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Meet The Team

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We are blessed to have four Brothers working in vocation ministry, and discerners can meet and talk with each of us. While we all have different roles and responsibilities, our collective focus is to accompany and assist men with their discernment. Connect with us to begin discovering which blessed state of life God may be calling you!

Brother Paul Avvento
FSC
Director

Brother Paul first met the Brothers as a student at Manhattan College (now university) and was drawn to their approach to education and community. During his twenties he worked alongside the Brothers in one of their schools in San Francisco but was reticent to truly discern God’s call for him as he was overwhelmed by the gravity of a commitment to priesthood or consecrated life. After recognizing that an open response to God was the only way to authentically live his faith he began serious discernment, one step at a time. He professed his perpetual vows in 2024 and has served as Vocation Director since 2023.

Talk to Brother Paul

Brother Edward Shields
FSC
Associate Director

Brother Edward Shields was a middle grade teacher, a principal of an elementary school and a high school campus minister. He was involved in vocation ministry from 2012 to 2016 while living at La Salle Academy, NYC.  He returned to vocation ministry in 2018 and now is a member of the community at Christian Brothers Center at Manhattan University.  Brother is very involved in the BOLD Brotherhood and young adult events.

Talk to Brother Edward

Brother Peter Killen
FSC
Associate Director

A native of Buffalo, NY Brother Peter met the Brothers during high school at St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute. He has served as a teacher and formator in Philadelphia, New York City, Buffalo, Minnesota, Mexico City, and Toronto. He feels blessed to serve in vocation ministry by inviting young men to discern if consecrated life is Christ’s gift for them. 

Talk to Brother Peter

Brother Thomas Casey
FSC
Coordinator

A native of Peekskill, NY Brother Thomas met the Brothers when he was an undergraduate math major at Manhattan College (now University) and joined the fraternity following graduation.  Subsequent degrees in liberal studies and educational leadership enhanced his education. His more than five-decade career provided him with experiences in four different secondary schools and a Miguel model middle school.  As a teacher and administrator he has served in Rhode Island and in Brooklyn, Oakdale, Freeport, and Manhattan in New York State. He has lived in community with dozens of other people and his faith journey has been enriched by those individuals and the experiences he has had as a Brother are true blessings.

Talk to Brother Thomas

The Brothers of the Christian Schools

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Brother Paul Avvento, FSC

What was most helpful during your discernment?

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Brother Joseph Macioce, FSC

What was most helpful during your discernment?

Living in community with the Brothers was the most helpful aspect of my discernment. Even though I wasn’t working in the school with the Brothers at the time, I gained firsthand exposure to community life and a shared prayer life, both of which are critical to the Brothers’ vocation. Through sharing in the Brothers’ community, I found their joy in their vocation to be both tangible and inspiring, which ultimately led me to follow God’s promptings to apply the Brothers.

Witnessing the profound joy the Brothers had for their vocation—including their ministry, community life , and prayer life—inspired me to apply. I often say I applied for “selfish” reasons because I desired that same joy in my own life. I realized then that the Brothers are ordinary men who choose to do something extraordinary with their lives.

What brings me joy as a Brother is seeing God every day, both in my classroom and in my community. Each day, I encounter God in my students and in the relationships I’m able to form with them. I also see God in my Brothers in community through the generosity, support, and care we share for one another.

Brother Steven Barbaro, FSC

What was most helpful during your discernment?

What was most helpful during my discernment was the opportunity to live in community with the Brothers and to work in their schools. Being immersed in their daily life allowed me to witness their commitment to prayer, fraternity, and mission. It gave me a deeper understanding of their vocation—not just in theory, but in practice.  That experience helped me to see where my own gifts could serve and where I felt most at home.

What ultimately led me to take the step to apply to the Brothers was having meaningful conversations with them about their life as religious Brothers, and volunteering in one of their schools before applying. Those experiences helped me see their vocation lived out in real and inspiring ways and gave me the clarity and confidence to move forward.

What brings me joy as a Brother is the opportunity to walk with young people in their journey—first as a teacher and now as a school counselor. Both roles have allowed me to help, guide, and form students to be good Christians and responsible citizens. There’s a deep joy in seeing them grow, and the blessing of meeting new students each year continues to renew my sense of purpose and hope.

Brother Javier Castro, FSC

What was most helpful during your discernment?

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