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For 800 years followers of Saint Francis of Assisi have been rebuilding the Church. The Capuchin Franciscans are priests and brothers who serve Christ in the spirit of Saint Francis. Men between the ages of 16 and 40 are invited to visit a Capuchin friary. Visits to Capuchin friaries in Pennsylvania, Washington, DC and Ohio are held regularly throughout the year in Spanish and/or English. For more information call 1 888 263 6227, email
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or visit the Capuchin Franciscans at www.capuchin.com
Friar Frank Yacobi
OFM Cap. Pastor
Fr. Frank Yacobi has served as our pastor at St. John the Evangelist for the past six years. With Fr. Frank's shepherding, St. John's parish community has grown to 826 households. During this time, the community surrounding St. John's has also changed dramatically. In partnership with Bethesda Project and Project H.O.M.E., St. John's played an important role in developing the Connelly House project, an affordable, LEED-certified 8 story building that will house 79 formerly homeless individuals. In addition to Connelly House, Ludlow Street, just to the left of St. John's, has been transformed with the addition of plaques honoring four fallen firefighters and an inviting mural sponsored by the Philadelphia Mural Arts project. As our pastor, Fr. Frank's leadership and prayerful presence has truly transformed our community in so many ways
Fr.
Frank was born in South Bend, Indiana just two weeks before his father graduated from Notre Dame University. "I was my father's graduation present," he jokes. The oldest of eight children, he first felt called to the priesthood as an adolescent. Going into high school, his plan was to "play football and enter the seminary." He did play football for four years, but by the time he graduated from high school his plans to enter the seminary had been sidelined.
Fr. Frank attended college at Northern Illinois University where he majored in Fine Arts and later Marketing and Personnel Management. He entered a management training program with Sears, but was soon drafted by the US Army where he served as a Personnel Management Specialist at Fort Hood in Texas. After he completed his service and a year in the Reserves, he began a career managing restaurants and clubs across the East Coast. He participated in a management training program and received "a great education for business," but "something was missing."
At 32 years old, Fr. Frank found himself preferring more and more to unwind after a hard day's work in the peace of a silent church instead of over beers at happy hour. He explained, "
;I'd been nominally Catholic for years, probably eight or more in college, the Army, the business world. One day, I wandered into a quiet church. I started with prayer, which is always a good place to start even if you don't know what you're praying about or who you are praying to." Through prayer, Fr. Frank re-discovered his vocation to the priesthood.
Fr. Frank entered the Capuchins in 1982. He professed vows as a Capuchin in 1985 and is celebrating his 25th anniversary this year. His first assignment was in Papua New Guinea, where he shared in the common missionary experiences of malaria and being held up on the road by his own parishioners! Here in Philadelphia, Fr. Frank doesn't worry about that problem, but he jokes that he does sometimes wish he'd see a bit more in the weekly donations.
After his time in Papua New Guinea, Fr. Frank served in Washington, D.C. were he assisted with the formation of many of the wonderful men who have served our parish community, including Fr. Paul Dressler, Fr. Matthew Palkowski, and Bro. Kip Ledger. During that time, Fr. Frank also earned his license in canon law.
While at St. John's, Fr. Frank has particularly enjoyed "the variety and diversity of the community" which he serves. He explains that in some ways St. John's functions as an "oasis in the middle of all the chaos" that is downtown Philadelphia. If you haven't met Fr. Frank personally yet, stop to talk with him one day after mass. He's an avid reader and is always willing to recommend the last great book he read. He recently finished LIT by Mary Karr, an adult conversion story. If you ever want to take him out to lunch, Fr. Frank enjoys McGillin's Olde Ale House, the local pub owned by our very own parishioners. No matter what, take some time to get to know this great priest who our community has been blessed to have at our service for the past six years.
