Rest in Peace, Fr. Sid Figlia, SDB

By Fr. Mike Mendl, SDB

Fr. Isidore Joseph Figlia, SDB, familiarly known as Fr. Sid, died at St. Philip the Apostle Residence in Tampa on Sunday morning, March 6.  He was 91 years old and had been a professed Salesian of Don Bosco for 63 years, a priest for 53 years. He had been in poor health for a long time, including a bout with Covid-19 in 2020.  After a brief hospitalization this winter, he went into hospice care at home on February 25.

Although his early documents, such as his Don Bosco College record and Salesian directories, give his name as Isidore, for most of his Salesian life he signed himself, officially and unofficially, as Sid or Sidney.

Fr. Sid served in many of the works of the New Rochelle Province, most notably 11 years in Boston at the Salesian Boys & Girls Club of East Boston as executive director (1976-1982) and at Don Bosco Tech as director (1987-1992), and 19 years at St. John Bosco Parish in Harvey, LA, as assistant pastor (1984-1987) and pastor (1994-2010).

Sid was born on April 8, 1930, in Brooklyn, son of James and Frances Marchese Figlia.  He entered the life of Christ through Baptism at St. Joseph Church in Brooklyn on May 25 that year and was confirmed in 1940 at St. Bridget Church in Ridgewood, Queens.

After high school, Sid served in the U.S. Army; he was discharged in January 1952 as a sergeant. He entered the Sons of Mary Program at Don Bosco College in Newton, NJ, on July 1, 1956. In September 1957, he was admitted to St. Joseph’s Novitiate in Newton under the tutelage of Fr. Aloysius Bianchi. The class was large—42 altogether when the roster was provided to Turin for the elenco. Among them were Frank Carabello, Noel De Bruton, Tom Glackin, Al Marshall, Hector Poulin, Dick Presenti, Jack Trisolini, and Steve Whelan. They professed as Salesians at Newton on September 8, 1958.

Following graduation from Don Bosco College in June 1961 with his B.A. in philosophy, Br. Sid began practical training as a teacher and assistant Don Bosco Agricultural School in Huttonsville, WV, where the students included both boarders and day boys. The following year, he was assigned to Mary Help of Christians School in Tampa (1962-1964). MHC’s enrollment of about 145 in grades five through nine was 99.7 percent boarders. Br. Sid was charged with assisting in the ninth grade (or “small”) dormitory, capacity about 20 boys who were sometimes a little rambunctious (as witnessed by this writer). On more than one occasion, the prefect of studies, Fr. Orlando Molina, had to intervene after lights-out. Br. Sid taught English and social studies to the younger lads and had other assistance responsibilities, of course.

After professing perpetual vows at Newton on June 27, 1964, Br. Sid embarked on theological studies at the Istituto Salesiano in Bollengo, Italy, near Ivrea. His classmates included Brs. Frank Carabello, Hector Poulin, and Peter Sella. After three years, he was happy to return to the U.S. as part of the first contingent of Salesians enrolled at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Worthington, Ohio; he was the only fourth-year man, Brs. Carabello, Poulin, and Sella having chosen to finish their studies in Italy. The SDB community lived at the Joss in the former convent behind St. Turibius Chapel. Faculty members Fr. Jerry Sesto and Art Lenti, however, had faculty quarters. Br. Sid’s studies culminated in priestly ordination at the Josephinum on June 1, 1968. He completed his Master of Divinity degree from the Josephinum in 1975.

New ordained Fr. Sid was posted to Don Bosco College in Newton as dean of students for two years—an assignment he didn’t particularly relish. Perhaps with academia in mind, he started a Master’s program in history at Seton Hall University in 1969 but didn’t go far into it. In fact, in 1970 he was sent back to Tampa as vice principal for one year and as prefect during a second year. In 1972, he moved again, this time to Salesian Junior Seminary in Goshen, NY, as principal for two years. 

Fr. Sid returned to Italy with Fr. Romeo Trottier in 1974 for a program in Salesian studies at the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome, coming away certified in that field. Then, in 1975, it was back to Newton for a one-year stint as dean of the Sons of Mary.

A change of pace from school and formation work came in 1976 with his assignment to East Boston as executive director of the Salesian Boys & Girls Club, located at the time on Paris Street. The success of his six-year tenure, as well as of his broader priestly ministry, was recognized by the Club in 2011 with the Don Bosco Award.

