A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Aug. 16 for Missionary of the Precious Blood Father Gregory Comella, 61, at St. Charles Center in Carthagena. He died Aug. 2 at his residence in Oakland, Calif.

A native of Waukegan, Ill., he entered the Missionaries of the Precious Blood in 1972 and was ordained on April 19, 1975. After his ordination he served as spiritual director at Saint Joseph’s College in Renesselaer, Ind. then served as chaplain at Calumet College of St. Joseph in Whiting, Ind. In 1980 he was named to the staff of the Cenacle Retreat House in Lantana, Fla. While in Florida he also served as the director of formation for the office of lay ministry in the Archdiocese of Miami and as a campus minister at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

In 1981 Father Comella was appointed director of special formation of the Province of the Pacific where he continued with formation work for 11 years. During that time he also served as vice provincial. In 1993 he was named the director of the Province’s mission house in Berkley. His ministerial appointments were carried out in addition to his ministry as a spiritual director and retreat leader. For many years he also served as an adjunct faculty member with St. Thomas of Villanova University in Miami.

Father Comella became a member of the Cincinnati Province of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood in 1995. He lived for a short time at St. Charles Center in Carthagena before returning to Berkley where he spent the remainder of his life teaching and offering spiritual guidance.

Memorial services were also held in Alameda and Berkley, Calif., Chicago, Florida and India. He is survived by three sisters, Pamela Crouch of Zion, Ill., Vicky Lewis of Lawrenceburg, Ky. and Peggy of Georgetown, Ky.

Sister Angela Archdeacon

Sister of Notre Dame de Namur Angela Archdeacon died Aug. 10 at the Mount Notre Dame Health Center. She was 99 years old and had been a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur for 79 years.

A native of Lexington, Ky., raised in Hamilton, Sister Angela was a graduate of the College of Mount St. Joseph and Xavier University. She was an educator and administrator for more than 68 years. She taught and was principal at Cardinal Pacelli School in Cincinnati and St. Agnes School in Dayton, as well as at schools in Columbus.

Sister Angela retired to the Mount Notre Dame Health Center about 10 years ago for a quiet and contemplative ministry of prayer. She also pursued her hobbies, first of which was watching football games. A great fan of the "Fighting Irish" she often wrote to then Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz who would respond with assurances to her that, "We’re glad to have you on our side."

A Mass of Christian Burial was held at the Mount Notre Dame convent chapel in Cincinnati.