Friar James Gavin
OFM Cap. Pastoral Associate
With the exception of our Pastor, Fr. Frank, Brother James is probably the best known friar in the parish. He is at every Sunday Mass, greeting people as they come in, recruiting ushers as necessary and arranging for people to present the gifts at the Offertory of the Mass. He regularly leads people through the sanctuary to the rest room facilities located in the friary and is often seen photographing visitors so that they may have a souvenir of their visit to St. John's. During the week, his duties are expanded as he then becomes a member of the security team, helping to ensure that our church is always a safe and welcoming haven for visitors and parishioners. With his unmistakable Irish brogue, his ready smile and his never ending graciousness, Brother James is truly our "Ambassador to the World". But read further to learn, in the words of Paul Harvey," the rest of the story".
Brother James was born in County Monaghan, located in the northern part of the Irish Republic, to a hard working, but poor Catholic family. He attended the National School from 1938 - 1946. After graduation, he worked on farms and then worked in a furniture factory from 1949-1953 until the building burned down. Brother James worked at other factories until there were strikes and he was let go. The chemicals used at the factories made him very sick and he suffered from pleurisy, pneumonia and ulcers. In 1954, he was hired at a dairy farm in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland and even though he had to sleep in a shack, his health improved substantially. All this time, he had to live with the prevailing sentiment of "Ask no questions - get no lies". In March, 1956, he received a "get out of town" letter which was part of the anti-Catholic attitude in Northern Ireland.
Shortly after receiving this threatening message, he sailed from Belfast to Liverpool, England. He was able to say in a friend's flat in Birmingham and got a job in a tool factory. He attended St. Francis Church in Handsworth District, Birmingham, and prayed the Rosary there every evening after work. Brother James believes that this was the beginning of his Franciscan vocation. In June 1957, feeling this was the time to make a change in his life, he obtained an immigration visa from the Canadian consulate in Liverpool to travel to Canada. Before his departure, however he went back to St. Francis Church where he went to confession, attended Mass and received Communion. He then boarded an airplane for his first transatlantic flight, expecting to land in Canada. Because of engine trouble, however, the plane landed in New York where his cousin met him at the airport. He took a later flight to Canada and, shortly after his arrival, was hired by the Canadian National Railroad.
While working for the railroad, he met Raymond Cadwallader, a professor from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, who recognized his Irish accent. The professor wrote to Brother James a week later asking him if he thought he had a religious vocation. Brother James left Canada and spent some time in Buffalo, NY. In November 1958 he went by bus from Buffalo to Pittsburgh where he stayed with the professor. From Pittsburgh he went to New York City where he painted houses in Staten Island and later worked for Bloomingdales in Manhattan. He later went back to Pittsburgh where he held three jobs and volunteered at the VA Hospital. He joined the Third Order of St. Francis, (now known as the Secular Franciscan Order) where he met Capuchin Fathers Ralph Zehe, Urban Stephen Adleman and Angelus Shaughnessy. These priests were the spark that lit the fire of his vocation. Although Brother James had had many jobs on two continents, he was never really happy with any of them. The Capuchin way of life seemed perfect for him.
In 1963, when he was 31, Brother James interviewed with the Capuchin Vocation Director and was accepted, first as a candidate for six months and then as a postulant in the Order. He learned maintenance, cooking and sandal making. He also took classes in Franciscan spirituality and prayer life and was a classmate of Cardinal Sean O'Malley, OFM Cap., Archbishop of Boston and Archbishop Charles Chaput, OFM Cap., Archbishop of Denver. He recalls that Archbishop Charles gave him the nickname of "Pastor James".
His future assignments included serving as cook at St. Mary's Monastery in Herman, PA for three years; Assistant Director of Food Service at the General Chapter in Rome, where he also gave several tours of St. Peter's Basilica; Porter at St. Augustine's Friary in Pittsburgh for nearly three years; member of the Novitiate staff in Annapolis; parish work in Rochester for seven years where he was selected as "Man of the Year" by the local K of C Council; caring for sick Friars in Pittsburgh and also spending time at the House of Prayer in Alvernia; pastoral work for two years in West Virginia; Facilities Engineer at Capuchin College in Washington, D.C. and six years of parish work in Baltimore. He then asked for a sabbatical and went to Ireland and England where he prayed, read and visited with family and friends.
