Fr. Mark David Skura, OFM Conv.

Fr. Mark David Skura, OFM Conv., a Conventual Franciscan friar who spent decades as a teacher and theater director at St. Francis High School, died on November 9, 2026, at the age of 73. News of his death was shared through notices describing him as a longtime fixture of the school community, remembered above all for the classroom and the stage.

As a member of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, the branch of the Franciscan family that traces its roots to the followers of St. Francis of Assisi who chose to hold property in common for the good of their ministries, Fr. Skura combined a vowed religious life with a career in Catholic secondary education. He was known within the St. Francis High School community as a teacher and as the director of its theater program, a role that placed him at the center of student productions for many years and made him a familiar, well-liked presence to generations of students and their families.

Why his death resonates with so many comes down to the ordinary, durable kind of impact a dedicated school teacher and director has: the students he coached through stage fright, the plays he brought to life with modest school budgets, and the steady presence of a priest who was also, for many young people, their first experience of a Franciscan friar. Tributes shared in the first hours after his death described him simply as a longtime teacher and theater director, language that reflects how closely his identity was tied to the school rather than to public acclaim or wider fame.

At the time of this writing, detailed biographical information about Fr. Skura, including his place of birth, the date he entered religious life, his ordination, and the full arc of his teaching career, has not been made public in verifiable reporting. The cause of his death has also not been publicly confirmed. This page will be updated as the Conventual Franciscan province and St. Francis High School release further details, including funeral and memorial arrangements.

For now, what is clear is that a man who gave his working life to Franciscan education and to the theater program of one school has died at 73, leaving behind students, colleagues, and fellow friars who are only beginning to share their memories of him.