Introducing the Provincial Council
Of the New Western Province

With the merging of the Midwest, Southern and Western Provinces comes a change in leadership. The new Provincial Superior, Father Perry Henry, CM, will have the support and guidance of a new Provincial Council.

The following Vincentians have been named by the Superior General, Father Gregory Gay, CM, to serve on the Provincial Council of the new Western Province. The Council meets on a regular basis with the Provincial Superior to offer input on matters affecting the governance of the Province. Members also bring to the Provincial their opinions about the well-being of the confreres and their ministries. In addition, the Provincial Superior is required to consult them on certain matters regarding finance and assignments.

We thank the new members of the Council, who have agreed to add these administrative duties to their current assignments. The new Province will benefit from their considerable experience and skill.

Father Richard Benson, CM

Fr. Benson’s first years as a Vincentian were spent in various assignments as vocation director, formation director, Superior of St. Vincent’s Seminary in Montebello, California, and Superior of Amat House in Los Angeles, the former formation house for Vincentian pre-theology seminarians. He then spent five years at the Katholieke Universiteit van Leuven in Belgium, where he earned advanced degrees in Sacred Theology and a Ph.D.

For the last 16 years, Fr. Benson has served at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, California, as professor of moral theology and academic dean, and as vice rector for the last seven years. He also serves as the director of formal formation for the Southern, Midwest, and Western Provinces.

Beyond his seminary teaching and administration work, his main interests include writing and speaking about biomedical and social moral concerns from a Catholic perspective to a variety of professional and lay audiences. For the past five years, he has become more involved in teaching and administering graduate programs in ministry for lay Catholics. When he’s not working, he likes to find time to sneak away and catch fish, including deep sea fishing.

Hope for the new Province: “My hope for the new Province is that we will use the opportunity to create a rich Vincentian community that will allow us to engage collaboratively and more fully in the evangelization of the poor, especially in diverse and marginalized communities.”

Father Jim Cormack, CM

Fr. Cormack serves as pastor of St. Catherine Labouré Parish in St. Louis, a community that consists of nearly 6,000 people, an elementary school and numerous activities and organizations. He serves on many boards, including the Gateway Vincentian Volunteers. He worked at Cardinal Glennon College early in his career, and also was associate pastor and pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in St. Louis.

He tries to stay fit and reduce stress through a variety of athletic pursuits, including regular workouts with a trainer, bicycling and ice skating in the winter. He inherited a love of photography from his father, who had a darkroom at home. While knowledgeable, he considers himself a point and shoot amateur. “Shooting images forces me to slow down, look and see. Not a bad idea for any minister, especially one who is challenged to see in the poor the living presence of Christ.”

Hope for the new Province: “I am convinced that the charism of Vincent de Paul enfleshed in the Vincentian priest and brother is a value for the church in the U.S. I want that charism to animate us, and to drive our apostolic zeal. I hope this fills our sense of new with the reconfiguration of the provinces. With new and renewed apostolic zeal I hope others will be attracted to join us.”

Father Patrick McDevitt, CM

An assistant professor in the School of Education at DePaul Uni­versity, Fr. McDevit is also chairman of the Department of Leadership in Education, Language and Human Services. He has served in numerous roles in the six years he has been assigned to the university. In addition, for the last five years, he has served as the Formation Director and Superior at the Perboyre Mission House. His previous assignments have included parish work in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and administrative positions at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis.

Fr. McDevitt is a devoted Chicagoan, having been born and raised there. He enjoys activities on the lakefront, such as walking, running, biking, and occasionally rollerblading. Another favorite activity of his is dining out with friends. He also enjoys cooking and entertaining friends and family at home. Over the last 10 years, he has collected different cookbooks and enjoys experimenting with new dishes. 

Hope for the new Province: “As we begin this venture in building a new Province, I hope it revitalizes our congregational spirit of mission and service to the poor and the Church. The new Province can open new opportunities and the resources for us to more fully live out the mission. This historical moment of grace will require a spirit of openness, leadership, courage, and trust for all of us. May God guide us in our vocations and our mission as a new Province.”

Father Mark Pranaitis, CM

Assistant Provincial – Designate

Soon after his ordination in 1993, Fr. Pranaitis served in parishes in Chicago and Denver for a total of four years, in addition to a two-year assignment at the Provincial Office as Director of Personnel Services. He then held various administrative positions at DePaul University before serving as Director of Stewardship and Development for the Diocese of Colorado Springs. He rejoined DePaul University in 2008 as Associate Provost, where he is responsible for space allocations (classrooms, offices, etc.) for all academic units; overseeing international programs; and administering continuing and professional education programs.

Fr. Pranaitis’ academic interests focus on integrating the Catholic Church's teachings on stewardship into the home, work, and faith lives of both clergy and laity. He finds stewardship to be a rich spirituality easily blended with a Vincentian approach to the pursuit of holiness. 

Outside of work, Fr. Pranaitis enjoys keeping in touch with friends and family through old-fashioned letter writing, reading, seeing an occasional movie, exercise, and looking forward to his next trip to the ocean.  

Hope for the new Province: “My excitement about the new Province is anticipating the blending of the three existing cultures into a new one. I think of each province (and each member of each province) as having woven  a tapestry which reveals something of the face of Vincent and of Jesus. Our challenge now is to weave a new tapestry, individually and communally. I look forward to seeing the faces it reveals.”

Father Tom Stehlik, CM

Throughout his formation and priestly life, Fr. Stehlik has been involved in working with Hispanic Immigrants. His first apostolic mission was the Northwest Arkansas Vincentian Ministry Team, followed by three years as Associate Pastor at Holy Trinity Church, in Dallas, Texas. Since 2001, he has served as Director of the Vincentian Evangelization Missioners, in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he works with multicultural parishes in a 150 mile region of central Arkansas. He is also pastor of St. Anne Church in North Little Rock, which serves 1,500 members.

In the past three years, he has been working to establish a partnership with lay Hispanic immigrants, known as the Vincentian Lay Missionaries. He has helped to form 300 Hispanic missionaries who work with the Vincentian Evangelization team in the region. More recently he has worked on a project with youth at risk to help them adjust culturally and academically in family and community life.

Outside of ministerial work, Fr. Stehlik’s interests include cultural music and art, playing the accordion, golf, exercise, motorcycles, and a 1964 Classic Ford Ranchero.