In 1991, Brother James joined Fr. Gregory, Fr. Roman, Fr. Anselm and Fr. Tom at St. John's in Philadelphia. And now you know "the rest of the story".
Friar Senan Glass
OFM Cap. Parochial Vicar
Fr. Senan was born on February 27, 1930 in Uniontown, PA. Coincidentally, he was baptized in Uniontown's St. John the Evangelist Church. He attended St. Fidelis High School and in 1954 received his is BA in Philosophy from St. Fidelis College, Herman, PA. This was the same college from which Fr. Tom Betz graduated twenty-five years later. After graduation, Fr. Senan went to Capuchin College in Washington to study Theology. He was ordained on June 8, 1957.
As far back as he can remember, Father had always wanted to be a priest. He credits his first call to the priesthood to a Trinitarian sister, a good friend of his mother's, who laid his cheek against the door of the tabernacle because he was fussing over cutting a tooth when he was an infant. He was quiet for the rest of his mother's visit with her friend. He was very much interested in the Far East and considered joining the Maryknoll Fathers. In 1939 or 1940 there was a fire a St. Fidelis and the Capuchin Friars were asked to visit the neighboring parishes to ask for funds to rebuild the school. Father and his classmates were really taken with one of the friars, Fr. Arnold, because of his brown habit, sandals and down
to earth personality. That was Father's first contact with the friars, and the rest, as the saying goes, is history. He entered the Capuchin seminary after the eighth grade.
In those days, it was the custom of many religious congregations to have their novices select a name by which they would be known in religion. Father liked the name Servulus, meaning "servant of the servants" in memory of a recently deceased brother who had spent sixty years as a tailor for the Capuchins. Also under consideration was Anthony, which did not meet the approval of his mother. Paul, his father's name, was out because it was also Father's name. A priest at the novitiate suggested Senan, after a friar in Ireland who was a publisher of the Capuchin Annual. And so it was, Senan, easy to spell and short, but sometimes difficult to pronounce, became his new name.
During their Theology years, Father Senan and his classmates began thinking seriously about where they would be assigned. They all wanted to be missionaries which at that time meant going to Puerto Rico. Quietly, they were hoping they might go to Africa or South America, but that was not to be. Pope Pius XII asked the friars to establish missions in a new area of Papua New Guinea. Their first task was to find out exactly where the country was! Then Father found out that his three classmates were going to Puerto Rico and he alone was going to Papua New Guinea to join the friars who were already there.
During the twenty-five years he was in that country, Father served in five mission stations, each more primitive than the one before it. There was no running water, no electricity, no modern transportation and the thatched huts they lived in featured sugar cane floors which attracted all kinds of creepy crawlies at night. The one constant was the people who were very interested in everything that Father did and were helpful in teaching him the local dialect which was different at each station. Conditions had substantially improved by the time Father left in 1982 and many friars now consider their time in Papua New Guinea as one of the highpoints in their ministry. Father views his time in the missions as an adventuresome and grace-filled experience as he brought the good news of the Gospel to a kind and gentle people.
Upon returning to the States, he served parishes in Pittsburgh, PA and in both Dover and Cleveland, Ohio. In 2000, he decided that he was ready to retire. Fortunately for St. John's, it was a decision with which the provincial did not agree. Asked to look around for a place where he would like to go, Father covered for a vacationing priest in Charleston, West Virginia and served as assistant pastor of a parish in Cumberland, Maryland where the pastor had died. Finally, in 2001, with more baggage in tow than he ever brought with him to the missions, Father arrived in Philadelphia.
Father Senan has still not retired. He celebrates Mass every day, hears confessions on a regular basis and is the spiritual moderator for the Secular Franciscans at St. John's and in Glenside.
Friar Matthew Palkowski
OFM Cap. Parochial Vicar
Fr. Matthew was born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit. He graduated in 1982 from Michigan State with a degree in Finance. Feeling called to the priesthood, he entered the Marist Community in 1983 but left after five years because he was not certain that their mission and charism was a good fit for him.
