By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic
SAN ANTONIO, Texas | Marianist Brother Peter A. Pontolillo, who taught at Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory from 2013 to 2018, died April 12, 2022 at the Marianist Residence Community in San Antonio. He was 83 and had marked 64 years of religious profession.
Photographer: Steven Schremp
Marist Brother Peter Pontolillo, taught at Chaminade-Madonna College Prep in Hollywood from 2013 to 2018, died April 12, 2022 at age 83, after 64 years of religious life.
Brother Peter was a beloved teacher and nationally-recognized school administrator, superintendent and educational lobbyist who also served for a decade as secretary general of his religious community, the Society of Mary, in Rome, Italy.
One measure of his commitment to (and love of) Catholic education is the fact that he attended the annual convention of the National Catholic Education Association for 40 consecutive years. He also served on the executive committee of the NCEA and as executive director of the Catholic School Administrators Association of New York.
Born on March 20, 1939, in Hempstead, Long Island, New York, Brother Peter first encountered the Marianists at Chaminade High School in Mineola, New York. After graduating in 1956, he entered their novitiate at Marcy, New York, professing first vows there in 1957 and perpetual vows at Beacon, New York, in 1965.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Dayton and later a master’s in Spanish from Western Reserve University. His early assignments included teaching courses in math, languages and religion at Cathedral Latin High School in Cleveland, Ohio, and Chaminade High School in Mineola, New York.
He later served as principal at Holy Trinity High School in Brooklyn, New York, where he became a leading advocate for providing state aid to non-public schools in New York City. He was also instrumental in expanding traditional education curricula to better meet the needs of urban students – adopting such innovations as independent study, college cooperative programs and advanced courses for Spanish-speaking students.
From 1976 to 1982, he served in Puerto Rico, as principal at Colegio San José and advisor to the San Juan Archdiocesan Office of Education. He also was named by the Commonwealth Secretary of Education to a special commission charged with writing regulations to govern private schools on the island.
In the mid-1980s, he served as superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of San Antonio and the Diocese of Victoria, Texas. In 1996, he was called to Rome to help direct the work of Marianists worldwide, serving two five-year terms.
Upon his return to the United States, Brother Peter again served in high school ministry – first at Central Catholic in San Antonio and then at Chaminade- Madonna in Hollywood. In 2020, he retired to the Marianist Residence Community in San Antonio.
