Frank Berna - A Kindler of Learning
Most will remember a phrase heard many times from their youthful past: What do you want to be when you grow up? That’s a question still asked of children today. And how do they reply? Do they still choose professions like doctor, lawyer and policeman? Or are the astronaut and football player more popular? How well can we recollect our vocational aspirations from when we were young and impressionable? Frank, for one, recalled wanting to be a teacher ever since he was in the 2nd grade at St. Bernard’s in the Mayfair neighborhood of Philadelphia. How he came to that conclusion is still a mystery. So was his experience of teachers at that time. He was taught by the Sisters of St. Joseph – not even sure if “men” taught. That, however, did not discourage him. He wanted to teach – too young to comprehend the probabilities or possibilities. He just knew that “no” was unacceptable. No matter how simple and uninformed his impressions of teachers and teaching were back then, Frank would eventually realize that dream. He became a teacher – first high school, then college. Although his desire to teach came at a youthful age, it would be well to assume that Frank, as every teacher early on, strived to be a good teacher – even a great teacher. A good teacher has, and practices, a solid educational philosophy. And like many good teachers, Frank has, over the years, developed sound teaching principles and a code by which they operate.
At Archbishop Ryan High School in Philadelphia, he first encountered a group of religious, the Franciscan Friars. In Fall, 1970, Frank arrived at Franciscan Friars’ Queen of Peace Friary in Lake Geneva, as a candidate in the Province’s affiliate program.
Frank’s formation continued, complimented by education that would serve him well in later ministry. In 1978 he completed his Clinical Pastoral Education Requirement at Abbott-Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, MN, followed by his ordination to the diaconate. Eventually Frank accepted an assignment back at his Alma Mater, Ryan High School.
“It was interesting to be back. . . .Many of the teachers who taught me were still there.” Returning east – returning “home” – was not, however, as comforting as one might expect. He had adjusted to life in the Midwest and enjoyed the friars and friends he made. He was set – and in control. Being back in Philly meant some major changes. Frank’s social calendar, for one, would now need to include family expectations – like shining around the homestead more frequently. He anticipated the conflicts these expectations might incur with his duty to be elsewhere – be it the school, the friary or the community at Presentation parish (his regular weekend ministry) – or his desire to “live his own life.” His married siblings were managing to cope with various, extended familial obligations, but Frank had yet to find his place in the mix as the family’s only single member - and a priest. His was a different sort of struggle. As comedian George Burns reflects . . . Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.Frank’s commitment to teaching, however, was not dependent or focused on place or level. It was the profession – and how best he could respond to its calling. As such, he hoped to continue his education to the doctoral level. Now, it appeared, was the time to push that goal forward. While studying for the priesthood, he took an interest in the area of spirituality and systematic theology, an interest he further cultivated through summer course work recently completely at Villanova and Temple Universities. He had the field of study . . . now to find the institution granting the degree.
Getting the green light from the provincial council, he investigated programs in St. Louis and at Notre Dame and Fordham Universities. He ultimately decided on the latter school which was located in the Bronx . . . “It had the best program . . . and the easiest application to fill out.” He arranged to live at St. John the Evangelist parish in White Plains, New York helping out on weekends while doing part time, adjunct teaching at Manhattan College. Over the next three years, he completed studies, wrote his dissertation and earned his PhD in systematic theology.
After teaching theology at St. Bonaventure, Frank took a leave to teach at Yarra University in Melbourne, Australia, he eventually joined the staff at La Salle University, and gravitated from Campus Ministry to the Director of the Graduate Theology Department.
Being in the employ of the Christian Brothers, Frank is aware of their mission to serve the poor and oppressed. And, LaSalle’s undergrad population reflects that commitment.
The school has the highest minority enrollment (black and Hispanic) of all Catholic universities in the state of Pennsylvania. Frank frequently shares fraternity with the
Brothers and provides sacramental ministry like Mass, days of recollection, a retreat, etc. He has come to appreciate the Brothers and their dedication to education. “The spirit and camaraderie with and among them is great. I see how the Franciscan mission often complements the Christian Brother mission though they are different. Some values, however, are mutually shared.”
