The Cincinnati Province elected a new leadership team at its assembly in May that for the first time includes a Latin American-born member.

Father Antonio Baus, C.PP.S., of Santiago, Chile, joins the leadership team as the province’s third councilor.

Re-elected to a second term as provincial director was Father Larry Hemmelgarn, C.PP.S.  Also elected were Father Ken Schnipke, C.PP.S., vice provincial director and first councilor; Father Steve Dos Santos, C.PP.S., second councilor; Brother Joe Fisher, C.PP.S., fourth councilor; Father Tony Fortman, fifth councilor; and Father Tom Hemm, C.PP.S., sixth councilor.

Father Hemmelgarn, 57, a native of Philothea, Ohio, expressed his thanks to his brothers in the Community. “I’ve grown a lot over the last four years, and I’ve learned some things. There have been times I have been impatient and you have been patient, and probably the reverse is true as well,” he said. “Thank you for the privilege of serving you. I hope I can do it well.”

Father Ken Schnipke, 53, a native of Glandorf, is pastor of Immaculate Conception Church, Celina, Ohio, and St. Teresa Church, Rockford, Ohio. He has previously held the position of vice provincial director, and currently serves on provincial council.

Father Steve Dos Santos, 47, a native of Alameda, Calif., currently serves as the assistant to the provincial director. He lives at the Giano Mission House in Dayton and ministers at various Dayton parishes as needed.

Father Baus, 54, who is bilingual and who is a graduate of the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, ministers at San Gaspar College in Santiago.

Brother Joe Fisher, 64, has served at the provincial treasurer for many years. A native of Wapakoneta, Ohio, he has also formerly served on the provincial council.

Father Tony Fortman, 44, native of Ottawa, Ohio, is the pastor of St. John the Baptist Church in Glandorf, Ohio. This is his second term on the provincial council.

Father Tom Hemm, 68, a native of Piqua, Ohio, is the pastor of the St. Henry, Ohio, cluster of parishes. A former missionary to Chile, he has served on provincial council for several terms.

The new council will be installed during a liturgy on the Feast of the Precious Blood, July 1.

Text and Photo courtesy of Jean Giesige, Cincinnati Province