Father Alphonsus M. Sutton, 91, of New Bedford, died May 7, 2011 at St. Luke's Hospital, after a long illness.
A convert to the Roman Catholic faith in his early years, Fr. Alphonsus was ordained a diocesan priest in 1957. He was a member of the Conventual Franciscans in the 1980s before becoming a member of the new religious institute of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate in 1990. He was assigned to Our Lady's Chapel in New Bedford in 1996 to assist the formation of the friars in residence there and to fulfill pastoral duties. In 2007 Fr. Alphonsus celebrated the 50th Jubilee of his priestly ordination.
He is survived by his sister, Barbara Sutton Nix, of Knoxville, TN, one niece and two nephews, Kay Schultz, Bill Nix and Jim Nix, five great nieces and one great nephew.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, May 11, at 10 AM, at Our Lady's Chapel, 600 Pleasant St., New Bedford, followed by burial at St. Mary's Cemetery. A wake service will be held at Our Lady's Chapel on Tuesday evening, May 10, at 6 PM.
Funeral arrangements are by the Saunders-Dwyer Home for Funerals, 495 Park St., New Bedford.