My name is Father Joseph Jenkins and I am the pastor of the HOLY FAMILY CHURCH in Mitchellville, Maryland. I am a Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, DC.
I entered the seminary out of high school back in 1978 and attended the following seminaries:
1. St. Francis Seminary & College in Loretto, PA
2. Seminary of St. Pius X in Erlanger, KY
3. Theological College & the Catholic University of America
As a seminarian I did pastoral work at St. Mary’s in Chinatown in DC and after ordination to the diaconate in 1985 I worked at St. Ann’s in Tenleytown, NW, DC. Ordained a priest in 1986, I continue to serve St. Ann’s Church as an associate.
Later I served at the following:
1993-98 - St. Mary of the Assumption in Upper Marlboro, MD
1998-99 - St. Peter’s in Waldorf, MD
1999-00 - St. Thomas More in SE, DC
2000-07 - Church of the Holy Spirit in Forestville, MD
2007-08 - Holy Family Church, Mitchellville, MD
This page has the following sub pages.
- The Religion Test
- RECORDED RADIO SHOWS
- Father Joe Takes the Catholic Test
- Father Joe Takes the Politics Test
- Fr. Joe Takes BBC Social Responsibility Test
- Father Joe at Qumran
- Father’s Joes Sci-Fi Profile (Crew)
- THE JOE E. BROWN PAGE
- GOODBYE, FATHER JENKINS - 1998
- THE POPE VISITS WASHINGTON, DC (1979)
- THE K OF C HAVE BEEN VERY GOOD TO ME
- THE TEACHING COMPANY LECTURES ON DVD
- EDUCATIONAL DVDS - DISCOVERY CHANNEL

Hello Father Joe,
Nice to see your webpage ‘up and running’.
I am VERY NEW to Blogger. I ran a search for ‘Catholic’. Your page was one of the ones that came through.
I placed on by Blogger page an incident involving a pensioner living in England. He dared to send a picture of an abortion to an English hospital - the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. He was jailed and fined for his pains.
Hospital declared it was anti-social and insensitive towards their staff! The same hospital have refused a hip operation for the man - vindictive?
I would love to hear what you and your viewers make of it all.
The abortionists are winning!
Fr. Joe
I like your blog. But could you possible use darker font. I found it difficult to read and I sent it to a couple of older priests who could barely read it at all.
Thanks
Sorry, but it is a pre-set font that comes with the template.
Hi Father Joe! I found your blog through this article http://ncregister.com/site/article/138 I just love it when priests blog, I love reading what yall have to say. Anyway, I wanted to ask, where did you get that Knights of Columbus graphic at the top of your page? My husband is the Grand Knight of our local council, and as much K of C stuff as we’ve seen, I don’t think we’ve run across that particular picture before.
The picture was a poster created by William Balfour Ker for the Knights of Columbus. Published around 1917, it is a picture of a priest holding up the crucifix while blessing the surrounding World War I soldiers.
The Knights of Columbus ran halls all through Europe during the war to give assistance and recreation to our fighting men, especially the Catholics.
You can buy a copy from the following site:
http://www.rainfall.com/posters/WWI/910.htm
Peace,
Father Joe
Dear Father Joe,
I typed “i am a catholic priest” into Google and you are who I got — excellent website. Very interesting and relevant topics covered. Keep up the good work. In Christ, Eoin (John) in Ireland.
Father Joe:
Why is it that so many priests are gay?
Ed Snowdon
Dear Ed,
I removed your somehat impertinent follow-up question, but I will tell you that I am a heterosexual celibate. In otherwords, I like girls but I behave myself.
Are many priests gay? I have heard that some dioceses have more than others, but most priests I know are fairly normal…at least I think so, we really do not talk much about such things.
Why the question?
Take care,
Father Joe
Father Joe,
I was checking our apostolate website “stats” (www.cukierski.net) and found folks were wandering over our way from your website! :-)
God bless you for having us listed! I didn’t even know :-).
I’m currently working on a “blog” (http://cukierski.cukierski.net/blog/) at the request of many mothers who can’t seem to figure out how I haven’t lost my mind with 11 children ;-0. If I indeed have lost my mind, I don’t seem to be missing it one bit! It’s called “Catholic Mother of Many” and we’ll be adding a link to your Blog (which is quite amusing, yet full of information!).
Blog away, dear pastor! Your touching hearts and informing minds!
Pax Christi,
Wendy Cukierski and crew
Hey Father Joe!
This is Father Kevin Cusick, your neighbor, writing from Camp Springs.
I was having dinner tonight with parishioners and your blog was mentioned. Where are the animals dressed up in people’s clothing I heard about?
Like your style.
When you get time, check out my web page from the late 1990’s, Meeting Christ in the Liturgy, at http://www.christusrex.org/www1/mcitl/
Peace,
Father Joe,
I like your site!!
Is blogging free, is your site free??
This is my very first time on a blog site……
Dear Father Joe,
Most priests are not Christian art historians, but if you have a moment what are your thoughts regarding the design as seen on this website:
http://www.BennerFarms.com
Although the design was originally Hebrew, like Jesus, would you agree that it is one of the oldest symbols in Christendom? And if not, then why is it on the Duomo Pisa (Cathedral of Pisa).
Craig
Hello Father Joe,
I have a great friend named Fr. Joe, and we were friends from the time he was in the seminary, he is into bloggin, and while searching for him, I landed up in your site. I think you have been his inspiration, and I do believe, that you will have many more priests joining your elite club of heavenly bloggers ! I havn’t read much of your blog, but I really like your viewpoints…
Best Regards,
Ruben Gerad Mathew
Comment about (against) Ruben Gerad Mathew has been deleted.
