Father Alan McCoy, OFM

Franciscan Father Alan McCoy, a noted advocate for peace and justice and an influential leader within the Franciscan Order and the U.S. Catholic Church, died on Oct. 15 in Los Angeles. He was 96.

A native of Spokane, Wash., he entered the Franciscans in 1932 and professed solemn vows in 1936. Two years later, he was ordained in 1938 by Bishop Charles F. Buddy of San Diego. Father McCoy served in many ministries including pastoral care, canon law, justice and peace advocacy, and education.

He received a doctorate in canon law from Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., in 1944, and taught at the Franciscan Theological Seminary in Santa Barbara. A longtime member of the Canon Law Society of America, he served as its president in the mid-1960s. He used his knowledge of canon law to assist singer and song writer John Michael Talbot in forming a religious community, the Brothers and Sisters of Charity.

A former pastor at St. Mary Church, Stockton, he spent over 12 years working closely with the Latino community and served as vice president and regional coordinator of the National Council for the Spanish Speaking (now known as La Raza).

Drawn especially to justice and peace issues, Father McCoy counseled Cesar Chavez on the social teachings of the Catholic Church and traveled the world representing a number of international human rights commissions. An advocate of human rights in Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador, he concelebrated Mass with Archbishop Oscar A. Romero the day before Archbishop Romero was murdered.

In addition to his pastoral and human rights work, Father McCoy was elected three times to the governing board of the Franciscan Province of St. Barbara, was provincial minister from 1967 to 1973 and was president of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men from 1976-1982.

The funeral Mass was held Oct. 20 at Old Mission Santa Barbara. Burial followed in Old Mission Cemetery.

Brother Raphael-Philip Thez, FSC

Christian Brother Raphael-Philip Thez, a longtime educator, died in Napa after a brief illness at the age of 73. At the time of his death he was a member of the Christian Brothers Community at De La Salle High School in Concord.

Born in San Francisco, he grew up in Concord where he was educated in the local public schools. After graduating from Mt. Diablo High School, he joined the Christian Brothers Novitiate in 1955 and received the habit of the Brothers that same year. The first religious vocation to come from Christ the King Parish in Pleasant Hill, he pronounced final vows in 1961.

Brother Thez earned his bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s College in Moraga in 1959, continued his studies with a certificate in religious formation and a master’s degree in theology from St. Louis University. He held a California Life Credential in French, Religious Studies, and English.

During his 50 years as a Christian Brother, Brother Thez taught at St. Mary’s High School in Berkeley as well as in schools in San Francisco, Napa, Sacramento, and Yakima, Washington, and the Fresno Diocese where he was also a principal. He served as director of the Brothers’ communities associated with these schools.

Additionally, Brother Thez participated in the training of young Brothers at the Mont La Salle Novitiate in Napa and the La Salle Institute Novitiate in Glencoe, Missouri. He was director of St. Joseph Camp, the St. Benilde Brothers’ Community in Monte Rio, and a parish religious education teacher. He retired to the De La Salle Brothers’ Community in Concord in 2008.

The funeral Mass was held at Mont La Salle on Oct. 17, followed by burial in the Brothers’ Cemetery there.

Donations may be made to the De La Salle Brothers Community Endowment for Financial Aid, De La Salle High School, 1130 Winton Dr., Concord, CA 94518.

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