Fr. Lawrence Francis Frankovich (1938 – 2024)

Fr. Lawrence Francis Frankovich, OFM, a member of the Croatian Franciscan Custody of the Holy Family, passed away on May 29, 2024, in Chicago at the age of 85. Fr. Lawrence was born in Pittsburgh to Croatian parents who immigrated to America from Bosiljevo, Croatia. His sister Catherine became a religious sister. She is a member of the School Sisters of St. Francis of Christ the King (Lemont, IL).

Fr. Lawrence joined the Croatian Franciscan Custody in 1958. He was ordained a priest on January 9, 1966 in Teutopolis, Illinois. He first worked at the Franciscan residence in Beaver Falls, PA from 1966 to 1969. He then went on to graduate school at the University of Notre Dame and earned a Masters in Liturgical Sciences. Then he served as head of the monastery of St. Francis in Gulf Breeze, Florida. He was an elementary school teacher there and served as a chaplain at a nearby US Air Force base.

After serving in Florida, he was an assistant pastor at Sacred Heart Parish in Milwaukee, where he continued his graduate studies at Marquette University and earned a doctorate in theology in 1976 with the thesis: "Augustine's Theory of the Eucharistic Sacrifice." He taught at the same University for a while as well as at Kansas Newman College in Wichita, KS and at the Theological College in Yonkers, New York. He also worked as a parish priest: St. Anthony in Sharon, PA, St. Joseph in Bethlehem, PA and St. Augustine in West Allis, where he remained until 2022 when he retired. He spent his last years at the Croatian Franciscan Friary in Chicago. He was a very active member and a good soul of the Croatian Franciscan Community.

Funeral services for Fr. Lawrence will be at St. Jerome Parish in Chicago on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, beginning with visitation at 10:00 AM, followed by Holy Mass at 11:00 AM. He will be buried at Holy Sepulcher cemetery in Chicago. May he rest in peace!

In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to the Croatian Franciscans Education Fund.