By: Colin Huff ‘20
We had the pleasure of being able to talk with Holy Cross’ Chaplin, Father Joseph Moyer this past week. Fr. Joe was born in Lexington, Kentucky, but he lived in various other places such as Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, New York, Mexico, Indiana, Colorado, California, and New Orleans (wow!). In high school, Fr. had a core group of friends and worked a job three nights a week and one night on weekends; and for fun, he and his friends would go two-stepping every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. When asked when he felt his first calling from God, Fr. Joe stated, “I felt like I first had the calling in high school, but I attended public school and did not really know how to connect or explore what the calling was about. I attended Texas State University and continued to work for the Marriott Corporation when I was 24. I started to explore the calling, and talked with priests, sisters and the Brothers of Holy Cross about my feelings and what I thought Jesus was leading me to. I attended St. Mary's Cathedral Church in Austin which was run by the Holy Cross Religious and so I talked with the Pastor. The following August, I was at the University Of Notre Dame enrolled in Philosophy and Theology courses. The following year, I took my first vows with the Holy Cross Community”. Father Joe said if he were to teach a class that wasn’t theology at Holy Cross, he would like to teach History or Government, and that his favorite New Orleans restaurant is either Liuzza’s or Venezia. To Fr. Joe, Holy Cross is a family of people who have a common vision and respect for all cultures, peoples and experiences of God. When asked what he would like to impart upon the students here on Paris Ave., Fr. answered, “I would hope to show the students that 'we', the Holy Cross Religious, are just like anyone else. We are people with common life experiences, and we demonstrate the amazing gifts that God gives to each of us." We are happy to have Father Joe back at Holy Cross!