Brother Bonaventure Scully

Brother Bonaventure Scully, C.F.X., 88, died Thursday, September 1, 2016 at Beverly Hospital following a lengthy illness. He was a member of the Congregation of the Brothers of Saint Francis Xavier for seventy years. Born Gerard J. Scully on Jan. 24, 1928 in Baltimore, MD, he was the son of the late Joseph and Eva (Pladas) Scully. He was raised and educated in Baltimore and attended Mount Saint Joseph High School before graduating from Saint Joseph Juniorate in Peabody in 1946. That same year, he entered the Xaverian Brothers, taking the religious name Brother Bonaventure. In 1951, Brother Bonaventure received his bachelor’s degree from the Catholic University and in 1959 his master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Detroit. Over the years, he did post-graduate studies at MIT, Brown University, Bowdoin College, Notre Dame, and Loyola University in Chicago, where he received a second master’s degree. His teaching apostolate began in 1951 at Saint John’s Preparatory School in Danvers before a six-year assignment at Saint Xavier High School in Louisville, KY. He returned north in 1958 to Xaverian High School in Brooklyn where he taught until 1970. During his last two years in Brooklyn, he served within the congregation as Director of Vocations. He then returned to his native Maryland where he served as principal of Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Wheaton until 1981 when he was named Director of Schools for the Archdiocese of Denver. In 1983 he served the Diocese of Memphis as Director of Education before returning to Mount Saint Joseph High School in Baltimore in 1984. The following year he took a position as a rector at Notre Dame University where he served until 1999. Returning once again to Maryland, he spent the following twelve years as a volunteer retreat coordinator until 2012, when he became a member of the community at Xaverian House in Danvers. In addition to his brothers in religion, he leaves numerous nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his siblings, Robert, Cornelius, Shirley, and Mildred. Funeral services will be held in Baltimore. In lieu of flowers, donations in Brother Bonaventure’s name may be made to the Scully Family Scholarship, Mt. St. Joseph High School, 4403 Frederick Ave., Baltimore, MD 21229 or the Xaverian Brothers Retirement Fund, 4409 Frederick Ave., Baltimore, MA 21229.