SOUTH BEND, Ind- — The ministries of St. Anthony of Padua Church in Camden, N.J., and its pastor, William Jud Weiksnar, OFM, were highlighted in a feature article in the summer ’08 issue of Notre Dame Magazine, the publication of the University of Notre Dame.
The article, “Of Vast Import to the Nation,” highlights St. Anthony of Padua School, Francis House, the interfaith Camden Churches Organized for the People, with which Jud is active, the Franciscan Volunteer Ministry’s Another Person’s Treasure initiative, and Lupe (Our Lady of Guadalupe), the parish dog. All are having a positive impact on this struggling city.
Author John Nagy spent several days with the friars, said Jud, a 1979 graduate of the university. Nagy described Jud as a “bespectacled man” who speaks fluent Spanish “delivered in a mild tones and cadence.”
Nagy tells the more than 150,000 magazine readers, including alumni parents, friends, leaders in Catholic higher education and paid subscribers, how Jud tries to “find the balance between the practical and the pastoral with scarce resources.”
The parish is a working-class church that never knew a prosperous Camden, according to the article. “The Franciscans arrived in 1983, having pulled out of the wealthiest parish in the Province in order to live among and better serve the poor.”
Since his ordination in 1994, Jud has served in a variety of Holy Name ministries, including the Franciscan Center for Social Concern at St. Bonaventure University where he was director. The photo above appears in the magazine article.