Vincent Cacace

Vinnie embraced positivity in everything he did and everyone he met. He was known for his sharp mind and determination. He finished what he started. He was great with people, always a gleam in his eye, quick to smile and a lively story teller. A loving husband and father who was always “FANTASTIC!”

Son of Italian immigrants. His father, Antonio, was from Gaeta; his mother, Maria, was from Foggia. Brother of Maryanna (deceased), Pasquale, Salvatore and Olga.

Vinnie was married for 72 years to his sweetheart, Theresa Richard, who lived across the street from him when he was 8 and she was 4. They had 4 children; Rick, Vincent (well-known local artist), Don and Cindy MacDonald. He had 7 grand-children, 5 great-grand-children and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

A WWII Air Corps veteran…Graduated from Boston University… Associated with the Schlitz Brewery all his work life. In 1950, his first job was display man for the Boston wholesaler. (In Vinnie’s early days, the National Sales Mgr. from Milwaukee came to Boston complaining about low sales.) In 1970, Vinnie’s last job was President, and General Manager. In 1975, Boston was the second largest volume Schlitz wholesaler in America with over 6 million cases sold.

Vinnie loved his Catholic faith. A member at St. Joan of Arc for 30 years.

Attended daily Mass for 40 years. He loved the K of C & Men’s Ministries.

One Christmas, Vinnie created an eight-pager. The K of C distributed 3000 copies free at all Masses. Another time, Vinnie created an audio tape called, Our Catholic Roots. The K of C made a free give-away at all weekend Masses.

He wrote 3 books on the history of the Church, connecting the dots between Adam and the Catholic Church today. The most popular was written over 20 years ago. “Loitering with Intent: My Adventures in Catholic Evangelization.” 2500 were sold, or given away. At least 25 people bought multiple copies of five or more. The book is still circulating in the used book department at Amazon as loitering with intent cacace. Editor wrote that out of 120 books on evangelization, Vinnie’s was the most popular.

Initially, one lover of the book, whom Vinnie did not know, called him and said he loved the book and offered him 1 to 4 hours of free radio time on 2 radio stations, in which Vinnie could do anything he wanted with the book. A close coffee friend, Jack Herron, suggested he take 4 hours, and each hour be one of the 4 marks of the Church: One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. Jack said he and Vinnie could work on it together. They did. Vinnie narrated. The donor loved them, and kept repeating them many times.

Vinnie introduced the pope chart into America. It is a poster, with all 264 successors to Peter. Excited when he first saw it in Rome, he wanted every Catholic in America to see it. He received permission from the Bishop to personally visit all 51 churches in the diocese and give the pastor a free one. Half the pastors had them framed for parishioners. The Florida Catholic did a page 3 story with Vinnie holding a framed pope chart. The Catholic national media made the story available to all Catholic media in America. Great reaction. Vinnie put together a Pope Chart Company with his 4 children. They sold over 30,000 covering every state.

He did prison ministry for 20 years at the County Jail. He was disappointed when a prisoner was ripe for discharge, but had no money, no job, and no place to stay. Vinnie helped create a Fresh Start program at St. Joan of Arc for qualified candidates from the county Jail. For 30 days, it provided a place to stay with food. The program provided a mentor who would help him get a job, and help him stay on the right track.

Vinnie retired at 58 and became interested in the background of his family. He decided to write A Letter to my Descendants, which became a 500 page hard-cover book with 168 photos and genealogy charts. It contained any info of before he was born, then, it became a chronological history of family stories during the 20th century. The book weighs 5 pounds. He made 40 copies which he distributed to family. The last chapter of the book is entitled The Final Chapter . . . The Best is yet to Come. This is a 36 pager that he hoped would evangelize descendants long after he is gone.