Fr. John Nazzaro, the Club’s executive director at the time of the award, commented after Fr. Sid’s death: “Fr. Sid was a great gift to the Salesian Boys & Girls Club in East Boston. Along with the staff, he brought credibility to the Salesian work. He saw the ‘Salesian Oratory’ affiliated with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Under his leadership the Club went co-ed, was sponsored by the United Way, was always fiscally solvent, and took on the name Salesian Boys & Girls Club. I treasure the time I lived with Fr. Sid and the opportunity I had to learn from him. He was very close to my family, especially my sister Marie, who was a board member of the Club for several years. Wherever he was stationed, Fr. Sid brought to his priesthood a clear vision of reality and a no-nonsense approach to his ministry.”

Despite six years in East Boston, two-year assignments remained something of a pattern for Fr. Sid. In 1982, he went to Don Bosco Multimedia Center in New Rochelle, NY, as treasurer, working under the leadership of Fr. Joseph Perozzi, who died in September 1983, and Fr. John Malloy.

In 1984, he began a triennium of parochial ministry at newly founded St. John Bosco Parish in Harvey, LA, as Fr. Emil Fardellone’s assistant. That ministry ended with an appointment as director of Don Bosco Tech in Boston, where he served five years. 

In 1992, he went “on loan” for one year to St. Mary of the Lakes, a parish at Medford in the Trenton, NJ, Diocese.

Returning to Salesian life and remaining in New Jersey, he served as assistant pastor under Fr. Vince Zuliani at St. Anthony Church in Elizabeth (1993-1994). Then came 16 years that, at least initially, were the happiest of his priestly life: pastor of St. John Bosco in Harvey. He had a thriving parish and shared a thriving parochial school with the other Salesian parish in town, St. Rosalie. For six years, he was assisted by Fr. Ernest Faggioni, for four years he had no assistant, and then he was assisted for another six years by Fr. Joseph Vien.

Fr. Sid was loved by his parishioners, enjoyed the comradeship and parochial assistance of his confreres at Archbishop Shaw High School in Marrero, and was close to his old classmate, Fr. Frank Carabello, who had become a priest of the New Orleans Archdiocese and was pastor in neighboring Gretna.

From Marrero, Fr. Steve Ryan writes that Fr. Sid was “a good friend of many here in Louisiana. He cared deeply for people—very deeply. He prayed for anyone who was going through a hard time.  It always gave you comfort that Fr. Sid was rooting for you in difficult moments of your life.”

Hurricane Katrina in the late summer of 2005 changed everything—for New Orleans, for the West Bank, and for St. John Bosco Parish. Fr. Sid continued his faithful service for five more years, but the parish and the school struggled with the storm damage, the departure of many people, and a heavy blow to the local economy.

In 2010, Fr. Sid moved back north, assigned to the Marian Shrine in Haverstraw, NY, where the local folk who came to daily and Sunday Masses appreciated his ministry. One of those quasi-parishioners tells a tale that he called “Humor in Vestments: The Rockin’ Cell.” It was a weekday Advent Mass with about 60 people on hand, and Fr. Sid was preaching on the Lord’s gifts, pausing frequently after tossing out a question and giving people time to think. Then the silence of a pause was interrupted: “from out of nowhere…, the melody of ‘Silent Night’ blasted away from a sinful cell phone. Nice tune, wrong place.” As Fr. Sid continued his homily with questions and silences, “Silent Night” also continued. As people looked around, trying to scope out the perp, Fr. Sid “started turning red,” and our narrator was afraid he was going to blow up in anger. As Fr. Sid turned “beet red,” he reached into his pocket … and turned off his cell phone. Then came unrestrained laughter from everyone. And Fr. Sid concluded his homily on the Lord’s gifts: “Thank you, Lord, for the gift of laughter.”

But Fr. Sid was able to regale the good people of the Marian Shrine for only that one year, 2010-2011. He made his final trip to Mary Help of Christians Center in Tampa in 2011 to take up residence at the Salesian assisted living facility, St. Philip the Apostle Residence. It wasn’t in order to retire, however. Deacon Ed Anctil of Mary Help testifies: “Since joining the St. Philip Community, Fr. Sid was the confessor every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at Mary Help of Christians Parish and then he would remain to concelebrate the 11:00 Mass. Even in his last years, as his physical health declined he was ever faithful. In the end, he would drive his motorized wheelchair to the church and sit in the relic room, since his chair was too big to fit in the confessional. His warmth, tenderness, smile, and caring were ever present to those who sought comfort in the sacrament of Reconciliation. He will truly be missed.”

Funeral services for Fr. Sid will be held at Mary Help of Christians Parish, 6400 East Chelsea Street, Tampa, FL 33610. Visiting hours are 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday, March 9, with a prayer service at 7:00 p.m EST. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. EST on Thursday, March 10.

On Saturday, March 12, Fr. Sid will be waked at the Marian Shrine Chapel, 174 Filors Lane, Stony Point, NY 10980, from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m EST. A second Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. EST. Burial will follow at the Salesian Cemetery in Goshen, NY.