Perry McDonald

The Province of St. Joseph of the Capuchin Order

1820 Mt. Elliott Street Detroit, MI 48207

Obituary

Perry McDonald Capuchin Friar

November 1, 1941 – November 28, 2025

Perry, baptized Duane Joseph McDonald, was born on November 1, 1941, in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, the son of Francis A. McDonald and Lucy Wiest McDonald. He grew up in a close rural family with his brother, Kenneth, and his sister, Mary Ellen. Their home parish of St. Joseph in Dodgeville shaped his earliest years.

Perry attended St. Joseph Elementary School and later St. Lawrence Seminary High School in Mount Calvary, Wisconsin. His vocation matured through the example of the Capuchin friars he met in his youth and through the influence of his Capuchin uncle, Donald Wiest. In his own words, the presence of his older brother, Kenneth, at St. Lawrence was a decisive factor in his path into the Capuchins, as he came to recognize a call to religious life rooted in family ties, prayer, and the witness of the friars who taught them.

Perry joined the Capuchins in 1959 and began his novitiate at St. Felix Friary in Huntington, Indiana. He was invested with the habit on August 31, 1959, and made his first profession of vows on September 1, 1960. After novitiate, he moved into post-novitiate studies. From 1960 to 1964, he studied philosophy at St. Mary Seminary in Crown Point, Indiana, makingsolemn vows on September 1, 1963. He continued his theological studies at St. Anthony Seminary in Marathon, Wisconsin, from 1964 to 1968.

In the summer before his ordination, Perry served at St. Labre Mission in Montana, working with Native American communities in ways that would shape his understanding of ministry. He conducted census work, traveling to remote areas to connect with families, and served as a camp counselor for Indian children. This immersion in Native American life, with its distinct culture and spirituality, opened Perry's eyes to the breadth of God's family and the importance of cultural sensitivity in pastoral care. He later described this experience as transformative, one that taught him to listen before speaking and to recognize the presence of God in traditions different from his own. The lessons learned at St. Labre, patience, cultural humility, and meeting people where they are, would echo throughout his decades of formation ministry.

Perry was ordained a priest on October 19, 1967, at the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Marathon, Wisconsin by Bishop Frederick W. Freking. Perry was one of seventeen Capuchins being ordained that day. He celebrated his Mass of Thanksgiving a few days later, on October 22, at St. Joseph’s Church in his hometown of Dodgeville, Wisconsin. Following ordination, Perry spent a pastoral year at St. Francis Friary in Milwaukee from 1968 to 1969. He then completed graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh, earning a master’s degree in Guidance and Counseling.

Perry’s years of ministry were marked by his willingness to serve wherever the province needed him. From 1969 to 1972, hejoined the team at Monte Alverno Retreat Center in Appleton, Wisconsin, where he took his first steps in retreat ministry. Those years included preaching, assisting retreatants, and developing the pastoral skills that shaped much of his later ministry. In Appleton, he was also assigned as a youth pastor at St. Joseph Parish. From 1972 to 1979, Perry moved to Milwaukee to join the pre-novitiate formation team at the Capuchin Fraternity House.

From 1979 to 1984, Perry served as administrator and pastor at Ss. Peter and Paul Parish in Huntington, Indiana. Perry moved to Detroit in 1984 to become the guardian of St Bonaventure Monastery until 1986, when he became co-director of the postulancy program at the San Lazzaro Community in Detroit. Perry continued in formation work in 1987 when hebecame director of the candidacy program at St Conrad Friary in Milwaukee. In 1989, Perry moved to Yonkers, New York, to serve as co-director of the Postulancy Program.

In 1992, on the occasion of his 25th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood, Perry wrote a reflection that unveiled the importance of his Capuchin identity. He confessed mixed feelings about celebrating his priestly jubilee, noting that while he treasured his ordination, "my call to be a Capuchin has always been more important to me than my call to be a priest." This was not a diminishment of his priesthood but rather an affirmation of his Franciscan vocation as a brother among brothers. He wondered whether he should celebrate his silver jubilee of religious profession instead, the moment when he first professed vows as a Capuchin on September 1, 1960. He was first, and always, a Capuchin friar, and his priesthood flowed from that fundamental identity. Perry was granted a sabbatical in 1993 that focused on prayer, renewal, and broad pastoral experience. He used the time for chaplaincy work aboard cruise ships, a form of ministry he had hoped to try for many years. He also traveled for personal pilgrimage, spent time in the hermitage at Eau Plaine, and took part in an extended time for retreat and study. The sabbatical gave him space for rest, exercise, and reflection, as well as time with family. Perry’s letters from the period describe a year marked by gratitude, interior renewal, and a desire to return to ministry with greater clarity and purpose.

After completing his sabbatical, Perry served from 1994 to 1996 as associate pastor at Immaculate Conception Parish in Columbia Heights, Minnesota. His work there included sacramental ministry and parish evangelization.

The friars elected Perry to two consecutive terms as vicar provincial, a role he held from 1996 to 2002.

In 2002, he returned to initial formation work, serving as co-director of the postulancy program at St. Michael Friary in Brooklyn, New York. Two years later, he moved to St. Clare of Assisi Friary in Chicago, where he became director of the postulancy program while also assisting with the province’s post-novitiate and ministry formation efforts. He remained in these formation roles from 2004 to 2008, accompanying men preparing for religious life and helping shape the next generation of Capuchin friars.

Perry began a second sabbatical in 2008. During the sabbatical, he focused on personal renewal, physical health, prayer, and continued study in the Spirituality and Theology program in Oakland, California, which formed the core of his sabbatical. Theprogram combined structured coursework, spiritual direction, retreat experiences, and communal living from diverse religious communities. He noted the value of living and studying alongside members of other religious orders, which gave him fresh perspectives on religious life and community dynamics. He approached the sabbatical as a chance to rest, reflect, andregain balance after his work in formation.

After completing his sabbatical in 2009, Perry returned to the province with a renewed commitment to pastoral service. He spent several months at San Damiano Friary in Madison, Wisconsin working on the Lexicon Capuccinum. Later that year, he moved to St. Francis Friary in Milwaukee, where he was appointed pastoral director of the House of Peace.

The House of Peace became the center of Perry’s pastoral life for the following years. His ministry there was marked by his calm presence, pastoral judgment, and ability to support a ministry that welcomed people experiencing poverty, instability, and trauma. He continued to live at St. Francis Friary and serve in Milwaukee through the following years. In June 2014, he was appointed Secretary for Religious Affairs. In 2017, Perry entered semi-retirement, only to take on the co-directorship of the postulancy program at St Conrad Friary in Milwaukee just a year later.

In the years that followed, Perry moved gradually into a quieter rhythm of community life as a senior friar in 2019, moving to St Francis Friary in Milwaukee. He remained active in prayer, fraternity, and pastoral availability at St. Francis Friary and continued to accompany individuals connected to the ministries he had served for decades. His living memory served him well in his research to document the province's history in various publications.

In November 2025, continued upper respiratory problems developed into pneumonia, and his health declined steadily in the weeks that followed. Surrounded by the fraternity and held in prayer, Perry embraced Sister Death on Friday, November 28, 2025.

Perry is preceded in death by his parents, Francis and Lucy Wiest McDonald. He is survived by his brother, Kenneth McDonald, and his sister, Mary Ellen McDonald, as well as his Capuchin brothers of the Province of St. Joseph with whom he lived, prayed, and ministered for more than six decades.

Funeral arrangements are foreseen as follows:

Perry chose a green burial.

Monday, December 1, 2025 

Our Lady of the Holyland Parish Holy Cross Church

308 S. County W, Mt. Calvary, WI, 53057

Visitation will begin at 9:30 a.m. (CDT)

The Liturgy of Christian Burial will begin at 10:30 a.m. (CDT)

Luncheon to follow at St. Lawrence Friary.

Liturgy will be live-streamed via the Holy Land Catholic Parishes YouTube Channel.