Provincial Councilor Fr. Sam Nasada, OFM, 47, passes away in Chicago

It is with great sadness that we share that Provincial Councilor Fr. Samuel Nasada, OFM, 47, died Sept. 6, 2025, in Chicago. He will be remembered for his dedication to serving immigrants and the poor.  

A Vigil Service will be offered on Thursday, Sept. 18 at Mission San Luis Rey Parish Church, 4070 Mission Ave., Oceanside, CA 92057. The Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 19 at Mission San Luis Rey Parish Church, followed by interment at the Friars Memorial on the grounds of Mission San Luis Rey.  

Fr. Sam was born on March 29, 1978, in Jakarta, Indonesia, where he graduated from Canisius Prep High School. He came to the United States in 1997 to pursue a bachelor’s degree (Oklahoma State University, Stillwater) and master’s degree (Georgia Tech, Atlanta) in industrial engineering. While working in the manufacturing industry in Los Angeles, he joined an Indonesian Catholic young adult group that he later credited with nurturing his vocation. An interest in music led him to meet a Franciscan musician, who encouraged him to become a Franciscan friar.  

Fr. Sam was received into the Order of Friars Minor on July 2, 2010, and professed his first vows as a Franciscan on June 24, 2011. He made his solemn profession on Aug. 20, 2016, and earned his Master of Divinity degree from the Franciscan School of Theology in 2017.  

In response to rising anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States, he helped establish a new Franciscan community in Elfrida, Arizona, close to the U.S.-Mexico border. There he ministered to migrants seeking a better life and provided life-giving supplies to people crossing the desert. His experience serving migrants had a deep impact on his formation as a Franciscan friar.   

From 2018 to 2020, he served at the Franciscan Renewal Center (“the Casa”) in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he was ordained to the priesthood on Dec. 3, 2019. He supported the Casa’s Faith in Action Ministries and walked the Migrant Trail, a 75-mile journey along the U.S.-Mexico border, multiple times to raise awareness for the plight of migrants and oppose inhumane border policies.  

In July 2020, he became associate pastor of the multicultural Mission San Luis Rey Parish in Oceanside, California. He served there until he moved to San Francisco in 2023 to minister at St. Boniface Parish.  

In October 2023, five legacy provinces belonging to the Order of Friars Minor came together to form the new Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Fr. Sam was appointed to serve on the new province’s first Provincial Council and played a key role in ushering in a new Franciscan presence in the United States.   

He traveled extensively to be present to brothers from Alaska to Puerto Rico. As part of the Provincial Council, he supported the Franciscan Provincial Synod, a yearlong process that culminated in the charting of a collective path for the new province as it seeks to serve the poor and marginalized in the 21st century. Among other initiatives, he supported the development of the province’s Office of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation.  

Fr. Sam is survived by his parents, Melany Untoro and Anton Himawan, his brother, Kristoforus Himawan, and extended family in Jakarta and the United States.