local diocesan seminary for several years, but after some discernment entered the Capuchin novitiate in September 1899. Having completed his philosophical and theological studies, he was ordained on 16 March 1907. In 1910 he was appointed guardian (local superior) of the Capuchin friary in Kilkenny. Following the completion of his term as guardian, he engaged in the ministry of preaching missions and retreats throughout Ireland. He was transferred to the United States in 1926 and took up residence in Mendocino County in California. Later that year he assisted Fr. Thomas Dowling OFM Cap. in ministering in Visitation Valley near San Francisco. This assignment was a temporary one as within a few months the Irish friars were given the administration of the new parish of Our Lady of Angels in Burlingame, California. They resided there in a small house on Cortez Avenue. In 1931 Fr. Berchmans was appointed Pastor of Our Lady of Angels parish in Ukiah, a position he filled until 1937 when he took up the position of pastor of the church of St. Francis of Assisi in Bend, Oregon. His health began to decline in subsequent years, and he retired from active ministry in 1940. He moved to Los Angeles and died there on 12 March 1942. He was laid to rest in the Capuchin plot in Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Baptismal name: Francis Cantillon
Religious name: Fr. Berchmans Cantillon OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 20 June 1880
Place of birth: Rockfarm, Glounthaune, County Cork
Name of father: Denis Cantillon
Name of mother: Mary Ellen Cantillon (née Mahony)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 8 Sept. 1899
Date of first profession: 8 Sept. 1900
Date of final profession: 25 Sept. 1904
Date of ordination (as priest): 16 Mar. 1907
Educational attainments: BA (RUI)
Missionary assignments: Travelled to Los Angeles, California, in 1926
Date of Death: 12 March 1942
Place of death: Queen of Angels Hospital, Los Angeles, California, United States
Place of burial: Calvary Cemetery, Los Angeles, California, United States