About Jerry

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I’m Jerry Piñero. I’m a monk in the world, Old Catholic priest, trauma advocate, writer, and companion to those in recovery.

I like to joke that I was conceived in Puerto Rico but born in Brooklyn, New York, to Puerto Rican parents. Philadelphia has been home since I was five years old. It’s where I grew up, where my life took shape, where my faith matured, and where my ministry continues to unfold today.

I was ordained to the priesthood in 1991. Over the years, I’ve come to believe that ministry happens just as often outside the walls of a church as it does inside one. Some of the holiest moments in life take place in hospital rooms, around dinner tables, during honest conversations, and in the ordinary moments when someone simply needs to know they are not alone.

That understanding has shaped the life I live today.

As a member of the Missionary Franciscans of the Sacred Heart, I embrace a modern monastic vocation rooted in prayer, simplicity, service, and presence. Within the community I am known as Brother Jeremiah, although most people simply know me as Jerry. Being a monk in the world doesn’t mean withdrawing from everyday life. It means trying to be fully present within it.

But don’t let the monastic thing fool you. Monk life also includes hospital cafeteria food, Philly sports conversations, gatherings around the dinner table, late nights at my keyboard, trying to remember where I parked at Temple, and yes, every now and then, a good medium rare prime rib and a cold beer. My monastery includes hospital hallways, city streets, Bethlehem House, and all the other ordinary places where God quietly meets us every day.

My journey hasn’t always followed the path I expected. There was a time when I thought I had lost the priesthood and the vocation that had shaped my entire adult life. It was a painful season marked by grief, self-reflection, and the work of beginning again. With time, I came to see that God hadn’t taken my vocation away. He was reshaping it. That journey eventually led me to the Ecumenical Order of Charity / Missionary Franciscans of the Sacred Heart, the Old Catholic Church, and a deeper understanding of what it truly means to serve.

Over the years, my understanding of faith has become a little less rigid, a little more compassionate, and a lot more grounded in real life.

I’ve discovered that holiness isn’t found by escaping ordinary life. It’s found by paying attention to it. Sometimes that happens in a chapel. Sometimes in a trauma bay. Sometimes around a family dinner table with the people you love.

Most weekdays you’ll find me at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia with no idea what the day is about to bring. As a trauma advocate, I walk alongside victims of violence and their families during some of the hardest moments of their lives. That work has taught me as much about faith as any classroom ever could. It has deepened my understanding of grief, resilience, compassion, and the quiet power of simply showing up.

When I get home, that same vocation often continues at my keyboard. Through Philly4Good, blog posts, bulletin reflections, and my books, I simply hope to share what I’ve learned about faith, recovery, healing, grief, hope, and the everyday struggles we all carry. I continue to write because stories have a way of reminding us that none of us walks alone.

Part of that writing also grows out of my own experience with recovery, addiction, healing, and the lifelong work of beginning again. I don’t walk beside people because I have all the answers. I walk beside them because I’ve learned that healing begins with presence. When people know they are seen, heard, and loved, they often find the courage to tell the truth about their own lives.

Over the years, I’ve become convinced that most people aren’t looking for someone to fix them. They’re looking for someone willing to sit with them long enough to remind them they aren’t alone. Whether I’m preaching, sitting beside a hospital bed, writing a reflection, sharing a meal with friends, or simply listening, my hope is always the same: that every person I encounter leaves knowing they matter.

I am also the founder and director of Bethlehem House Ministries, a Philly-based 501c3 charitable ministry, as well as the founder of Philly4Good. Through Bethlehem House Ministries and Philly4Good, I work with others to turn compassion into practical action, supporting people in need, building community, and creating a space for reflection, prayer, service, healing, recovery, and hope.

This website isn’t an attempt to have all the answers. It’s simply my way of sharing the journey in the hope that something here might encourage someone else along theirs.

So, whether you’ve come here out of curiosity, to learn more about my ministry, or simply to put a story behind the name, welcome.

I’m grateful you found your way here.

♥