Father Joshua Richter, OFM, began to feel the stirrings of a vocation to the priesthood as a 12-year-old. He would observe his pastor during Mass at St. Julie Billiart Church in Hamilton, Ohio, wondering if perhaps one day he could have a similar impact on the spiritual lives of parishioners.
“I was trying to figure out what to do with my life,” Joshua, now 29, recalled. As he grew older, he embraced the idea that “I wanted to help others find the love of God, to find peace in their daily struggles.”
One of seven children, raised as a middle child in the sibling order, Joshua also felt the pull of contemplation in nature, much like St. Francis of Assisi did.
His Franciscan-like reflection began as he wandered through a forest near his home.
“I would go into the woods to pray and talk to God,” he said. What he found there was not necessarily quiet. The calls of the birds and the other animals often filled the air. It was the beginning of a discovery that “I could find God in the sounds of nature.”
A few years ago, he recalled for an article about his Franciscan formation, that “I always ventured into the preserve with the intention of getting lost so I could find my way out. It was meditative and spiritual, getting lost in the natural beauty of God’s creation.”
In August 2026, he brought both his Franciscan passion and the vocational call to priesthood together when he was ordained.
Besides learning to appreciate quiet solitude, Joshua also knows about community. As part of a large family, he is a product of homeschooling. He was inspired by the example of his mother, who frequently volunteered and worked at the parish, helping to direct classes for its RCIA program. Daily Mass was a part of his school day.
Another big impact: The family befriended Fr. Manuel Viera, OFM, a Franciscan ministering in Cincinnati at the time. As he grew older, young Joshua gravitated towards exploring the life of a friar, including sharing meals and reflections with the Cincinnati community.
What he discovered there was a joyful, welcoming community.
“They were a great group of guys who truly loved each other. They know how to pick on each other and get under each other’s skin. But they also knew how to back each other up,” he said.
Not everything was prayer and contemplation during his childhood. He also helped in his family’s pizza business, joining his uncle and cousins, learning how to be part of a working team.
After graduating with a degree in environmental earth studies from Miami University in Ohio, in 2019 he entered the Franciscan community, beginning initial formation in Silver Spring, Maryland. He soon learned about the diversity of Franciscan ministries around the country.
He worked in ministry and studied theology in varied spots, from Cincinnati to Chicago to Santa Barbara, California. The process took him into his interior life more deeply.
“It’s taught me about the integration of God with my spiritual life, with myself and my human life,” he said. “I will not do everything completely perfectly. But there is healing in that.”
Father Joshua ministered during his initial formation in Maryland with a project called Reading Partners, providing guidance for young students in the Washington D.C. suburbs. There he was proud to be part of unlocking reading for students who encountered difficulties.
“I was amazed to see how these students developed,” he said, noting some who started way behind grade level but progressed to above-average standards.
In Santa Barbara, he worked with seniors at a Daughters of Charity facility, helping residents navigate email and other electronic forms of communication. In Chicago, he worked in religious education at St. Jerome’s School and assisted in ministry at Our Lady of Pompeii Church in Little Italy. In Philadelphia, he served guests at the St. Francis Inn soup kitchen. Many of the guests contended with poverty yet, through long conversations, he discovered that “they could see how God was working in their lives.” In New Orleans he ministered at a largely African American parish.
Through it all, he brought the faith he first encountered back home in Ohio. His fellow friars told him he had a knack for education, a ministry he expects to continue after ordination. As a priest, he would like to share what he has experienced with those in his generation, some of whom have begun to rediscover Catholicism after years of being away from the church.
“I was set on fire by my faith,” he recalled. That same kind of zeal consumed his friends, who found confirmation to be a time of learning and service. Yet much of that enthusiasm dissolved as they struggled to find a role in the church after confirmation.
“I watched a lot of my friends disappear from the church,” he said, noting that he would like to involve himself in young adult ministry that can recapture the faith for adolescents, many of whom have difficulties finding a place in the church after confirmation.
Father Joshua now serves as a theology teacher at Roger Bacon High School in Cincinnati. He plans to continue teaching and serving in parish ministry.