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CAPTION 1: Charlestown native Matt Stillman, who joins the Capuchin Franciscans on Aug. 22.
CAPTION 2: Matt Stillman (center) is seen with his sister Maureen Stillman (left) and mother Maureen Stillman at his Aug. 6 going away party at Paolo’s Trattoria.
Lifelong Charlestown resident Matt Stillman knew he wanted to enter the priesthood since he has in the sixth grade.
As a student at St. Benedict’s School in Somerville, Sister Stephen Marie, a fellow Townie who taught at the school, asked Stillman if he had ever considered the church as his calling. “Within two weeks, I was asking all sorts of questions,” Stillman, now 42, recalled.
Beginning in 1992, Stillman spent two stints at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton studying for the Archdiocese of Boston. He eventually left the seminary in 1999 but never abandoned his dream of becoming a priest.
In November of 2007, Stillman applied to the Capuchin Franciscans, which he describes “a Roman Catholic religious order of priests and brothers whose primary focus on the ministry is helping the poor, homeless, drug addicts and alcoholics.” Months of intense written examinations, background checks and psychological evaluations followed before Stillman learned of his acceptance to the program on May 14.
The vocational director told Stillman that of 250 callers inquiring about the Capuchin Franciscans, only six were continuing with their religious training.
On Aug. 22, Stillman leaves for St. Michael’s Parish in Brooklyn to begin his vocational training with the Capuchin Franciscan as a member of the Province of St. Mary, which serves New England and New York. He will live in the Brooklyn church for the next year alongside the five others chosen to join the religious order and three friars.
Stillman then travels to Kansas City for a 60-day stay before heading to Allison Park, Pa., for his novitiate, which Stillman described as a “yearlong retreat.”
“It’s a time to deepen my relationship with the Lord and a very intense, spiritual year,” Stillman said. “A lot of time will be spent in the chapel, and we will be constantly dressed in habit.”
Afterwards, he will say his simple vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
Stillman will then go to St. Lorenzo Friary in Jamaica Plain, where he will complete his studies at Boston College, before applying for the priesthood. Stillman expects it will take three and one-half years to complete his education, and then he can be assigned anywhere in New England or New York.
As for who most inspired Stillman to follow his faith, he points to the example of giving back to the community set by his late brother and father, Michael and Mel Stillman. Michael was active as a coach in the Pop Warner and Little League youth sports programs, while Mel was a member of the Charlestown Neighborhood Council, Friends of the Charlestown Court, the Mishawum Park Tenants Association and the City of Boston Charitable Trust.
“My father taught us at a very early age how important it was to help out your neighbors,” Stillman said. “I don’t think he knew how to say no.”
Stillman also credits many others who are active in the community today, including Beverly Gibbons, Dan Gibbons, Marty O’Brien Sr., Bill Boyle, John Scales, Peter Looney and Doug McDonald.
McDonald, a lifelong Charlestown resident and community activist, praised Stillman’s decision to join the priesthood as a testament to the positive role models set by his parents, Matt and Maureen Stillman.
“It goes back to show what his parents instilled in him about Townie pride and the importance of giving back,” McDonald said.
Looney, a Charlestown native who served with Mel Stillman on the Charlestown Neighborhood Council and the Mishawum Tenants Association, believes that both Mel and Michael would applaud Matt’s determination in joining Capuchin Franciscans.
“I support him 100 percent and know that his father and brother would be very proud of him,” Looney said.
As for his religious mentors in the community, Stillman points to Rev. Daniel Mahoney, pastor of St. Francis de Sales Parish; Revs. James DiPerri and Ron Coyne, past pastors of St. Catherine of Siena Parish; and Rev. James Ronan, pastor of St. Mary-St. Catherine of Siena Parish. (Fr. Ronan wrote the spiritual letter that Stillman submitted to the Capuchin Franciscans, along with his application).
Meanwhile, Stillman is at peace as he prepares for his journey to Brooklyn and looks forward to returning to Charlestown as a priest.
“I’m just moving forward and hoping that I can bring something back to Charlestown,” Stillman said.
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