50 YEARS
Fr. Henry Grodecki, C.M.
Born in 1948 in Joliet, IL, Fr. Hank entered the Congregation of the Mission in 1966 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1975. He earned an S.T.L. degree in dogma and sacramental theology from the Pontifical University of Sant’ Anselmo and taught at St. Thomas Seminary in Denver. He served as pastor in many parishes in Colorado, Missouri, and Alaska. He also served four years as President and CEO of the Association of the Miraculous Medal. “I continue to be astounded by the people of God in every parish community I’ve served,” he said. “They have inspired me by their fervent and joyous response to what God calls them to be—the very Body of Christ, his Son.”
Fr. Patrick Mullin, C.M.
Fr. Pat was born in 1948 in Pasadena, CA, and joined the Vincentians in 1966. He was ordained in 1975 at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Los Angeles. He has done everything from parish ministry to seminary formation to Director of St. Mary’s Seminary Retreat Center in Santa Barbara. He is currently a Senior Confrere in Care at St. Mary’s of the Barrens in Perryville, MO. “From my earliest years as a seminarian, I have wanted to communicate to others the truth of God’s love for us,” he said. “The opportunity to do this during my years as a priest and as a Vincentian has been a privilege and a grace.”
60 YEARS
Fr. Thomas Croak, C.M.
Fr. Tom was born in 1938 in St. Louis, MO. He entered the Vincentians in 1956 and was ordained to the priesthood in Chicago in 1965. Fr. Croak was a dedicated teacher at DePaul Academy and Cardinal Glennon College, followed by many years at DePaul University. With degrees in history and law, he started at DePaul a legal clinic which was eventually named the “Croak Community Legal Clinic,” which provides legal workshops and presentations to DePaul students and the broader community. “I have been fortunate to be a Vincentian,” he said.
Fr. Prudencio Rodrigues de Yurre, C.M.
Fr. Prudencio was born in Junguitu, Spain, in 1941. He entered the Community in Limpias, Spain, in 1957 and was ordained at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Chicago in 1965. With degrees from De Andreis Seminary and St. Louis University, he has spent his priesthood teaching and ministering to Hispanic Catholics in Denver, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. He also served as Associate Director of the Association of the Miraculous Medal. “The community has assigned me to many works during these 60 years, but none of them has been more fulfilling than what I have done and am still doing: promoting the devotion to Our Lady of The Miraculous Medal among the Hispanic people,” he said.
Fr. Juan Antonio Ruiz, C.M.
Born in 1941 in Madrid, Spain, Fr. Tony entered the Vincentian community in 1957 and was ordained in Chicago in 1965. He holds master’s degrees in theology and language and has served as a seminary formator and a parish priest in Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California. “I have received so much love from God, calling me to become a missionary priest. Letting the people work side by side with the pastor and associates made my ministry light and joyful. I am very grateful for the people God put on my path that helped me be the person I am today.”