Formation Team for Province of our Lady of Guadalupe
Solemn Profession in August 1975
Ordination to priesthood in May 1976
MDiv in Theology from the Washington Theological Union
Masters in Economy from American University in Washington DC

After I finished my MDiv in 1975, I was solemnly professed and ordained a deacon, and moved to Brazil to minister in our provincial mission in the state of Goias. I worked there for ten years (1975-85), mostly in education and formation (the training of future Franciscans).

When I arrived back to the US in 1985, I enrolled in a PhD program for Economics at American University, and lived at Holy Name College in Silver Spring, MD, for many years. While there, besides studies, I also became very involved in Brazil issues. After completing all the other requirements for my PhD, I chose a much too ambitious project for my dissertation, and ended up with a Masters in Economics.

I was invited to become more involved in formation work, and spent three years in the Bronx, NY, as director of the postulant program (’96-’97); I was then invited to be director of our post-novitiate program in Silver Spring, MD (’99-’05). During these years I continued to be very involved in JPIC activities for our province, and as I was getting set to finish my time in Silver Spring, I was invited by the Order to become Director of JPIC for the global Order. I accepted and moved to Rome in May, 2005. I filled that role for ten years, and became acquainted with our OFM presence throughout the world.

When I finished the job in Rome, I was invited to get involved again in formation at the post-novitiate level. I lived in Silver Spring for one year, and then moved the program for Holy Name Province to Chicago, where we became part of the inter-provincial program. I lived in Chicago for six years, and as the individual provinces became the Province of our Lady of Guadalupe, I was invited to continue in post-novitiate formation, first for a year in San Diego, and then for this year in San Antonio.

While I was doing the last seven years in formation, I was named in 2016 to the Board of Franciscans International (the NGO of the Franciscan Family at the United Nations) as the rep for the OFMs. I served for seven years, and for the last six I was Board President.

When I moved to San Diego in 2023, I was asked to consider serving on the Board of Saint Francis Center in Los Angeles, an invitation I was happy to accept. My move to San Antonio this year has made my participation in the Center a bit more challenging, but the possibility of using Zoom has helped me to meet this challenge. Work at the Center is very Franciscan in nature, and it is a joy and privilege to be part of the Board.