Bio

Where are you from?
I grew up in Brooklyn.

How many places have you lived? Where are/were they?
I have lived in ten places:
Brooklyn
Ohio
Massachusetts
D.C.
South Carolina
Virginia
West Virginia
California
North Carolina
Texas (currently)

How big is your family?
I have a brother and sister.

Are you a convert or “cradle” Catholic?
Cradle Catholic.

Why have you stayed Catholic?
The liturgical life, the community of believers and the tradition of the Church’s teaching and social outreach are reasons I stay.

Who was your childhood hero?
Baseball players, a couple of uncles and my father.

When growing up, what were some of your favorite activities?
I played neighborhood games with my friends; swimming in the ocean; Sunday family gatherings.

What did you do prior to entering the Order? What made you choose that path?
I was in college.  I wanted to teach Literature and also be a priest.

What is your favorite music? Band? Or another form of entertainment?
Classical music, and Jazz, Swing music from post WW2; Blue Grass violin.

What is your favorite form of literature? Your favorite book? Why?
I love poetry and the great American and British novelists.  I would choose the Bible because it enriches me and is the source of my preaching.

What do you do for fun? What is your favorite pastime?
I read, listen to music, swim, watch British TV, cook, and visit with friends.

What’s the funniest moment of your life? The most embarrassing?
I avoided joining the Paulists because I didn’t want to preach, so I joined the Dominicans.

If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I would like to return to Italy with time to live there and travel around.

What is the one thing that annoys you the most?
I am annoyed by people who are tight and afraid to step outside the box, afraid to risk the unknown.

Vocation Story

How old were you when you first thought/felt you might be called to the priesthood?
I was a junior in college.

Did someone else in your life also see that you might be called? Did someone in your life inspire you?
No one I knew ever suggested it. I came from a church-going family, but vocations were not discussed. I was inspired by a Dominican friar who taught Theology at St. John’s U, where I was a student,

What finally made you actively discern?
I spoke to the friar after class, he invited me to visit the Jersey City priory where he lived. Then he gave me the vocation director’s information and I followed up. Not sure what the final impetus was, perhaps just the accumulation of thought and reflection during my junior year.

What drew you to the Dominicans?…to the Southern Province?
I was attracted to the academic emphasis of the Order. We didn’t form the Southern Province till years later. This all took place in the Eastern Province,

Was there an “aha” moment in your discernment? If so, how far along were you in discernment when you experienced it?
I wanted to teach Literature and realized I could do that as a Dominican at Providence College. No great breakthrough on this.

What was the hardest thing you gave up when joining the Order?
Leaving family behind and the familiar environment of my childhood, plus the realization I would not have a family of my own.

Was there ever a time in discernment when you doubted God’s presence, power, or even existence?
I don’t remember such a time. I just found the life very arduous/monastic and felt my endurance tested frequently.

Looking back, what has been the greatest joy?…the greatest challenge?…the greatest disappointment?
The greatest joy was the companionship of others trying to live the same way. I came to love the expansive life of the Dominicans, that it includes not just the friars but the sisters and laity.  I experienced wonderful support from my Dominican sister friends and colleagues.  I also came to love the families of my brothers and their inclusion of me in their family settings.  The greatest challenges came during the Second Vatican Council when I experienced the reluctance and resistance of senior men to the changes.  I am disappointed the spirit of renewal that accompanied Vatican 2 seems to have dissipated and we have slipped back into the routine and formality.

How do the people you’ve known since before you were a friar (e.g., family and old friends) relate to you now? How would they describe you, then and now?
I feel connected to family and friends that were part of my life before. I am pleased that I am not treated differently because I am a priest. I appreciate being part of their lives still and I feel very supported by them.

What is your dream ministry?
Preaching—-need you ask?