Father Fidelis Weber, T.O.R., 93, a Franciscan Friar of the Third Order Regular of Saint Francis, died on 20 November 2022 at UPMC Hospital Altoona, PA. Born 3 February 1929 in the Bronx, New York, the son of Charles and Olga (Aleski) Weber, Father Fidelis was given the name Francis (Frank) Ernest. After completing his secondary education in 1946 at Great Neck (NY) Public High School, Frank enrolled at Saint Francis College in Loretto, Pennsylvania. After completing two years of study, Frank entered the Franciscan Friars in September 1948. On 1 July 1950 he professed simple vows and assumed the religious name Fidelis. After earning a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Saint Francis College, he professed solemn vows in 1953, and attended Saint Francis Seminary where he completed a Masters of Divinity in May 1955.
Following his ordination to the Priesthood on 21 May 1955, Father Fidelis began a long and distinguished career in secondary education in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. For two years he served as a faculty member at St. Thomas More High School in Philadelphia, teaching English and Spanish. He then helped found Bishop Egan High School in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania where he taught English, Spanish, and Religion and helped coach the football team from 1957 to 1975. Remaining at Bishop Egan, which later became Bishop Conwell-Egan High School, Father Fidelis served as a guidance counselor for another forty-two years until his retirement in 2017. During his 60 years of ministry in secondary education, Father Fidelis also served on a regular basis as a sacramental minister at various Catholic parishes in Philadelphia and New Jersey.
When he was not teaching, coaching, or ministering at a parish, Father Fidelis was often engaged in a couple of hobbies. As a young priest, he earned a pilot’s license and for many years enjoyed flying turboprop planes to the delight of his passengers consisting of family, friends, friars, and colleagues. He also had a love for trains, both miniature as well as passenger and freight trains. He could often be found wearing a conductor’s cap while tinkering with a miniature train set he built that filled an entire room. He also volunteered sometimes as a railroad brakeman for several railroads.
Father Fidelis is preceded in death by his parents, Charles and Olga, his brother Charles, and his sister-in-law Dolores. He is survived by his nephews Frank, Charles and Harry, as well as their spouses and children, and his Franciscan Community.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on 30 November 2022 at St. Francis Friary at Mount Assisi with the Very Rev. Joseph Lehman, T.O.R., Minister Provincial as the principal celebrant. Afterwards, Fr. Fidelis was buried at the Franciscan Friars’ Cemetery, on the campus of Saint Francis University, Loretto.