April 27, 2022 at 3:24 p.m.
Father Peter A. Fiore, OFM, 94
He spent over five decades as a beloved professor and administrator at Siena, during which he kept a running list of students that he taught — which he once said numbered just short of 5,000 — hundreds with which he stayed in contact and exchanged letters and Christmas cards through the years.
The youngest of three children of Italian immigrant parents Peter and Virginia (née Arienzo) Fiore, Father Fiore was born on Sept. 8, 1927 in Glens Falls, where he attended the Josephite sisters-run St. Mary’s Academy grammar and high schools, and served as an altar boy at the family’s parish of St. Mary’s — to which he returned in 1988 for two years in pastoral ministry.
Father Fiore’s rich and full life in religious vocation and academia spanned seven decades, first and foremost as a professed Franciscan friar and as a scholar, professor, administrator and author. In his last interview in 2020 for a feature article on his 70th year of profession published in the Holy Name Province newsletter, Father Fiore said attending Siena College under the G.I. Bill, after returning from World War II as a member of the United States Army, was the best decision he had ever made because it introduced him to the Franciscan friars, many of whom were professors at the college, and inspired his own areas of teaching expertise, which included 17th century English Literature and honors seminars on the Great Books, Dante, Shakespeare and theological issues in Western literature.
After graduating from Siena College in 1949 with a bachelor’s degree in English, he spent a year working in his father’s retail businesses before joining Holy Name Province, which received him into the Order at St. Bonaventure Church in Paterson, N.J., on Aug. 12, 1950. He professed his first vows at the novitiate in Paterson one year later and made his solemn profession as a member of the Order of Friars Minor in 1954 at St. Bonaventure Church in Allegany. He was ordained on June 9, 1955 at the Franciscan Monastery Church in Washington, D.C.
In 1955, Father Fiore also earned a master’s degree in English at Catholic University of America and in 1961, from the University of London in England, he earned a Ph.D. in English Renaissance Literature with a concentration on the theological aspects of redemption and salvation in Milton’s “Paradise Lost,” which was the focus of his thesis and the subject of one of six books written by this accomplished author. He maintained his connection to the University of London by returning for 18 consecutive summers to lecture on literature and the arts, as well as conduct research for his published works.
His more than 50 years of service at Siena College included professor of English, chair of the English Department, and dean of the School of Liberal Arts. During part of his tenure, he headed Siena’s distinguished Greyfriar Living Literature Series, bringing to campus the most celebrated writers of the time as guest lecturers — including Basil Rathbone, Hal Holbrook and Brooks Atkinson. In 2013, Siena alumnus William McGoldrick and his wife established the Peter Fiore, OFM, Excellence in English Endowment to support faculty and student enrichment in literature and the arts.
In addition to serving in parish ministry at his boyhood parish in Glens Falls, Father Fiore served at St. Mary’s Parish in Ballston Spa, and from 1990-96 as HNP director of communications at the provincial headquarters on West 31st Street in Manhattan, where he also enjoyed the culture and art opportunities — particularly the Opera and Broadway — that New York City offered. A fan of reading books — especially the lesser-known works of the great writers — good Italian cuisine (eating and cooking for others), and the New York Yankees, Father Fiore was a member of several literary and professional organizations, among them the Modern Language Association, Metropolitan Opera Guild, Irish Repertory Theater of New York, and the Milton Seminar. But he always said that his most precious membership and fraternity was with his brother friars of Holy Name Province.
In addition to his Franciscan confreres, Father Fiore is survived by nine nieces and nephews — who were like his children — including Virginia Kavanaugh, Susan Fiore, Peter Patrick Fiore (Patrice), Joan Flanagan (Robert), Ellen Fiore, Christine Shear (Fred), William Luciano (Joanne), Peter Luciano (Gail), and Mary Ann Roemer (Guy), as well as many great nieces and nephews, several great-great nieces and nephews, two great-great-great nieces, and many cousins.
A Mass of Resurrection was held April 25 at St. Mary of the Angels Chapel at Siena College, immediately followed by military honors. Cremation took place following the Mass, with interment at a later date in South Glens Falls. Memorial donations may be sent to Franciscan Friars — Holy Name Province, 144 West 32nd St., New York, N.Y., 10001-3202.
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