Father Joe,
I used blog only for personal journal, I was amazed on how you transformed your blog into an effective means of communication and evangelization. You gave me an idea.
Continue the great work, you have reached a lot of people and I hope and pray that they might be enlightened with your wit and holiness.
I have read from one of the comments asking for a darker letter, I am suggesting, unsolicited, to make the letters, all the letters bold so that our older brethren could read them.
Good Luck to your ministry!
In Christ Jesus
Fr. Joe
I’m new to this. I noticed that a number of your readers would like your blog in darker type. Presuming that they are using a window’s based computer like I am, I suggest that they open their word processing program - I tried this with Microsoft Word - and it worked fine. They should go back to your blog and highlight the test and then hit the ‘copy’ icon or copy under the ‘Edit’ line. Then switch to word processing and hit clipboard or ‘paste’ under ‘edit’. they can then enlarge the font and change the color to make it easier to read.
I would like to know more about Father Ken Roberts. I admired this priest and have read all his books. I have a hard time to believe that he has been suspended. I am shocked, sad and disappointed to know this bad news. Could you please tell me what happened? Thank you.
FATHER JOE:
Here are past links about it…
http://fatherjoe.wordpress.com/2007/04/03/usccb-monitus-fr-ken-roberts/
http://fatherjoe.wordpress.com/other/fallen-tv-priests/
“FATHER JOE: The one who made the comment should be ashamed. Gossip and gross detraction can still be regarded as sins!”
Father Joe, do you know Ruben Gerad Mathew? It is a sin when you say the “truth” is gossip. Ask Ruben why the organization he was a webmaster for is under criminal investigation? The India Govt. has filed criminal charges against one Catholic priest, two nuns and few others for the deaths of 1000 people. I know what you are going to say now “this is a gossip too”. Find the facts about Divine Retreat Centre on internet or call them directly to find out.
Don’t cover up the sins!
Merry Christmas!
Divine Retreat Center is a reputable Christian organization, and the priests do conduct “healing” and “evangelical” retreats. All those who have lost hope in medicine, or are in their death beds are brought here. People turn to God mostly when they loose all hope, and this center is filled with wonderful ministers and priests who take time to care for, and look after these people as most wounds are not visible on the outside. What started as small sheds a few years ago, is now a very large retreat center and holds over 20,000 retreatants in week long retreats. There is a partition where patients lying in the beds can watch and join in paryer. Now it is understandable for those who visit there to know more about it as you can see it. Sick people die, and its not something new, and I know there are more patients visiting that place than any hospital I know of. I started visiting Divine during my school days, as they conduct annual youth retreats. I attended more than 7 retreats, and I’m a good Christian today because they changed my life. I volunteered to help, but I was not a paid employee, and there are hundreds of volunteers just like Ruben or me still working there today. To clearly define what happened in short let me say this: Ruben volunteered freely to help two ministers create a website for their songs, newsletters, prayer request, as he already had taken up other ministers websites there. Their current website was being used by a certain someone lets say Mr.VP for personal use to the greatest commercial extent by selling visitors email ids, answering prayer request on their behalf and not giving access to the ministers to even read mails to them, and finally this Mr.VP was selling his own autobiography book on the full front page without their permission. Ruben spoke on their behalf, and so did some people at Divine. From then on this person started sending prone literature to all the people who were involved on a regular basis. Someone shut his email account down which he claims was hacked. And ever since he has started going at it full time, even started a website which he asks questions and posts answers in under different names. So he made it look like a conspiracy. What was the objective behind this, conspiracy sells, and everytime someone typed Divine Retreat Center or googled for more information they were taken to his site which automatically redirected people to his online webstore to sell “Christain Music”. And the final objective was to destroy Divine’s reputation by his website contents.
The very act that raided Divine was an anonymous mail sent with 2 CD’s of text content regarding Divine. I have not an iota of a doubt that the contents were none but the website of the very same person Mr. VP who started modestly with taking advantage of a international minster and proceeded to bring down the whole organization.
India has many casts, religions, and there is bound to be strife to some extent, but like Judas who was Jesus’s own desciple, I see more Judas’s today when they fight against Christaians being Christains or Catholics themselves. I dont’ think in heaven there is a separate section for Catholics / Christians / Other Denominations ? and I don’t believe that people who pray to Jesus from other denominations will “go to hell” either. What happed or started nearly eight or ten years ago and someone like Mr.VP who has dedicated his life to the destruction of a community amazes me. This person is definitely under the spell of something evil, as no human being can continue his aggression against someone or something and continue the same unprovoked act for over eight years !!!
Do you know how they finally got an arrest warrant against Divine, they had a pharmacy to supply the patients with medicine while they were at the retreat center. Being a closed retreat center to remove drug, alcohol and other addictions, they provide all necessities within the center. So now they didn’t acquire a commercial license to have a pharmacy for the thousands of patients visiting, and this was a only stable reason and a few complaining addicts who were kept their “without their permission” but by their families.
I am not surprised that Divine never attacked back, Priests don’t fight, they pray, and that’s why people take advantage of them or abuse them. I have never met a finer team of priests or better minsters anywhere else. I urge you to visit that center some day, you would be amazed. Oh and don’t worry the price of great veg and non-veg food, lodging and boarding for one week is $4. A true Christian charity indeed! I think thats the first center even our Pope should visit in India ! People who work there never get tired, never stop and have be providing the most wonderful retreats in a dozen languages for so many years now.
Now to answer the question “Why all this in my about section” well, your blog is the Yahoo of the internet Christian community. Your website has become the voice of a community as I see you address issues and concerns in daily life and more. I do believe that your openions are sometimes a friendly advice, a fathers’ attention, or a double edged sword. I do know that making a stand in your website will make a difference.