He finished his degree in Sacred Theology at Catholic University of America in Washington and studied with our Pastor, Fr. Frank, who was also enrolled at CUA. Fr. Matthew afterwards enrolled in the Early Christian Studies program.
While in Washington, he accepted a position at the Smithsonian Museum and was soon promoted to Branch Chief of Management Services. His responsibilities included the development of better management practices for the Division in which he worked. In this capacity, he oversaw the purchase of a new building monitoring system that allowed the staff to more easily track environmental conditions in the buildings and introduced the use of networked PC’s in all services of the Museum. He edited many of the communications from his department for accuracy and clarity, a move which put him light years ahead of his time. He also improved the computer skills of the craftsmen who worked in the division to more accurately reflect their talents and experience. This precluded reliance on outsourcing of repair and maintenance functions and made greater use of the skills of those who knew the building systems best.
During his 6th and final year at the Smithsonian, Father Matthew became a Capuchin postulant. He had met the Capuchins during his time with the Marists as their house in Washington was just across the street from that of the friars. The Franciscan spirituality immediately appealed to him and in 2005 he was ordained a priest. His first assignment was Sacred Heart Church in Washington where he had resided during his postulancy year. Three years later, Father came to St. John’s.
Father Matthew believes that with the changing neighborhood and the construction of Connelly House, St. John’s is really a parish in transition. He further believes that with the large number of visitors each week and the crowds on Ash Wednesday and Holy Days, St. John’s functions as a shrine and because of its location and beauty, the church is also a wedding chapel. Father is happy to be at St. John’s because of its many ministries and the parish is fortunate to be the beneficiary of his talent and experience.
Friar Anselm Martin
OFM Cap. Parochial Vicar
On January 1, 2010, Fr. Anselm will be 91 years old. While he is no longer able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, (it now takes him two or three tries), his mind and wit are as sharp as ever.
Father was ordained in 1945 and was assigned to parish work in St. Louis, MO. After he earned a Masters Degree in Education from St. Louis University, he was assigned to St. Joseph's Military Academy in Hays, KS.Father began his tenure at the school, which is now known as Thomas More Prep-Marian, as a teacher and later as an administrator. At one time, the Province extended from Pittsburgh to Denver, so it was not all that unusual for Capuchins from Pennsylvania to be assigned to duties in the Midwest. He remained in Kansas for 25 years before being transferred to Pittsburgh.
In Pittsburgh he served as superior of St. Augustine's Parish and as Chaplain at the VA Hospital. He also served two terms as a Definitor of the Province.
In 1991, Father Anselm was assigned to St. John's along with three other Friars, Fr. Gregory as pastor, Fr. Roman and Fr. Tom Betz. Brother James would join them a short time later. The friars were happy to come to Philadelphia because it was a new adventure as this was to be the first Capuchin house in the city. Father remembers arriving around 6pm and the first question they had was "Where do we park?" Some things never change! Msgr. Louis D'Addezio, the former pastor, remained in residence for a short time to acclimate the friars to their new parish and their new city.
Father Anselm was 71 when he arrived in Philadelphia. At an age when most people are giving serious thought to retirement, Father looked forward to his new assignment. How fortunate for us that he said "Yes" to the call!
Father still takes his turn at hearing confessions and regularly attends the 12:05 Mass during the week and the 10:30 Mass on Sundays.
Friar Mathew Mulangacherryial
OFM Cap.
Fr. Mathew, the youngest of eight children, was born in Kerala State, located in southern India. He first learned of the Capuchins through a priest in his parish and later from a Capuchin friar who was preaching a Mission at his church. Fr. M
athew entered the seminary when he was 15, a decision that was fully supported by his family. While now practically unheard of in the United States, minor seminaries for high school students are common in India. Fr. Mathew was quick to point out, however, that older applicants are also very welcome. Father is not the only family member to join the religious life, one of his four sisters is a nun.
