For Br. Kevin Kriso, O.F.M., his love of God is rooted in early childhood experiences, while his dedication to Franciscan life came through a natural progression of events.
Br. Kevin, a Mt. Irenaeus guardian, said he had a typical baby boomer upbringing in the suburbs of New York City, attending St. Hugh of Lincoln Elementary School in Huntington Station.
According to Br. Kevin, “new things” were happening in the church during his childhood—most of which he didn’t understand at the time. For example, Br. Kevin said he was growing up during the transition from pre-Vatican II to post-Vatican II.
Br. Kevin added that, at the time, religious sisters were primarily his teachers and served as his first interactions with the clergy.
“We only had nuns there,” he said. “We didn’t have friars. Yet, at the same time, that sense that this was something people can do with their life was there.”
Despite his school’s promotion of religious life and being constantly surrounded by devout individuals both inside and outside his home, Br. Kevin said he only started exploring broader religious questions after his father’s death.
“When I was in seventh grade, my father died of cancer and that was a very big turning point,” he said. “In a sense, it asked me to ask religious questions or spiritual questions like ‘Where is he?’ ‘What is Heaven?’ and ‘Am I going to see him again?’”
According to Br. Kevin, these unanswered questions stuck with him, some of which were answered through his following spiritual experiences. Br. Kevin added that, although he now has a more “realistic, sophisticated and simpler outlook” on his childhood questions, he’s learned to find comfort in the unknown.
While attending Siena College, Br. Kevin said he was amazed by the “down to Earth” nature of the campus’s friars, seemingly removed from the stereotypes often associated with ordained religious figures.
Br. Kevin added that these men changed his perception of the road ahead, making religious life a clearer avenue for his future.
“When I met the friars, it was no longer an option—it was like, ‘You could actually do this,’” he said. “The models of the guys who were there were just really good. They were happy and they were around kids my age…their influence and their humanity, that was a very big, big part of it.”
Although, at the time, living a typical college life seemed paramount, Br. Kevin entered a vocational group his senior year—alongside six to eight men who were also grappling with the idea of becoming Franciscan friars.
Br. Kevin added that only he and two other men in the group applied to a formation program, where he would be the last to stay the course.
Br. Kevin said the steps leading up to his inevitable entrance into postulant—the early educational stages of becoming a Franciscan friar—felt natural. Unlike some stories of laypersons’ callings to religious life, Br. Kevin said he never had any sudden revelations.
“It was a natural progression, but it wasn’t easy,” he said. “When I entered, I didn’t go in with the idea that I was going to try this out. I went in with the idea that I was going to succeed at this. It wasn’t so much a discernment for me; it was, ‘I’m here. I’m doing this.”’
Despite the kindheartedness of the friars, Br. Kevin explained that they, much like anyone else, face difficulties managing personalities.
Br. Kevin explained that throughout both postulant—the primary stages of joining the order, which he equates to being a “Franciscan freshman”—and novitiate—a secondary, canonical year in which men formally join the order—members are living in close quarters. Br. Kevin added that, much like students’ experiences in college, living together and expressing differences in backgrounds can sometimes be tricky.
Obstacles aside, Br. Kevin said he was thankful to find a community he felt a part of at Mt. Irenaeus, where he’s resided for eight years. Br. Kevin learned of Bonaventure through visiting friends enrolled in the university, as well as by taking Franciscan studies courses on campus.
According to Br. Kevin, it takes new friars a bit of settling in at the mountain to adjust to its unique characteristics.
“We do what’s called a mutual discernment because the Mountain is an unusual place,” he said. “It’s not a typical kind of friar placement and so you really have to see if you’ll fit in there…it is very rural. For a lot of guys, dirt roads and trees make them afraid…We choose not to have TV because it is a distraction. Another part of it is that when students or others come, they live right in and among us.”
Br. Kevin found committing to life at the mountain effortless, as he’d hoped to find a group of friars with a common approach to spreading God’s word—focusing their attention on students and the natural world.
Br. Kevin, whose self-proclaimed goal is to help others find and effectively channel their ‘thisness,’ or uniqueness, said we can come to know God through the natural world he’s steeped in at the mountain, whether it be the smallest of creatures or fellow human beings.
“Every person is important,” he said. “Every person is special. Every person is a child of God. Therefore, you can’t call any person an object. It’s saying this is our brother and sister and everybody is as important as everyone else.”
Br. Kevin’s religious journey has landed him in an unexpected place, as he’s become the same guiding voice for others that led him to the vocation.
mcgurllt14@bonaventure.edu
