BROTHER JOE

It's a small world.

Before Brother Joseph Slominski became a Capuchin friar in California, he was in the U.S. Navy stationed at Radio Barrigada on Guam.  It was a small naval facility and he was in charge of the mess hall.

His stint on Guam lasted from 1962 to 1964, so he was there when Typhoon Karen hit Guam in November of 1962.

He was safe because his structure was entirely concrete.  But he still remembers seeing a boat parked right in front of the Agana Cathedral after the typhoon.  It went from the Boat Basin clear across a quarter mile or so to the front of the Cathedral as if someone had plucked it with their two fingers and gently placed it there.

A good Catholic layman, he befriended the Mercy Sisters, specifically Sister Callista Camacho, and had a 5 foot statue of the Blessed Mother brought to Tai Convent for an outdoor grotto.  Sister Callista had a plaque made "In Honor of Ski," which was Brother Joe's nickname based on his last name.

After the Navy, he joined the Capuchins and has lived most of his religious life at San Lorenzo Friary in the quiet Santa Ynez valley, not far from Ronald Reagan's ranch and Michael Jackson's Neverland.  He is a humble, friendly and cheerful friar; an inspiration to many.