Fr. Paul Schweizer

The Province of the Most Pure Heart of Mary (PCM), Order of Carmelites, mourns the death of the Reverend Paul Schweizer, O.Carm., who died at the age of 86 on November 16, 2022.

Visitation for the Reverend Paul Schweizer, O.Carm., will be held at St. Cecilia Church, 55 W Demarest Ave., Englewood, NJ, 07631, beginning at 4pm on Monday, December 5, 2022, followed by wake service at 7pm. Funeral Mass will be held at 10am on Tuesday, December 6, 2022, at St. Cecilia Church, with burial immediately following at Mt. Carmel Cemetery, 10 Serpentine Rd., Tenafly, NJ, 07670. Paul was born to (the late) Ervin J. Schweizer and (the late) Marguerite (McCarthy) Schweizer on January 31, 1936, in Joliet, IL. His given name at baptism was Paul Ervin. He is survived by his sister Kathleen Burnett. Paul Ervin began school at Joliet Catholic High School in Joliet, IL, and went on to Mount Carmel College, after which he entered the Carmelite novitiate at New Baltimore, PA, in 1955. He took simple vows with the Carmelites on August 22, 1956, taking the religious name of Otto, and then attended St. Bonaventure University where he was awarded a Bachelor of Philosophy in 1959. Paul professed his solemn vows on August 22, 1959, studied theology at Whitefriars Hall from 1959 to 1963, and went on to be awarded a master's degree in Religious Education from Catholic University of America in 1968. Paul was ordained a Carmelite priest on May 26, 1962. Father Schweizer's first assignments were as chaplain and teacher at DeSales Priory in Louisville, KY, from 1963 to 1964. In 1970 he moved to Houston, TX, where he served as teacher and guidance counselor at Mt. Carmel High School until 1975. From 1975 to 1987 he served as associate pastor for Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Newport News, VA, and then as pastor for Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Louisville, KY. In 1988, he joined the staff at the Carmel Retreat in Mahwah, NJ, for one year before moving to Canada and serving as the Acting Director at Mount Carmel Spiritual Centre in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Father moved back to New Jersey in 1990 to serve as pastor for 12 years at St. Joseph Parish in Bogota, NJ, and then back to Mahwah to rejoin the retreat staff. His final assignment was as parochial vicar for St Joseph Parish in Bogota, NJ, from 2005 to 2010. In 2010, Father Schweizer retired to the St Cecilia Priory where he often celebrated Mass and led Bible study programs up to the year of his death. He celebrated his 60' anniversary of ordination at St. Cecilia on May 25, 2022, joined by Carmelites, and parishioners of St. Joseph, Bogota and St. Cecilia.The Carmelites are very grateful for the compassionate care Fr. Paul received in his final days at the Villa Marie Clare Hospice program of Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, NJ. May he rest in peace. Donations in honor of the Reverend Paul Schweizer, O.Carm., may be made to: the Society of Mount Carmel, 1317 North Frontage Road, Darien, Illinois, 60561. For further information on the Reverend Paul Schweizer, O.Carm., or the Order of Carmelites, please contact Carmelite Media at (630) 971-0724 or visit the Carmelite website at www.carmelites.net.

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