Lives of Identical Twin Friars Celebrated at
St. Bonaventure University Services
By Tom Missel
Director of Media Relations/Marketing
Two men who lived their lives in simple, dedicated service to others were laid to rest Thursday on a hill overlooking the place they spent 40 years of their lives.
The lives of identical twins Adrian and Julian Riester, brothers in the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor who died at the age of 92 on June 1, were celebrated Thursday at a prayer service at St. Bonaventure University and at a hilltop burial service at St. Bonaventure Cemetery across the street.
In his homily, Fr. Peter Schneible, O.F.M., described what it was like living with the twins in an apartment complex in the St. Bonaventure Friary for more than 20 years.
“Living with Adrian and Julian was like living with church mice. Often, I had no idea whether they were up there (upstairs), they were so quiet,” Fr. Peter said.
The twins’ quiet demeanor is now known worldwide as millions around the globe have read stories about their simple lives. More than 50,000 people shared the story on their Facebook pages from just the Yahoo!News posting of The Associated Press story. An estimated 8-10 million people viewed the story on Yahoo! alone.
The story was picked up by thousands of news organizations around the world, some as far away as New Zealand, Vietnam and Fiji. A crew from Brazil’s Globo TV covered today’s services.
“It always seemed this life was easy for them. They were made for this life,” Fr. Peter said. “They were spiritual and simple friars, receptive to what God wanted.”
The friars spent their last 35 years at St. Bonaventure working at the Friary in quiet, behind-the-scenes lives as carpenters, gardeners and chauffeurs for anyone who might need a ride to campus.
On several occasions, Br. Adrian and Br. Julian met Fr. Peter at the Buffalo airport or train station to drive him back to campus. Regardless of the time of day or the weather, the friars would be waiting when Fr. Peter arrived.
The Very Rev. John O’Connor, provincial minister of Holy Name Province, read an article several years ago about an actor who was not known because of his leading roles, but because he was indispensible as a supporting actor.
“They were extraordinary in their supporting roles as friars of the Order of Friars Minor,” Fr. John said.
“Andy Warhol has been credited with saying that every human being deserves 15 minutes of fame. And, yes, the coincidence of their birth and death on the same day almost seems supernatural,” Fr. John said.
“But what really made millions of people read and care about their story was for a few days they had a chance to read about the good side of humanity,” said Fr. John.
The Riester brothers were born in Buffalo as Jerome (Julian) and Irving (Adrian) just seconds apart on March 27, 1919. After joining the Franciscans during the 1940s, they were eventually assigned to work at Christ the King Seminary at St. Bonaventure from 1951-56.
They were assigned to different parishes for the next 17 years, but were eventually reunited at St. Bonaventure from 1973-2008, when they retired to the friary in St. Petersburg, Fla. They died of heart disease June 1 at St. Anthony Hospital.
A funeral Mass for the Riesters was said Monday in St. Petersburg. After the Mass, their bodies were flown to Buffalo and transported to Allegany for Thursday’s services.
Pictured, Family members release doves after the burial service Thursday at St. Bonaventure Cemetery. From left are great-niece Lauren Roberts, niece Barbara Roberts, nephew Robert McCue, and Daniel McCue Sr., brother-in-law of the Riester twins.
Photo courtesy of St. Bonaventure University
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