Fr. Michael Lasky, OFM Conv. still remembers the pewter whale.
As a student at Baltimore’s Archbishop Curley High School, Lasky heard his principal explain that the whale reminded him of Jonah — how God sometimes redirects us toward the shore where we’re truly meant to serve. A similar whale, given to Fr. Michael as a gift at his first profession, sits on his desk today, not in Baltimore, but in Rome, where he now serves as the Franciscans’ global General Delegate for Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation.
On May 20, 2025, Fr. Michael joined four of his closest brothers — Fr. Gary Johnson, OFM Conv., Fr. Pedro de Oliveira, OFM Conv., Fr. Robert Benko, OFM Conv. and Fr. Vincent Rubino, OFM Conv. — to celebrate their Silver Jubilee as Conventual Franciscan priests, each having been ordained together 25 years ago.
Fr. Pedro, raised in the Azores and later Fall River, Mass., described his journey as “a sublime mission” that has taken him across languages and continents.
“We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs,” he reflected, quoting Archbishop Oscar Romero. “The kingdom always lies beyond us.”
Fr. Gary Johnson, now Vicar Provincial and Director of the Shrine of St. Anthony in Ellicott City, recalled a confessional conversation that sparked his call. “Jesus has found ways to confirm I have been listening and responding to his call,” he said.
Together, the five friars have served in parishes, missions, formation houses, shrines, and international justice ministries. But their friendship and shared vocation remain the constant.
Their lives, like Fr. Michael’s pewter whale, are signs of faith—of listening, letting go, and allowing God to guide them to shores they never imagined.