Vocation Discernment
Are you being called to become a priest or brother?
Click here, and discover what it means to become a preacher of truth!
Vocation Office
Western Dominican Province
5890 Birch Court
Oakland, CA 94618-1626
(510)-596-1821
Our Vocations require a great deal of support, from the first moment they begin their novitiate until the last moments of their retirement. Please do conside visiting our donation page and helping form and sustain the priests and brothers who will serve you in the future, serve you now and have served you in the past.
Saints and Blesseds
The Order of Friars Preachers,
The Dominican Order,
has a beautiful history of learning, service and holiness manifested in its saints and blesseds of every age since its foundation by St. Dominic de Guzman. Do enjoy the periodic postings of such stories as are available from various sources, especially our own archives.
Religious Retirement
Our elderly and infirm friars receive the best care we have available to us, as in any family. We rely heavily on the donations of others for our own existence and thus when one of our own becomes incapable of further ministry due to age or infirmity, those same donations help us support the sometimes necessary special care required by such members of our communities.
We prefer to care for our elderly and infirm in our own houses so that the life of a religious community can be a part of a friars life as long as possible. This is also the most economical in many ways. We strive to use donations wisely. But sometimes a care facility is essential. As we, as a Province, do not benefit from the national collection for retired religious, we ask that you assist us in caring for these friars who have prayed, taught, served and ministered for so many years amomg the people of the Western United States and beyond.
Please, in your kindness, consider assisting us in this work of brotherly love.
Many thanks in advance.
Catholicism
It's just the right thing
Fr. Benedict James McGovern, OP
Fr. Benedict was one of our early leaders. He was the first superior of two of our communities, and people on both coasts remembered him for his kind nature and his willingness to serve.
He was born in Fenagh, Ireland, but after the death of both parents, moved with relatives to Ohio. At the age of twelve or thirteen, he was sent to study with the Dominicans at Saint Joseph's in Ohio. He discerned a vocation and joined the Dominican Province of St. Joseph on the east coast. After his ordination in 1863, he was assigned to a house in London, Ontario, Canada and labored there until 1868, when the Dominicans left.
Decades later, he was remembered for being a kind and gentle priest who lived an exemplary life. He then served in New York City at St. Vincent Ferrer's with long and hard hours in the confessional. His health was deteriorating, so he was sent to California to recuperate. He was put immediately to work. He served as the first superior of St. Dominic's in San Francisco from 1873 to 1876. He also organized the first meeting of the Dominican Third Order on August 10, 1873. This group was the equivalent of a small Christian community, allowing the individuals to gather for common prayer and a common apostolate. After a stint in Benicia, California he returned to San Francisco for ten more years.
From 1876 to 1883 he was in conflict with Bishop Alemany, a fellow Dominican, because the bishop was demanding too much service from the Dominicans, who consequently did not have enough time for the choral office of the Church. He wrote a harsh letter to the bishop and eventually co-signed a complaint to the Master-General of the Dominican Order. Despite his objections to the bishop, twenty years after he resigned, Fr. Benedict wrote of the bishop in a letter: "His name is a synonym for all that is good, holy, and true." In 1889 he was recalled to the east coast by his Provincial, Fr. Francis Spencer. The call of the West was too strong and he received permission to return to California the following year. In 1894 he became the first superior of Holy Rosary in Portland, Oregon. Before the year was up, however, he was once again elected Prior of St. Dominic's in San Francisco, and stayed there until 1901. He retired to Benicia, and was an excellent example for the novices and students all the way to his death at the age of 82. May God reward him for all his faithful service.
Sources:
O'Daniel, Victor Francis, OP, The Dominican Province of Saint Joseph, Historico-Biographical Studies. New York: National Headquarters of the Holy Name Society, 1942.
Parmisano, Fabian Stan, OP, Mission West, The Western Dominican Province, 1850-1966. Oakland: Western Dominican Province, 1997.
Photo: retired in Benicia
|
Date of Birth |
Date of Profession |
Date of Ordination |
Date of Death |
|
December 3, 1836 |
July 22, 1853 |
May 2, 1863 |
September 21, 1918 |
XII: 9