 On August 29, 2009, four members of the Little Brothers of St. Francis were invited by Cardinal Seán Patrick O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston, to serve as acolytes at the Funeral Mass of Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy.The Mass was held at the Basilica and Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, the parish to which the Little Brothers of St. Francis' belonged and where they attended daily Mass.In 2012, due to declining health, Brother James became a resident of the Don Orione Nursing Home in East Boston.