Anthony Freeman
{{short description|American religious writer}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific-prefix = Brother
| name = Anthony Freeman
| honorific-suffix = L.C.
| image = BrAnthonyFreeman.jpg
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1988|7|23}}
| birth_place = Houma, Louisiana, United States
| death_date = {{death date and age|2018|4|2|1988|7|23}}
| death_place = Rome, Italy
| occupation = Religious brother and writer
| alma_mater = {{unbulleted list|East Thibodaux Middle School|Immaculate Conception Apostolic School|Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum {{small|(B.A.)}}}}
| years_active =
| module =
{{Infobox writer | embed=yes
| period =
| genre = Motivational/Spiritual
| subject =
| movement =
| notableworks = One Step Closer: 40 Doses of Motivation, Hacks, and Experiences to Share with Millennial Catholics
| spouse =
| children =
| relatives =
}}
| module2 =
{{Infobox religious biography | embed=yes
| religion = Christianity
| denomination = Catholicism
| institute = Legionaries of Christ
| profession = 2013 (final vows)
}}
}}
Anthony Joseph Freeman, L.C. (July 23, 1988 – April 2, 2018) was an American Legion of Christ religious brother. He is noted for his spiritual book, One Step Closer: 40 Doses of Motivation, Hacks, and Experiences to Share with Millennial Catholics, which became widely read in some circles of the Catholic Church.{{cite web|url=https://branthonyfreeman.com/one-step-closer-book/|title=Br. Anthony Freeman, LC - Catholic Life Coach|website=branthonyfreeman.com|access-date=25 January 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38469652-one-step-closer|title=One Step Closer: 40 Doses of Motivation, Hacks, and Experiences to Share with Millennial Catholics|website=Goodreads|access-date=25 January 2021}}
Biography
Anthony Freeman was born on July 23, 1988, in Houma, Louisiana, to Brian and Debbie Freeman (née Lirette). His parents were devout Catholics who were active in church activities. He spent his childhood years studying at the East Thibodaux Middle School where he graduated in 2002. From 2002 to 2005, he became a student in the Legionary Minor Seminaries in Center Harbor, New Hampshire, and in Colfax, California. He was known to be a diligent and cheerful boy to his professors.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYH2lulhYq8|title=Remembering Br. Anthony Freeman: He had a long-term vision of what he wanted to do for Jesus|website=Catholic News World|date=3 April 2018|access-date=25 January 2021}}
After a series of vocation discernment, he entered the Novitiate of the Legionaries of Christ in Cheshire, Connecticut, on 2005, and made his first profession of vows on September 2, 2007. During his apostolic internship, he collaborated with the congregation's vocation promotion and institutional development efforts. He studied one year of liberal arts in Salamanca, Spain and completed his bachelor's degree in philosophy in Thornwood, New York. He obtained a licentiate degree in philosophy and a degree in theology from the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome. On August 10, 2013, he made his final profession of vows and on February 26, 2017, received the ministry of acolytes.
On April 2, 2018, his fellow confreres found him dead in his room. Mayo Clinic declared, after conducting an autopsy, that the cause of his death was due to a dilated cardiomyopathy.{{cite web|url=https://aleteia.org/2018/04/06/autopsy-results-in-for-us-seminarian-who-died-after-serving-popes-easter-mass/|title=Autopsy results in for US seminarian who died after serving pope's Easter Mass|website=Aleteia|date=6 April 2018|author=Kathleen Hattrup|access-date=25 January 2021}}{{cite web|url=http://www.italianinsider.it/?q=node/6600|website=Italian Insider|title=American seminarian found dead in his room|date=4 April 2018|access-date=25 January 2021}} On the day he died, he had just finished an eight-day silent retreat in his community and had served the Easter Sunday Mass presided by Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square.{{cite web|url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/people/us-seminarian-who-carried-cross-popes-easter-mass-dies-rome|title=U.S. seminarian who carried cross at pope's Easter Mass dies in Rome|website=National Catholic Reporter|author=Carol Glatz|date=4 April 2018|access-date=25 January 2021}} Friends and colleagues are now putting up an effort to have him considered for beatification.
''One Step Closer''
On January 23, 2018, Freeman published what would be his first and last book, One Step Closer: 40 Doses of Motivation, Hacks, and Experiences to Share with Millennial Catholics. Before he published his book, he first started doing motivational talks on his Instagram account purposely for millennial Catholics facing contemporary issues and spiritual problems.{{cite web|url=https://www.romereports.com/en/2018/03/31/seminarian-transforms-instagram-account-into-motivational-book/|title=Seminarian transforms Instagram account into motivational book|website=Rome Reports|date=31 March 2018|access-date=25 January 2021}} Seeing the increasing number of followers on his account, he decided then to turn his motivational talks into writing. The moment it got published, it was widely acclaimed by people within the Catholic Church.
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://legionariesofchrist.org/mass-eternal-repose-brother-anthony-freeman-l-c/anthonyfreeman-mass/ Legionaries of Christ]
- [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/188895558/anthony-j-freeman Br. Anthony Freeman (1988-2018)] at Find a Grave.
{{Subject bar |portal1= Biography |portal2= Catholicism |portal3= United States}}
{{Regnum Christi}}
{{American sainthood}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Anthony}}
Category:Legionaries of Christ
Category:People from Houma, Louisiana
Category:Catholics from Louisiana
Category:Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum alumni
Category:American motivational writers
Category:American Roman Catholic writers
Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers
Category:21st-century venerated Christians
Category:Deaths from cardiomyopathy
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