Each parish has its own identity. And that identity is, in part, an extension of its pastor.

“You set the atmosphere, and people respond to it,” says Fr. Robert Seay, Franciscan pastor of St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Lafayette, La. No matter how involved the congregation is in day-to-day matters of the church, the friar in front is often setting the tone.

“People seem to be attracted to open-ness and joyfulness,” says Fr. Ric Schneider, pastor of St. Mary’s in Bloomington, Ill. “My whole approach to parish work is simply building community, welcoming everybody.”

The word that embodies the parochial philosophy of St. John the Baptist Province is “inclusion.” At St. Mary’s, “We try to involve everybody,” Ric says. When Robert was stationed at East Coast parishes with Portuguese, Haitian and African-American populations, “The highlight in retrospect was living in the midst of so much diversity and different cultural elements.”

In Appalachia, “There’s something refreshing about the approach to God, to nature,” says Br. Jerry Beetz, Parish Life Director for Holy Cross Parish in Jackson, Ky. “The pace is slower. It’s frustrating when you first come down here, but it’s something you grow into.”

In any parish setting, “The most important thing is being able to meet people and get along with them and work with them,” says 93-year-old Fr. Noel William, a 51-year veteran of parochial ministry in Ohio, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana and Oklahoma. As Ric maintains, “All you gotta do is love the folks, and they’ll love you back.”

Here are seven friars who did just that.



“His energies seemed inexhaustible and his heart was as big and open as the volume and intensity of his voice,” read one obituary reporting the death of Fr. Farrell Byers. Jake’s enthusiasm for the Lord attracted fallen-away Catholics to church wherever he ministered, from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to the hills of Southeast Kentucky. Almost single-handedly, he managed to keep the last inner-city Catholic school in Cincinnati open and stem a decline in parish attendance. “He captivated all who knew him with his warm personality,” said fellow Friar Dennis Moran. Struck with a rare, disfiguring form of skin cancer, Jake continued his duties as a parish priest through three years of painful treatments, finally succumbing to his illness at the age of 53.
A man of strong opinions who didn’t mind expressing them, Alvin Deem pioneered the friars’ ministry to minorities in Detroit, founding the storefront church of Our Lady of Victory in 1943. “I encourage all people to be friends,” he once said, explaining the philosophy that inspired his crusade for equality for African-American parishioners in Kansas City, Mo., and the Mississippi Delta. He was relentless in pursuing educational opportunities for children, “known for his ability to move ahead, not letting anything get in his way” when kids needed additional classrooms, a better cafeteria or a safer school bus, according to a 1990 newsletter announcing his golden jubilee Mass at St. Jude Church and School in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana.


“Perhaps he didn’t have the boss’s job at the parish, but he was the beloved of the parish,” Provincial Minister Fred Link said at the 2008 funeral for a friar who stood only 5-foot-4 but had a heart as big as all outdoors. Shorty Hoff’s easygoing nature made him an ideal associate; he was more than happy to play second-fiddle at parishes in Kansas, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. Humble and joyful, he appreciated “any and every little thing you could do for him,” according to fellow friar Br. Gene Mayer. Among the beneficiaries of Shorty’s support were generations of school children who grew up knowing and loving sports. One of the students he coached in Metamora, Ill., Ann Obery Cowling, led her softball team to a state championship in 2007.

“Phil Johnson was a great preacher,” says Fr. Ric Schneider. “He was so friendly you looked forward to going to visit him. When I walked in he’d be smiling ear to ear, just like he was my brother.” Phil’s attitude — that every soul was special — endeared him to parishioners for more than five decades of ministry in New Mexico, Arizona, Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky and Indiana. In 1954 the daily newspaper in Streator, Ill., saluted his record of success at St. Anthony Parish, calling him “a natural leader, with a vigorous attitude toward life, kindly yet firm.” Afflicted with throat cancer that led to the loss of his vocal cords in 1971, Philip found new ways to communicate. Continuing his work in parish ministry, he spent countless hours helping others with similar disabilities.


“Charles Miller was a phenomenal pastor,” says Ric Schneider. “He was just so personable, so friendly, so open. He smiled a lot. He never got angry. He never thought of himself. He was gentle, humble, always ready to serve” the congregations he pastored in Illinois and Indiana. “Everybody loved him.” Retiring from parish work in 1990, Charlie began a full-time ministry of prayer, explaining, “I pray especially for the poor, the hungry, the homeless, for children without fathers or moms. I pray for little people and big people who feel ‘left out,’ the ones who never get picked to play on the team, those who feel forgotten and downhearted.” Confined to a wheelchair in later years, he continued to lead others to Christ. Charlie’s wit, warmth and tenacity — he rallied time and again from the brink of death — inspired everyone he met.
Steve Schneider’s zest for life and sense of humor never deserted him. In 52 years of parish ministry in Kansas, Louisiana, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Illinois, “Steve demonstrated to us what it means to respond to the Lord wholeheartedly,” according to his nephew, Fr. Gil Schneider. Steve was a charming and gregarious spokesman for Christ and for life as a friar. Retiring at the age of 86, he stayed busy serving as spiritual adviser to Secular Franciscan groups and part-time chaplain to the Sisters of Charity in Cincinnati. Two days before his death, he declined an invitation for a golf outing, saying he was too busy writing a homily
to take a break. Steve never stopped working, never stopped learning, and never lost the twinkle in his eye.
Church-goers, soldiers, hospital patients, Appalachian migrants: All considered Aloys Schweitzer their pastor. In 36 years of priestly ministry, Aloys created an ecumenical community that stretched from parishes, hospitals and missions in Illinois, Kansas and Ohio to the frontlines of Europe in World War II. As a young priest with six years of parochial work under his belt, Aloys joined the Army, becoming a chaplain to the Timberwolf Division in Belgium, Holland and Germany and earning a Bronze Star for ministry
in combat. Returning to traditional parish life after the war, he was eventually assigned to Cincinnati and requested work as an
inner-city missionary.
Aloys’ ministry to
Southern Appalachian migrants led to a
landmark study he
titled, “Who Is
SAM?”
In 1209, Pope Innocent III approved a plan by Francis of Assisi for a new way of religious life. This year, Franciscans around the world are marking the Eighth Centenary of the founding of their Order. In 1859, the entity that became St. John the Baptist Province in Cincinnati was formally erected as a “custody.” This 12-part series, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the province, celebrates the lives and contributions of the friars.

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