New Director named for the Dominican Foundation

The Province is pleased to announce that Fr. Gabriel Gillen, OP, had been appointed as the new Dominican Director of the Dominican Foundation, effective July 1, 2012.  The Dominican Foundation exists to support the Province in its mission to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  With an increase in vocations, the Province is preparing more friars to preach and serve the Church in the United States and around the globe. In addition, the Dominican Foundation works to provide care for our older friars, who have given their lives in service to ministry.  It is only by God’s grace and the generosity of His people that the Province of St. Joseph has been able to serve the Church in America for more than 200 years. Fr. Gillen was ordained to the priesthood in 2000 and joined the Order of Preachers in 2005 after earning degrees from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum) in Rome. Prior to answering the call to priesthood he worked several years as a stock broker on Wall Street. Fr. Gillen’s most recent assignment was serving at Saint Joseph Church in Greenwich Village, New York City, as parochial vicar and chaplain at New York University. He hosts the weekly national radio program “Word to Life” on The Catholic Channel, Sirius XM 129 and has served as the WPIX-11 on-air commentator for the live broadcast of the Christmas Mass at Midnight from St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. Fr. Gillen is a certified TV producer with Manhattan Neighborhood Network and has produced several documentaries with Kindly Light, the media division of Province. Fr. Gillen is also the webmaster for the Province and a member of both the Provincial Preaching Advisory board and Economic Council. The current director, Fr. Dominic Izzo, OP, has been called to Rome by the Master of the Order to serve as the chairman of the Solidarity Board, which assists various entities of the Order worldwide, as well as a to serve as a member of the Order’s Economic Council.  More importantly, he will also serve as the Master’s Socius (or vicar) for the Provinces in the U.S. and Canada, acting as the Master’s personal representative to these Provinces. Please pray for each of these friars as they begin new ministries in service to the Order and the Church.