Father Samuel Joseph Fayad, C.S.S.

Father Samuel Joseph Fayad, C.S.S., a Stigmatine priest who twice served as pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish in White Plains, died Aug. 20 at the Elizabeth Seton Nursing Facility in Wellesley, Mass. He was 88. He was pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel from 1970 to 1982 and from 1989 to 1994. A Memorial Mass was to be offered there Sept. 12. Father Fayad also served the parish as parochial vicar for several years after his 1948 ordination. He was director of the parish CYO program at that time, and also an English teacher at Archbishop Stepinac High School. During his first pastorate at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Father Fayad oversaw the refurbishing of the interior and exterior of the church, purchased the land for its parking lot, placed the parish on a sound financial footing and involved the parish and parishioners in the ecumenical movement in White Plains. He also presided over the parish's 75th anniversary celebration in 1977. In his second assignment as pastor, he laid the groundwork for another building renovation including the installation of air conditioning and making the church handicapped accessible. He also served the Stigmatine Fathers and Brothers as vice rector of the minor seminary, seminary vocation director, mission band director, mission procurator and pastor in Arkansas and Virginia. Born in Gloucester, Mass., he entered the Stigmatines in 1939 and professed final vows in 1944. He was ordained in 1948. He is survived by two brothers, Jonathan and George, and three sisters, Sally Lockwood, Marion Sargent and Yvone Cogan. A Funeral Mass was offered Aug. 27 at Espousal Center Chapel in Waltham, Mass., with burial in Sacred Heart of Jesus Cemetery in Milford, Mass.