fundraising to expand our evangelization efforts, maintain our facilities and the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy, and provide for the needs of the community. It’s a big job with a lot of moving parts, but I look forward to the challenge, and visiting our different houses around the country and in Argentina to see our ministry in action. What are your goals for the province? These are early days, but we’re really focused now on the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy so that, when pilgrims come here, they can expect a better pilgrimage experience. When I was a seminarian, I used to do talks and tours. We’re going to return to that. We want to open a Marian museum. We also want to reimagine the St. Faustina Center as a Welcome Center, so that when people arrive on Eden Hill, they will receive a proper orientation and understand who we are, the meaning of Divine Mercy, and the many places they will encounter at the National Shrine. It’s long overdue. I’m also making changes on the ministerial front, assigning more priests to do missions and retreats around the country. It’s not just about people coming to Stockbridge for Divine Mercy. We want to bring Divine Mercy to the people, wherever they may be. We’re going to restart the parish mission team that I created years ago with Fr. Dan Cambra, MIC. Changing assignments is never easy, and I know many people are sad to be losing their favorite Marian priest. I understand! What are your expectations of a Marian priest? I’m going to meet with every one of our priests and brothers on a regular basis, to work with them to find an apostolate and ministry, depending on their particular interests and where the needs are. My motto is, “Accommodate whenever possible; delegate when only absolutely necessary.” So if someone has a desire for teaching, or health care ministry, or even landscaping, I’ll try to accommodate their requests. Someone reminded me that I am now the father figure, and I have 80 sons to look after! But it’s truly an honor. So long as I ensure that my Marian brothers have the resources and tools they need, they will succeed. How has your experience as “Fr. Joseph, MIC,” prepared you for this new position? I was Fr. Joseph for almost 10 years, and the experience was invaluable. I learned everything about the Marians and our Marian Helpers who make our outreach possible, and that knowledge will serve me well as provincial. We were in heavy debt when I became Fr. Joseph, and I’m especially proud to say that now we are 100-percent debt-free, internal and external. Our evangelization efforts have expanded 10-fold, way beyond our foundational direct mail/e-mail and publishing operations, which remain vital to our ministry. The biggest leap has been in video and livestreams. Our weekly EWTN show, “Living Divine Mercy,” is now in its third season. We’ve done more than 100 original episodes, and they are broadcast all over the world. When I visited Ireland and Australia recently, people told me how much they love the show. Everyone said I was crazy to do a 90-minute “Explaining the Faith” talk on a Saturday morning. People won’t listen for more than three or four minutes, they said. Well, I’ve done more than 150 talks now, and only two of them have fewer than 50,000 views online. The top talk, on Ukraine and Russia, has more than 2 million! There’s such a hunger out there for knowledge of the faith and the truth. It really accelerated during the pandemic, and is stronger than ever. I love doing them — as I often say, I loved my time in the seminary, and enjoy bringing listeners “back to seminary” with me. I always laugh that, since God gave me a big mouth, I’m going to use it for Him! Now that you are provincial superior, will you continue the Saturday talks and EWTN show? Yes. People have responded so well. As long as I keep getting the feedback that says, “Please, Father, keep going,” we’ll keep going. We have a great team here, on the video and research side. And, luckily, I don’t require much sleep! Marian Helper • Fall 2023 • Marian.org 11 ‘Someone reminded me I am now the father figure, with 80 sons to look after! But it’s truly an honor. If I ensure my Marian brothers have the resources and tools they need, they will succeed.’
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