Br. Manuel Mendoza, OFM, will make his solemn profession as a Franciscan friar of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe on June 23 at Mission San Jose Church in San Antonio, Texas. Provincial Minister Br. Lawrence Hayes, OFM, will preside at the Mass. 

Br. Manuel, originally from Santa Cruz, Oaxaca (about 300 miles southeast of Mexico City), met the friars in Queretaro while searching for a spiritual director. A friar invited him to experience Franciscan life, so he joined the province in Michoacán in 2014 before eventually moving to the United States. 

Br. Manuel currently serves in Franciscan ministries in San Antonio, Texas. He has experience in charismatic renewal, teaching catechism and ACTS – Adoration, Community, Theology and Service, a project that seeks to deepen parishioners’ relationships with God and others through conversation and activities during retreats. 

“I feel blessed and glad when those I work with are happy,” said Br. Manuel. 

He studied philosophy and theology at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. He worked in Querétaro, Mexico, managed a Chinese restaurant in Augusta, Georgia, and then embraced religious life. He enjoys writing poetry, listening to audiobooks and cooking. 

Br. Manuel thanks Brothers Joe Rozansky, OFM; Bill Minkel, OFM; Mike Johnson, OFM; Erasmo Ramero, OFM; and Jose Luis Peralta, OFM for their guidance. “They really helped me throughout my life,” he said.