Father John is originally from Hawthorne, NJ which is in Northern Jersey, about 20 miles outside NYC. Father John made his first vows as a friar in 1992, final vows in 1995 and was ordained in 1998. From 1972-1976 he studied at Penn as a grad student in sociology/criminology. He was assigned to St. John’s as parochial vicar in 2003 to 2004.