Br. Richard McFeely, OFM, 79, passed away on June 6, 2025, at St. Anthony Friary in Boston. He devoted his 52 years of Franciscan ministry to caring for others as a nurse and a counselor, and as a mentor to student friars and men considering a Franciscan vocation.  

Visitation for Br. Richard will be held on Wednesday, June 11 at 10:30 a.m., followed by the Mass of Christian Burial at noon at St. Anthony Shrine, 100 Arch Street, Boston, MA 02110. The Mass will be livestreamed on the Shrine’s website. Burial will take place in a private ceremony at St. Joseph Cemetery in West Roxbury, Massachusetts.  

Br. Richard, born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 3, 1946, to John and Monica (née Redmond) McFeely, attended Holy Family Grammar School in Flushing, New York, and Holy Cross High School in Bayside, New York. He attended Queen of Apostles College and John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, and received his bachelor's of arts degree in Sociology from Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts, in 1975.  

He was received into the Franciscan Order on Aug. 20, 1972, at St. Francis Friary, Brookline, Massachusetts, professed simple vows there on Aug. 25, 1973, and made his solemn profession on Aug. 21, 1976, at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi in New York City.  

Br. Richard studied nursing at Trocaire College in Buffalo, New York, from 1976 to 1981, and served at St. Anthony Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1981. From 1981 to 1990, he was a counselor for recovering alcoholics at Andrew Johnson Detox Center in East Boston, Massachusetts, and a guidance counselor at East Boston Central Catholic School.  

Br. Richard began mentoring student friars as a member of the formation team at in Brookline from 1990 to 1993, and Providence, Rhode Island, from 1993 to 1996. In 1996, he became parochial vicar at St. Mary’s Church in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, where he served until 2000.   

In 2000, he was appointed assistant vocation director for the legacy Holy Name Province, serving for three years while living in New York City and New Jersey. In 2003, he returned to nursing, caring for the retired, sick and elderly friars of Holy Name Friary in Ringwood, New Jersey (2003 to 2006 and 2014 to 2020); St. Anthony Friary in St. Petersburg, Florida (2006 to 2008); St. Anthony Residence in Boston (2008 to 2011); and St. Anthony Friary in Butler, New Jersey (2011 to 2014). He also served as spiritual assistant for the Secular Franciscans of St. Francis of Assisi Fraternity in Ringwood, New Jersey.  

Br. Richard continued to support men pursuing a vocation, serving as a regional vocation director for New York City and New Jersey from 2020 until 2023. He also worked as the friar liaison for St. Francis Breadline in New York City. He told The Franciscan Way that every day was Thanksgiving there.  

“It’s more than food in each sandwich bag,” he said. “Joy, hope and compassion is at the heart of what we offer to our guests, who are often forgotten and cast aside. The Breadline makes them feel welcomed and loved.”  

In 2023, he returned to Boston, joining the staff at St. Anthony Shrine, where he assisted in the Food Center, welcomed visitors in the information booth and helped form a support group for people who have lost loved ones to suicide.   

Br. Richard is survived by eight siblings, several nieces and nephews and his brother friars of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe.