+ Friar Herman (Robert) Benedict Czaster, OFM Conv., 86, a Franciscan Friar of Our Lady of the Angels Province, died peacefully on Sunday, July 6, 2025, at Enfield, Conn. Born in Buffalo, N.Y., on Sept. 7, 1938, he was the only child of the late Benedict and Stella (nee Karas) Czaster, who owned a restaurant together in Buffalo. Friar Czaster was planted and grew in Franciscan soil, first as a parishioner and student at Corpus Christi Parish in Buffalo and then as a boarder at St. Francis High School in Athol Springs, N.Y. During his secondary schooling, he spent his summers working part-time in a lumber yard and whiskey warehouse.

Friar Czaster joined the Conventual Franciscan Friars following high school graduation in 1956, entering the novitiate in Becket, Mass. He professed simple vows on Aug. 15, 1957, and then began studies at St. Hyacinth College Seminary in Granby, Mass. After making his solemn profession on Aug. 15, 1960, he earned his B.A. in Philosophy in 1963. He completed seminary studies and was ordained to the priesthood on June 17, 1965.

His first assignment as a friar-priest was to Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore, Md.,  where he taught for nine years. In 1973, he became associate pastor of Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Parish in Buffalo, ministering in that capacity until 1976, when he was elected provincial secretary and later vicar provincial, stationed in Baltimore. After serving in provincial leadership, Friar Czaster moved to St. Adalbert Parish in Elmhurst, N.Y., where he served a nine-year term as pastor.

In 1991, he transitioned to St. Casimir Parish in Riverside, N.J. In 1994, he began another nine-year ministry, this time at St. Paul Parish in Kensington, Conn. He was named pastor of St. Paul’s in 2002. In 2005, he returned to St. Adalbert’s, ministering there as parochial vicar for 18 years (two more nine-year experiences, back-to-back). In 2023, Friar Czaster was moved to St. Hyacinth Friary in Chicopee, awaiting what he always referred to as his “final assignment to St. John’s.”

Visitation hours will be held on Thursday, July 10, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., at St. Adalbert Catholic Church (52-29 83rd Street, Elmhurst, N.Y. 11373). A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, July 10, at 11:00 a.m., in St. Adalbert’s, followed by burial in St. John Cemetery, Middle Village, N.Y.

Donations in memory of Friar Czaster can be made to The Franciscan Education Fund, 12300 Folly Quarter Road, Ellicott City, MD 21042.