Stokes, David F.

A Mass of Christian burial will be offered for David F. Stokes, SJ, at St. Catherine Church in Sebring, Fla., where he had been engaged in Hispanic ministry, on Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 12 noon. Fr. Stokes died of pneumonia Sept. 24, in Sebring. The Philadelphia native was 78.

Fr. Stokes, who had been a Jesuit for 59 years and a priest for 46 years, spent 25 of those years working in Hispanic ministry in Philadelphia, in Vineland, N.J., Richmond, Va., and Florida.

David Stokes, son of Francis De Sales Stokes and Mary E. Maloney, was born in Philadelphia, June 18, 1931.  After graduation from St. Joseph’s Prep and a year of study at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, he entered the Society of Jesus Sept. 7, 1950, and pronounced his First Vows Sept. 8, 1952. He pursued Juniorate (College) studies from 1952 to 1954, and then studied philosophy at Bellarmine College, Plattsburgh, N.Y., from 1954 to 1955 and Loyola Seminary, Shrub Oak, N.Y., from 1955 to 1957. As a Jesuit Scholastic, he taught English, French and religion from 1957 to 1960 at Georgetown Prep, North Bethesda, Md.

Fr. Stokes pursued theological studies at the Seminaire Des Missions, Lyons, France from 1960 to 1962 and Woodstock College in Maryland from 1962 to 1964, where he was ordained to the priesthood June 16, 1963.  He completed his Tertianship at Saint-Jerome, Canada, from 1964 to 1965 and made his final profession in the Society of Jesus Sept. 8, 1979.

After earning his Master’s degree in French at Boston College, Fr. Stokes began his priestly ministry as minister of the Jesuit Community and teacher of Latin and French at Scranton Prep, Scranton, Pa., from 1966 to 1970.  He then served as assistant prefect of student personnel and teacher of French at Loyola Blakefield High School, Towson, Md., from 1970 to 1974 and a teacher of French at St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia, from 1974 until 1977.

Appointed Superior of Casa Pedro Claver and Associate Pastor of St. Bonaventure’s Church, Philadelphia, from 1977 to 1980, Fr. Stokes began his work in the Hispanic apostolate, a ministry in which he would serve for more than 25 years. He continued this ministry as parish administrator at Holy Name Church, Camden, N.J. (1980-83), parochial vicar at St. Veronica’s Church in Philadelphia (1983-88), parochial vicar, coordinator of Spanish candidates for the diaconate, counselor for Youth Encounter and teacher of Spanish for the archdiocesan seminary at Visitation Church in Philadelphia (1988-90) and the Spanish Apostolate at the Hispanic Center in Vineland, N.J. (1990-96).

In 1996, Fr. Stokes became pastor at Sacred Heart Church in Richmond, Va., and in 1999, Superior at  Rutilio Grande House in Richmond until 2007 when he was sent to engage in the Hispanic ministry at St. Catherine’s Church, Sebring, Fla., where he lived and worked until his death.

Following his funeral Mass at St. Catherine’s, burial will be at the Jesuit Cemetery in Wernersville, Pa., Thursday, Oct. 1. Three of Fr. Stokes’s uncles are buried in the cemetery: William Maloney, SJ, a former provincial and president of Saint Joseph’s College, Edward Stokes, SJ, and Thomas Stokes, SJ.

Fr. Stokes is survived by his brother Philip Stokes of Melbourne, Fla., his sister and her husband, Celia and Virgil Cooper of Franklin, N.C., his sister and her husband Miriam and Thomas Whitaker of Wynnewood, Pa., as well as nine nieces and nephews.