Joseph and Barbara Micucci

Recently, our daughter gave my wife and me a plaque that says, “God has a plan, and it’s all good.” Sixty-plus years ago, my father’s work was going to take him to Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The work move never happened, but we moved anyway, and I ended up meeting the Augustinians at Monsignor Bonner High School. That relationship is now in its 62nd year.

While at Bonner, the friars exemplified a caring community life that attracted many students, including myself, to discern a vocation with the Augustinian Order. The Augustinian novitiate class of 1965–66 was and still is an exceptional group of men. We formed a special bond that continues to this day. Many decided not to pursue religious life but still enjoy getting together to share a friendship formed by our years together.

As time went by, my Augustinian friends kept drawing me into their shared ministry. Father Dick Appicci, O.S.A. brought former Augustinians together for a reunion. Our class reunions flowed from his efforts. Father Mickey Genovese, O.S.A., as Prior Provincial, needed help with human resource policies, and Father Jack Deegan, O.S.A. who taught me in 1961 and has been a friend since Bonner, challenged many, including me, to put faith into practice working for justice with the Augustinian Defenders of the Rights of the Poor.

Inspired by my friends and classmates, my wife, Barbara, and I decided that it would be worthwhile to share some of what we have through our joint wills with the Augustinians to help with their ministries. Let’s pray that God continues to bless the Augustinians, as part of His plan for it has been, and is, all good.

—Joseph Micucci