Father was ordained in 2001 and has served as a Mission Retreat Director for three years, a Vocation Director for three years and taught Capuchin postulants for two years before coming to this country in 2008. He is currently enrolled in the Masters Degree Program in Pastoral Counseling at Neumann University and looks forward to serving as a family and marital counselor upon his return to India. He selected Neumann because the University is focused on the Franciscan tradition.
Fr. Mathew resides with ten Capuchin postulants at Padre Pio Friary, 63rd and Callowhill Streets, Philadelphia. While not living at St. John's, Father is important in the life of the parish because he celebrates daily Mass, hears confessions and ministers to the patients at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.
Friar Piotr Kwiatek (in residence)
OFM Cap.
Fr. Piotr, one of five children, was born in Gdansk, Poland. Three words, simplicity, community and poverty describe why he was attracted to the Capuchin Order. The joyful attitude that permeates a Franciscan vocation was the final proof that this was the life to which he was being called. Father Piotr studied Theology in Cracow and was ordained in 2000. He served as Director of Capuchin Postulants for four years and studied psychology in Rome for five years. His studies in Rome took place at the International College Capucini and the Pontifical University Salesianum.
Fr. Piotr came to Philadelphia in July 2009 to enter a three year program at the Gestalt Therapy Institute of Philadelphia. He also hopes to complete his doctoral dissertation while he is here and to take courses in Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. Upon returning to Poland he looks forward to teaching in a seminary and assisting in priestly formation. Fr. Piotr feels that Philadelphia was a perfect choice for him, not only for the educational opportunities, but also because of the strong Capuchin presence. He finds Center City very exciting and the people he meets very welcoming and kind. He is really beginning to feel at home.
In addition to his studies, Father celebrates daily Mass, hears confessions and ministers to patients at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.
Friar Tom Betz (in residence)
OFM Cap., coordinator for Chinese Apostolate
Fr. Tom, a native of Western Pennsylvania, graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Psychology
from St. Fidelis College in 1979. Four years later he graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Pittsburgh with a Juris Doctor degree. He practiced law in Pittsburgh, specializing in litigation, until 1986 when he began studies for the priesthood. He received a Masters Degree in Theology from the Catholic University of America in 1990 and was ordained a priest in 1991.
Father Tom came to St. John’s as parochial vicar in 1991 and served in that position until 1995. Also in 1991 he was appointed Coordinator of the Chinese Apostolate for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia which included responsibility for Holy Redeemer Chinese Catholic Church and School, a position he currently holds. Because Holy Redeemer is a mission of St. John’s, our pastor, Fr. Frank, is also the pastor of Holy Redeemer. Fr. Tom, however, oversees the day to day operations of the parish and school. In addition to residing at St. John’s, he continues to participate in the ministry of St. John’s by celebrating or concelebrating the 7:45 am Mass most weekdays.
Under his leadership, the school has increased from 160 students to 290 students.In addition, the parish has built a new classroom and community center and renovated the former convent into a medical clinic to serve uninsured Asian immigrants. Fr. Tom has also served for 17 years on the Board of the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation and was actively engaged in the building of 75 units of housing for Chinatown. He is currently Chairman of the Board.
From 1995 – 2003, Fr. Tom served as Director of the Office for Pastoral Care for Migrants and Refugees for the Archdiocese, supervising all of the pastoral work of the Catholic Church among immigrants.This work included legal assistance and advocacy as well as significant work organizing immigrant communities.
Since 2003, Fr. Tom has been the Vocation Director for the Capuchin Province of St. Augustine. During this time, the number of young men in various stages of formation for the priesthood and brotherhood has increased from 10 to 46 and the Padre Pio Friary was established in West Philadelphia as a residence for postulants. Currently there are 10 postulants living in the Friary and they serve each year as greeters to the thousands of people who come to St. John’s on Ash Wednesday.
