OBITUARY NOTICE:
Rev. Joseph DiMauro, SA Franciscan Friar of the Atonement
(May 16, 1938 – November 29, 2018)
(December 3, 2018 – Graymoor, Garrison, NY) Rev. Joseph (nee Francis T.) DiMauro, SA, a Franciscan Friar of the Atonement, passed from this life on Thursday, November 29, 2018 at the Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, NY. A wake service will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, December 5, 2018 at Our Lady of the Atonement Chapel at Graymoor in Garrison, NY. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, December 6, 2018 at 10 a.m. in the Chapel. Interment in the Friars’ Cemetery will take place immediately following the Mass.
Fr. DiMauro was born in Boston, MA. He attended elementary school in Roxbury, MA and graduated from Mission Church High School in Roxbury in 1957. He attended Fordham University, Bronx, NY and received a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Religious Studies in 1972. Fr. DiMauro earned a Master of Theology degree from Catholic University, Washington, DC in 1977. In 1986, he earned a second Master’s degree from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, also known as the Angelicum, located in Rome.
Fr. DiMauro entered the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement in July 1957. He made his first profession of vows in 1960 and professed final vows in 1965. Fr. DiMauro was ordained to the priesthood at Graymoor by Bishop J. J. Mahoney in 1978.
Fr. DiMauro worked in administrative services for the Friars at Graymoor (1960-1966), Montour Falls (1966), Rome (1966-1968), and Saranac Lake (1968-1970). From 1970-1977, he studied for the priesthood at Fordham University in the Bronx and in Washington, DC. In 1978, he returned to Graymoor and worked in Retreat Ministry for the Christian Unity Center until 1981. Fr. DiMauro was assigned to administrative services at the Catholic Central Library in London, England from 1981-1986. Following two sabbatical years at Sant’Onofrio al Giancolo church in Rome from 1986-1988, Fr. DiMauro briefly served as Pastor at the Church of the Reconciliation in Bridgeport, Jamaica (1988) and Retreat Minister for the Christian Unity Center at Graymoor (1989). From 1990-1995, Fr. DiMauro was Pastor of St. Francis de Sales Church in Lumberton, NC. In 1995, he moved to Brockton, MA and served on the pastoral staff at the Chapel of Our Savior in Brockton, MA until 2003. From 2003-2015, Fr. DiMauro returned to Graymoor to work for the Christian Unity Center.
Fr. DiMauro retired from full-time ministry in 2015. He continued to minister part-time at Graymoor, hearing confession, providing spiritual direction, celebrating the Sacraments in various convents in the area, and conducting Days of Renewal and retreats and giving various talks and seminars. In 2015, he was appointed to serve as Director of the Father Paul of Graymoor Guild, whose mission is the cause for canonization of the founder of the Friars of the Atonement, Servant of God Father Paul Wattson, SA.
Fr. DiMauro was the son of the late Salvatore DiMauro and Carmella Pantano DiMauro of Sicily, Italy. He is survived by his brothers, Paul DiMauro of Fernando Beach, FL and Thomas DiMauro of Dennis, MA. Fr. DiMauro resided at the St. Paul Friary at Graymoor at the time of his death.
Funeral arrangements for Fr. Joe DiMauro, SA, are as follows:
Reception of the Body at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, December 5th
Wake Service at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, December 5th
Funeral Mass will be held on Thursday, December 6th at 10 a.m.
All services will be held at Our Lady of the Atonement Chapel, Graymoor.
Burial in the Friars’ cemetery will immediately follow the Mass.
May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
I was blessed, many times over, to be a friend of Fr Joe DiMauro. More accurately, he was a Great Friend to me. I am certain he rests in peace with our Lord. How very fortunate I am to have known him. Thanks Joe, for all the sincere kindness and caring wisdom you shared with me. The excitement you shared when I was able to visit Mount Athos, the letters you always wrote, the warmth and brotherhood – all meant so much. I wish I had introduced my Brazilian wife, Graciella, to you. You would have loved her instantly. Muito obrigado meu irmão. Rest now my dear friend.
I was deeply saddened to read of Fr. Joe’s passing and delighted to know of his reception at Our Father’s House from Mother’s House 💞
Today also reading of the deaths of Fr. Charles Angell and Brother Teddy I realize now that most everyone I knew at Graymoor have gone gone on to greater Glory. Having just celebrated my 70th Birthday I suppose I too will leave this ‘Valley of Tears’ and be reunited with my family, physical and spiritual.