Mattei Ion Radu, '99, Passes Away
Letter from Fr. Shea
Monday, 10 May 2010
Dear Members of the Devon Prep Family,
With great sadness I regret to inform you that Dr. Radu's beloved eldest son, Mattei Radu, died Friday morning, May 7th, in New York due to a sudden fatal asthma attack. Mattei was a 1999 graduate of Devon Preparatory School.
Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated this Wednesday, 12 May at 11:30 AM at the family's parish church, Saint Katharine of Siena Church, located at Lancaster and Aberdeen Avenues in Wayne, Pennsylvania.
All of the members of the Devon Prep Family are invited to the Mass on Wednesday morning, but the burial following the Mass will be private for the immediate family, and Dr. Radu and his family hope that friends understand and respect this request.
Dr. Radu and his family are very grateful for the overwhelming outpouring of comforting wishes they have received by calls and emails. They request that condolences from now on be sent only by email to , or by mail to 202 Upper Gulph Road, Radnor, PA 19087.
In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Mattei may be sent to Pro-Life Union, 88 Pennsylvania Avenue, Oreland, PA 19075. 215-885-8150. www.prolifeunion.org.
Please keep Mattei and all of the members of the Radu family in your prayers.
Fraternally,
Rev. James J. Shea, Sch.P.
Headmaster
About Mattei Ion Radu
Mattei Ion Radu, son, brother, scholar and friend, died on May 7, of natural causes. Mattei taught as an adjunct professor of history and jurisprudence at Villanova University from 2007 to 2009, leaving to attend New York University School of Law, where he would have earned a Master of Laws degree this month. He received his J.D. degree from Villanova School of Law in 2006, spending the second semester of his third law school year at the University of Pennsylvania as part of that school's visiting students program. He received his bachelors degree from Villanova University, as well as a masters degree from the London School of Economics. Mattei was a devoted student of history, international relations and law, with numerous publications and presentations to his credit on topics ranging from the Soviet Union and the Cold War to post-WWII German constitutional law. Mattei published articles in the Villanova Law Review, the Southern University Law Review, the Campbell Law Review, and the University of St. Thomas Journal of Law & Public Policy, and has an article appearing in the October 2010 issue of the DePaul Law Review. He served as a graduate editor for the New York University Journal of Law & Business and associate editor for the Villanova Sports & Entertainment Law Journal. Mattei presented scholarly papers on legal themes at conferences sponsored by University Faculty for Life and the Vietnam Center and Archive at Texas Tech University.
Mattei became actively involved in the pro-life movement while a student at Devon Preparatory School, from which he graduated in 1999, and devoted much effort and thought to the promotion of a culture of life. He served in a number of posts in the movement, including president of American Collegians for Life, staff supervisor for Generation Life – Philadelphia, and president of Villanovans for Life. In March of this year he presented a paper on personhood at the International Youth Pro-Life Conference in Glasgow, Scotland. Mattei's other great interest was travel, with journeys throughout Eastern and Western Europe, Russia, Iceland, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
Mattei is survived by his parents, Donna and Valentin, brothers Luc and Andrei, grandparents Donald and Madeleine Collins, and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. A Funeral Mass for Mattei will be celebrated Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 11:30 AM at the Church of Saint Katharine of Siena, 104 S. Aberdeen Avenue, Wayne, PA (Phone: 610-688-4584). A private interment will follow. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to the Pro-Life Union, 88 Pennsylvania Avenue, Oreland, PA 19075, 215-885-8150, www.prolifeunion.org.