Born and raised in Queens, NY, and educated in Catholic primary and secondary schools, I came in contact with the friars as a junior and senior in high school (All Hallows Institute, run by the Christian Brothers of Ireland). Intending to join the friars upon graduation, I was disappointed when my parents wisely told me to spend the next two years in college (Fordham University) and then make a final decision. Afterward I entered the friars and gradually prepared to become a Franciscan priest. Wishing to serve as a teacher of theology, I completed my graduate studies in Washington, DC and Louvain, Belgium.
I have been teaching theology and doing pastoral work at nearby parishes for about forty-seven years now, and, God willing, for a few more. Hobbies? Yes, gardening, classical music, the outdoors, comic strips, exercise, and poetry.