Obituary of FATHER WILFRED GEORGE SCHULZ

The monastic community of St. Mary's Abbey / Delbarton mourns the death of Father Wilfred George Schulz in the 90th year of his life, the 66th year of his monastic profession, and the 60th of his priesthood. George Schulz was born in Irvington, NJ on September 8, 1923 to Jacob and Mary Reid Schulz, the second of children. He was baptized on September 23, 1923at St. Leo's Church in in Irvington. The Schulz family soon moved to Maplewood, NJ and to St. Joseph's Parish where George attended the parochial school, graduating in 1940. St. Joseph Church and School were then administered by Benedictines, so it was natural that George would continue his education at St. Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark, conducted by the monks of St. Mary's Abbey. Since George had indicated his intention of joining the Benedictine community, he took up residence at St. Mary's Monastery in Morristown and continued his secondary education at the recently established Delbarton School. Because Delbarton did not yet include a full senior high school, he transferred to Bayley High School in Morristown, graduating in 1944. George continued his education at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA. and received the Bachelor of Arts degree in June of 1949. He later obtained a Master's Degree in Guidance from Seton Hall University. George interrupted his college studies at St. Vincent to enter the monastic novitiate at St. Benedict's Abbey in Atchison, Kansas, taking the name in religion of Wilfred. He professed simple vows there on March 21, 1947. Solemn monastic profession followed at St. Mary's Abbey, Newark on March 21, 1950. In 1949 Father Wilfred began theological studies at St. Mary's School of Theology in Morristown and was ordained to the priesthood at St. Mary's Abbey Church in Newark by Archbishop Thomas Boland on April 22, 1953. He celebrated his first solemn Mass on April 26 at St. Joseph's Church in Maplewood. During his years of theological study, Father Wilfred had begun teaching at Delbarton School and continued after ordination until 1957. From this point on, Father Wilfred dedicated most of his energies to pastoral work in one or other of the parishes then administered by monks of St. Mary's Abbey. In 1957, he became associate pastor at Sacred Heart Church in Elizabeth, NJ, and the following year was appointed associate pastor and director of the parish cemetery at St. Mary's Abbey Church in Newark. Father Wilfred briefly resumed educational work as Dean of Discipline at St. Benedict's Prep in 1967, a position little to his taste, but which he accepted with his characteristic obedience. He returned to Sacred Heart Parish in Elizabeth in 1968. In 1977 Father Wilfred was appointed pastor of the historic Benedictine Church of the Sacred Heart in Wilmington, Delaware. This proved to be his most challenging assignment, however, as economic and demographic changes typical of old inner cities caused the gradual decline of what had once been one of the most flourishing parish communities in the Dioceses of Wilmington. Nevertheless, for almost twenty years, Father Wilfred zealously served the community. In 1995, the parish, an important part of the ministry of St. Mary's Abbey for more than a century, was forced to close. Father Wilfred accepted this outcome once again as God's will for him and for the community. Father Wilfred returned to New Jersey, now in his seventies, not to retire, but to continue his ministry as associate pastor at Elizabeth Church in Linden, NJ. In 2000, he returned to the abbey in Morristown and became chaplain to the sisters of St. Anne's Villa in Convent Station, where, for almost ten more years, he ministered to the elderly and infirm of Sisters of Charity of Convent Station. in 2009, at the age of eighty five, illness finally forced him to pass his work on to others. As absorbing as all these tasks were, Father Wilfred never lost his good zeal for the monastic life or his sense of humor. He continued to inspire the community by is consistent and determined presence at prayer and Eucharist despite growing infirmity. Father Wilfred was preceded in death by his brothers, Joseph and John, and his sisters, Agnes, Marian, and Anna Maria. He is survied by his brother Charles of Brick Township, NJ, many nieces and nephews, and his brother monks of the St. Mary's Abbey community. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Mary's Abbey Infirmary Fund, c/o St. Mary's Abbey, 230 Mendham Road, Morristown, NJ 07960.