Yesterday, we learnt the news of the death of Father Robert Young in a car accident in northern Florida. Father Young belonged to the Order of the Friars Minor (Franciscans) and was well known for his effort to spread the Doctrine of the Divine Will in the United States and in different countries of the world such as Belgium and Ireland.
He came from Texas (Orange County). For several years he was Director of Radio Maria in the United States and presented a radio broadcast on the writings of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta. He closely followed the Association of Corato also thanks to his excellent knowledge of the Italian language. He was also fluent in Spanish and for this reason, he often accompanied many groups of pilgrims to Corato.
The Association wishes to express its gratitude for the profound talks on different topics that Father Young held during its annual retreats. He always took care to link Luisa's writings to the texts of Sacred Scripture, Tradition, and the teaching of the Church. We remember his beautiful talks on the Sacraments and on the Virgin Mary.
Father Robert always gave us an authentic testimony of a Franciscan religious person. In fact, his commitment to the Divine Will was carried out by common accord with his superiors. Likewise, his specific Franciscan charism acquired a stronger light in contact with the writings of Luisa Piccarreta.
Moreover, we can not forget his attention in building, with all, authentic relationships of fraternal communion. He was very saddened when he learned that not all those who follow the Divine Will seek communion with the local Church and with the groups present in the same territory. He did everything to heal even some breaks.
In the past few months, he was very committed to finding the funds to support economically some important initiatives related to the Cause of Beatification and Canonization of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta.
We are sure that death does not divide but unites even more quickly, because with it we merge ourselves totally with Jesus and this assures us that Father Robert is even more active in his service to the Divine Will. Therefore, we want to unite the prayer for entrusting his soul with the prayer of intercession, so that he may be the bearer of our request to Heaven: "Thy Kingdom come, Oh Lord, do not delay!"