Welcome To The Shrine Br. John Aherne, OFM

Please join us here at St. Anthony Shrine in welcoming a new Friar: Br. John Aherne, OFM

Br. John is a first generation Irish-American who grew up in Queens, NY. After graduating from New York University, he embarked on a career as a book editor. He also ran a small Irish dancing school in Manhattan, where he taught kids and adults alike.

Br. John joined the friars in 2010, and is studying for the priesthood at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He is drawn to the friars’ commitment to the poor and marginalized, and has ministered with veterans at Walter Reed Medical Center, persons with intellectual disabilities in L’Arche communities, and the poor in the South Bronx. He also just returned from a six-week mission trip to Kenya.

When he’s not kicking up his heels to a jig, John enjoys running, reading, doing crossword puzzles, and striving to be the favorite uncle of his eight nieces and nephews.