Br. Anthony Freeman (29), a third year American theology student with the Legionaries of Christ died in his sleep Sunday night in Rome of natural causes, only to be found in his room Monday afternoon.
He had just finished an eight-day silent retreat and he was an acolyte in the Easter Sunday Mass with the pope before receiving the Urbi et Orbi indulgence.
BR. JOHN STUDER LC
Br. Anthony Freeman's classmate
“What I'm going to remember most is going to be what they told me when they found him in his room and he was laying prostrate like this, the way he always slept. But it's the same position that we're all going to be in when we get ordained.”
BR. PATRICK O'LOUGHLIN LC
Br. Anthony Freeman's classmate
“The Easter vigil night, after the Easter vigil Mass, a couple brothers went to party a little bit and they raised the champagne and toasted, with Br. Anthony especially, to Eternal Life, so that's something that stayed with a lot of us.”
He had just published his first book, 'One Step Closer' drawing different reflections from his Instagram page. He was passionate about serving Christ and always had different projects he wanted to do.
BR. PATRICK O'LOUGHLIN LC
Br. Anthony Freeman's classmate
“He had this vision, this long-term vision of what he wanted to do for Jesus, of how far he wanted to go in his mission as a priest. But he was also very boots on the ground, very direct, very simple, very down to earth always with the bros, always in the community. so even though he was doing a hundred things, like he wrote the book, he had blogs going, he had his Instagram, he was connected to all these kinds of people, very much involved in the New Evangelization.”
BR. JOHN STUDER LC
Br. Anthony Freeman's classmate
“Every time I'd see him and we'd talk, he had a new idea. He had something else that he wanted to share. Some way to bring the faith, to bring holiness, to bring Christ to people, to anyone he met.”
Now, the brothers in his class who will all be ordained deacons this year believe they have an additional saint praying for them from heaven, who will be present at the ordination in an even more spiritual way.
