Father Aldo Bernard Bianco
Father Aldo Bernard Boniface Bianco
Father Aldo Bernard Boniface Bianco, OMC, a Franciscan priest who served in Wyoming for nearly 20 years, died at his home in Trinidad, Colo., at the age of 80.
The funeral was July 25 at Holy Trinity Church in Trinidad. The funeral Mass was celebrated by Bishop Joseph Hart and the Rev. Bob Hagen. Burial was at the Trinidad Catholic Cemetery. Memorials are to Trinidad Catholic Schools in Father Bianco's name.
He was born in Bowen, Colo., to Orsalina and Marcello Bianco, later attending Holy Trinity and Trinidad High School. After attending the University of Denver, he entered Our Lady of Consolation Seminary, a Franciscan seminary in Carey, Ohio. He was ordained May 31, 1947, into the Order of Franciscan Conventuals.
His first missionary assignment was to Converse County, where he served as administrator of St. Louis Church in Glenrock from 1947 to 1952. He was then assigned to mission work in the Southwest in Hobbs, N.M., and then in El Paso, Texas, where he earned a master's degree in sociology. That background led to his assignment as chaplain at the federal penitentiary in La Tuma, Texas, where he was credited with introducing the Cursillo movement into the prison system.
A heart attack led to a temporary retirement until he returned to Wyoming in 1977. Over the next 14 years, he served as pastor of St. Leo's in Lusk, Sacred Heart in Greybull and St. Anthony's in Guernsey. He then retired in June 1991. However, he continued to minister to the sick and elderly at the Trinidad State Nursing Home, celebrating Mass there daily until his death.
He was also a member of the Knights of Columbus, fourth Degree.
Survivors include sisters Theresa Menardi of Casper and Catherine Raye of Trinidad and brothers Domenic Bianco of Trinidad and Louis Bianco of Altadena, Calif.