Fr. Tom is also a Definitor of the St. Augustine Province. In this capacity he serves with three other friars in advising the Provincial in the administration of the Province. With 116 current Friars and thanks in part of Father’s work as Vocation Director, more men seeking admission each year, the responsibilities of a Definitor continue to expand. It is good that he has a supply of quiet energy that seems inexhaustible.
Fortunately Fr. Tom’s work has not gone unnoticed. In 1991 he received the Distinguished Service Award from the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Volunteer Program for the Indigent. In 2001 he received the Distinguished Service Award for Ethnic Ministry from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. In 2003 Fr. Tom received the Benemerenti Medal and in 2009, the St. Thomas More Award from the Philadelphia Bar Association.
Friar Ben Regotti (in residence)
OFM Cap. Chaplain, Federal Prison
Fr. Ben was born in 1951 and attended St. Coleman's School in Turtle Creek, PA., a suburb of Pittsburgh. After graduating from the eighth grade, he entered St. Fidelis High School and Seminary. His decision to attend St. Fidelis was influenced by two diocesan priests who had been educated by the Capuchins and who promoted the Capuchin seminary. The priests found that a good source of vocations was the altar boys at their parish of St. Bernadette.
Fr. Ben felt very much at home with the Capuchin life style and spirituality and after graduation from St. Fidelis, went to Annapolis to enter the novitiate in 1971. After novitiate, he returned to St. Fidelis for one year and then attended Capuchin College in Washington, DC from 1973-1977. He was ordained a deacon in 1977 and spent two years at St .Joseph's Parish in Dover, Ohio. During this time, he met Fr. Timor Kaple, a Capuchin priest, who had just returned from Papua New Guinea. Based on what he learned, Fr. Ben decided that he would like to go there himself after his ordination.
Fr. Ben was ordained a priest in June, 1979 and in September of that year he was on his way to the missions. Father fell in love with the culture of Papua New Guinea and found that once he was immersed or "swimming" in the culture, parish administration, teaching, preaching and celebrating the sacraments became wonderful experiences. Language was not as big a problem as it had been in earlier years because many now spoke Melanesian Pidgen. During the next 14 years, Father served in three mission stations and also taught at the seminary.
In June 1993, Father Ben returned to the United States with the thought that it was time to stay home. He had the feeling he was losing touch with his family, friends and his own culture. However his Provincial Minister asked if he would be willing to serve at general headquarters in Rome for a few years - an invitation he readily accepted. He arrived in the Eternal City early in 1994 and would remain there through the end of 1996. Most of his time was spent doing translation work as well as providing hospitality for visiting English-speaking friars.
At the end of his term in Rome he was pleasantly surprised to be offered an assignment in a Capuchin friary in Philadelphia. He arrived at St. John's on Christmas Eve, 1996. For the next six years, he was actively involved in every aspect of parish life which included celebrating Mass, hearing confessions, hospital visitations and wedding preparations.
In 2002, Fr. Tom Betz mentioned that perhaps one of the friars should be a chaplain at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia. The Jesuit priest who had been doing an excellent job as chaplain was retiring and the government wanted another priest to take his place. Fr. Ben applied for the position and was immediately placed on a very short list of qualified applicants. In December2002, he assumed his duties as Detention Center Chaplain. Unlike a regular prison, the Detention Center houses those who are awaiting bail or a trial date or who are being held because they are considered a flight risk. The Philadelphia Detention Center also houses those who are waiting for possible deportation.
Fr. Ben has the responsibility of providing religious accommodation for the entire Detention Center population which is complicated by the fact that there is no chapel in the building. This means that he must go from cell block to cell block to celebrate Mass and to try to provide a quiet peaceful moment in what is a very tense and noisy environment. Father estimates that he has contact with only about one fourth of the inmates, but knows that those who do avail themselves of his ministry receive the peace and grace of the Lord in this very trying time in their lives. Even though he is in residence at St. John's, Fr. Ben is a federal employee and would be very pleased to remain in his current position for many years to come. Our parish is very pleased and grateful that this important, but often overlooked ministry, is so capably filled by one of our own.
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