Restless Ministry

Joseph Farrell, O.S.A ’85 VSB, ’19 MSCM, Vicar General of the Order of St. Augustine, has been blessed to be invited into other people’s lives. Each moment, he says, is an opportunity to help people discover God.

Ordained in 1991, Fr. Farrell notes that he did not always consider a vocation to religious life, despite attending Monsignor Bonner High School and Villanova University, where he earned a B.S. in Business Administration. Yet, his restlessness persisted, and, after graduation, Fr. Farrell joined the Augustinian pre-novitiate program. Fr. Farrell would later return to VSB to earn a Master of Science in Church Management in 2019.

“My VSB experience as an undergraduate and also in the Master of Church Management has helped me to realize that when one makes any type of decision in life, one must give serious discernment and consider all the consequences,” said Fr. Farrell. “A major part of the decision must include how the poor and most vulnerable will be affected.”

As an Augustinian, Fr. Farrell celebrates and mourns with individuals during their most joyful and painful moments. From weddings and baptisms to sickness and death, these opportunities, he says, are why he felt called to the religious life. “The sacraments allow me to meet people at life-altering moments,” Fr. Farrell reflected. “I never take my vocation for granted and give thanks to God each day for it,” he continued.

Prior to his election as Vicar General in 2013, Fr. Farrell served as the Associate Vice President for Mission and Ministry and an adjunct faculty member at Villanova. During this time, he worked with undergraduate and graduate students to introduce them to St. Augustine and his teachings both inside and outside of the classroom.

“The opportunities I have to teach Augustine helps others realize the restlessness of the human condition and the hope that is always present in the gift of grace, which is God’s love abundantly poured into our hearts.”