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Celebrating Angeline
Family, friends and the bishop focused on the strong faith of Angeline Fimognari.
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LET US PRAY: Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams bows with parishioners during the Mass. Fimognari’s funeral was later Wednesday morning at St. Charles Church in Boardman.
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SOMBER GATHERING: Three carnations mark the spot at St. Dominic Church where Angeline Fimognari would sit during Mass. The Most Rev. George Murry, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown, led an 8 a.m. Mass on Wednesday for Fimognari, 80, who was shot and killed Saturday morning outside the church.
Two Masses on Wednesday celebrated the faith and the life of Angeline Fimognari, who was killed by an unidentified assailant in an apparent robbery after she left morning services Saturday at St. Dominic’s Church, 77 E. Lucius Ave.
The Most Rev. George V. Murry, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown, celebrated the 8 a.m. Mass in St. Dominic’s, where Fimognari, 80, was a faithful member. She attended the 6:30 and 8 a.m. Masses daily and usually lingered afterward to continue to pray. Some 300 attended.
A funeral Mass was at 10 a.m. in St. Charles Borromeo Church in Boardman, where more than 300 attended.
In his homily, Bishop Murry said the Mass for Fimognari was on the Feast Day of St. Angela Merici, who founded a school for poor children. More women joined her, and the group evolved into the Ursuline Sisters, who continue their commitment to education in the diocese.
He said St. Angela faced sorrow in her life with the deaths of family members and a close friend and likened it to the sorrow faced by the victim’s family, friends and fellow church members.
“We are all aware of our sorrow at the death of a kind and gentle woman who lived the Lord and this church of St. Dominic,” Bishop Murry said.
“But even in the midst of this sorrow, the life of St. Angela can lead us to realize that sorrow is not the end of the story,” the bishop continued. “God brings life out of death.”
Bishop Murry said Fimognari loved the Lord and is with him now. He said the community must transform sorrow into loving God and neighbors, and follow Fimognari’s example of daily prayer.
Meanwhile, city police Wednesday were still following many leads and information from the public toward capturing the person or people responsible for Fimognari’s death.
Police have received a list of tips, including information leading to interest in three men from the South Side. The names of the men have not been released, but police do have their street aliases and names and are looking to speak with them.
Crime Stoppers of Greater Youngstown and the city have joined forces to offer a $10,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the shooting.
Gay Lee Pesa of Boardman, a lifetime member of St. Dominic’s Church , said she attends the 8 a.m. Mass daily. “It broke my heart ... it’s sad and a tragedy,” she said of Fimognari’s death.
Pesa said the perpetrator of the heinous act is an “evil coward.”
She and Mike Laffey, also of Boardman, were at the 8 a.m. Mass on Saturday and left the church, stopping to talk briefly in the parking lot. They noticed Fimognari’s car was there, but both said she often stayed to pray after Mass.
Laffey said Fimognari gave him a prayer card of Padre Pio, a Capuchin priest from Italy who was famous for his stigmata. “I will treasure it,” he said.
Both Pesa and Laffey said the church was a haven, and the killing would not deter them from coming. But they agreed they would be more aware of their surroundings.
At the funeral Mass in St. Charles, the Rev. Nicholas Shori, pastor of St. Paul the Apostle Church in New Middletown, concelebrated the Mass with the Revs. Greg Maturi, pastor of St. Dominic; Timothy O’Neill, pastor of St. Patrick in Hubbard; and Joseph Zamary of St. James Church in Waynesburg. John Fimognari, brother of the deceased, attends St. Paul.
A white and silver banner with the words “Called by name Angeline” was displayed near the altar along with a photo of Fimognari.
Father Shori led into his eulogy of Fimognari by reminding those in church of the story of Lazarus, who was raised from the dead by Jesus.
Father Shori focused on how mourners who came from different places and parishes in the community were brought together, bound by baptism and the shared sacred bond of communion. He pointed out that Fimognari was a member of a wide community — the city, the church, her neighborhood and her family.
The priest said Fimognari, who was “supported and strengthened by prayer,” showed by her actions that she was very aware of the sacred communion. “Hers was a ministry of presence,” he said.
He asked that the community “pray for, support and contact” Fimognari’s family and pray that they and St. Dominic parish heal.
Family members spoke at the end of the service. They voiced feelings of love, admiration and longing for the woman who called her nieces and nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews “her children.”
“You lived your faith and were an example to us,” one commented.
Mary Boyd of Youngstown attended the funeral Mass; she is a friend of Betty Milano of Poland, sister of Angeline.
“I wanted to be here to support Betty,” she said. “This tragedy has brought the community together.”
Paul Kovacs of Vienna also knows Betty Milano and came to pay his respects.