President & Founder:   Fred T. Mercadante

 

Fred has been serving as a fulltime minister within the Catholic Church since 1995.  During the first 11 years of his career, Fred worked as a parish youth minister in NJ and then moved on to parish-based college campus ministry in Clemson, SC.   After 5 years at Clemson, he joined the Office of Campus Ministries at the University of Scranton, serving as a campus minister for 10 years.  He is currently the Director of Faith Formation for the Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale, AZ.  Fred serves as an officer on the Board of Directors for Certain Place Ministries.

​

Credentials:

• Masters degree in pastoral ministry from Fordham University

• Recipient of the Francis Medal from the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus Order of Friars Minor.

• Author of Senior High Ministry that Works:  A Parish-Based Initiation Model  (Twenty Third Publications) which was awarded 2ND place among educational books by the Catholic Press Association.

 

Fred has created, developed and implemented over a dozen different retreats, including the Ignatian award winning A Desert Experience.  Working within a peer leadership model, these retreat experiences have made a mark on countless participants.

 

In addition to this, Fred has spent the last 30 summers leading the Appalachia Help Weeks in WV for several Catholic parishes and schools.  During that time, the program grew from one week per summer of about 30 volunteers to six weeks per summer of almost 150 volunteers.  With over 30 years as coordinator plus 8 more years as a youth and young adult volunteer, Fred is one of the most experienced leaders of Appalachia home repair programs in the country.  As a bonus, he has also become quite competent in home repair himself with roofing as his specialty.

​

While at Clemson, Fred initiated the Guatemala Help Weeks program.  The program continued yearly with Clemson and others under Fred's leadership until special obligations at home forced a temporary sabbatical.  

 

Fred is an avid hiker who enjoys adventure and travel.  ​"The itinerant rabbi," is the image of Jesus with which he most closely identifies.  Consequently, he feels most at home in ministry when he is on the road.