Frank Aresta used to get phone calls and letters from all over the country - at all hours of the day - from people seeking his prayers and help.

The appreciation people felt shows in the stack of nearly 50 letters that arrived from people all over the country before Aresta died Monday. They were offering their prayers and help.

"Everyone loved Frank, they really did . . . even though he was 1,000 miles away," said Father Paul A. Grizzelle-Reid, religious superior of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, which has its monastery in Hales Corners.

Aresta, who was 62, was the spiritual director of the order's development office, but people got to know him through the many other roles he played over the years. He was a scholar and a fund-raiser, not to mention a comic relief, friend and confidant, Grizzelle-Reid said.

Raised in Provincetown, Mass., Aresta led a religious life from early on. His high school years were spent in a Franciscan minor seminary. He came to the Sacred Heart Monastery immediately after professing vows in 1965.

Aresta went on to spend several years as a missionary in Lesotho, Africa, when he began to feel a call to the priesthood. At age 40, he returned to Hales Corners to study at the Sacred Heart School of Theology. He was ordained in 1981.

Although he went back to Africa for several years to keep ministering, Aresta used to say Wisconsin always felt like home. He eventually returned permanently back to Hales Corners, where he served in administration at Sacred Heart School of Theology, as provincial secretary and as mission secretary for his order, as well as a chaplain to area hospitals.

Those who knew Aresta said he juggled the many roles admirably - and managed to make an impact outside religious circles at the same time. He had served as a volunteer firefighter and paramedic. He had a degree in culinary arts, too, Grizzelle-Reid said.

With all his experiences and travels, Aresta became an important friend to many people around the world. They will miss him after his death but know not to be too sad, said Grizzelle-Reid.

"I have no doubt in my heart he's in heaven, praying for all of us," he said.

Aresta is survived by his two sisters, Greta Wheler of Tennessee and Mary Ann Souza of Massachusetts; several nieces and nephews; and the priests and brothers of Sacred Heart Monastery.

The funeral Mass was held Saturday at the monastery.