Meet Us

Chiara Simeone‑DiFrancesco, PhD — Founder and Executive Director

Dr. Chiara Simeone‑DiFrancesco is the founder of Portiuncula Oratory, Inc. She was formed by two key mentors: Professor Romuald B. Simeone—a Catholic Scripture scholar and evangelist—and Archbishop Tomás Clavel, the missionary Archbishop of David, Panama, who later served in the Diocese of Orange as Vicar for Hispanic Catholics. With her background as a psychologist and entrepreneur, Chiara serves as the relational and formation guide for the Oratory’s workshops and training.

Primary emphasis: integrating Connect‑Talk® / Positive Christian Dialog (PCD) with a full formation lens so that relational interchanges become safe and effectively loving in the actual experience of the recipient.

Forming Christian bonds of love and community within the home—between husband and wife, parents and children—so wounds can heal and unmet Need(s) can be rightly met.
Teaching heart‑listening: withholding prejudicial moral judgments of persons, offering acceptance without requiring agreement, and choosing openness and curiosity rather than shutting down differences.
Strengthening Jesus‑centered witness in daily life (including professional life): speaking truth in charity, seeking empathic understanding—especially for those with trauma—and cultivating the courage to be appropriately vulnerable for the sake of love.

Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP — Treasurer

Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, is a Catholic educator, publisher, and academic leader serving in senior roles across multiple higher education and media initiatives, including Pontifex University and En Route Books & Media. His work integrates theological scholarship, strategic program development, digital innovation, and AI-enabled initiatives to advance Catholic education, publishing, and pastoral leadership formation. He has led major grant-funded projects, academic program launches, and interdisciplinary collaborations designed to strengthen institutional growth, accreditation readiness, and mission-driven impact.

Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, supports Portiuncula Oratory because he has already collaborated in this apostolate—serving as editor for Bible, Love Letters from Your Father (Books of John) and partnering with Dialog International Press, LLC, Jesus-Centered Institute, LLC, and the WCAT Radio/TV formation series.

He recognizes a persistent formation problem in the Church: many renewal efforts inspire for a season, but leaders, clergy, and families often lack concrete, repeatable skills to stay connected once the event ends, and they drift back into isolation.

The Oratory addresses this gap by uniting daily prayer of Sacred Scripture, shared Lectio Divina in the evangelizing Books of John, and expert Connect-Talk® / Positive Christian Dialog (PCD) skills for group, marital, and family life—so formation becomes encounter that truly changes people and endures beyond the next movement.

Samuel R. Wood — Operations Support

Sam Wood experienced a major conversion in 1976 at age 18 in an evangelical church and has had a deep love for Jesus ever since. Entering the pastorate as an evangelical minister in 1991, Sam developed a growing love for Jesus in Holy Communion and began studying the history of the Eucharist in Catholic teaching. Convinced through personal study that Jesus is present in the Eucharist, Sam entered the Catholic Church in 1996.

That transition was initially difficult, as he struggled to find priests or laity who could clearly explain the Catholic Gospel and support him in becoming a Catholic disciple of Jesus. Providentially, God led Sam to Romuald B. Simeone and Dr. Chiara Simeone-DiFrancesco, who helped him embrace the Catholic Gospel, Life in the Spirit, praying Scripture in the Franciscan tradition, and healing of heart wounds through learning and practicing Connect‑Talk® / Positive Christian Dialog (PCD). This mentoring and training was life-changing for Sam, deepening his conviction that Jesus still speaks intimately to His people and gives Himself in the Holy Eucharist.

Sam continues his calling of teaching and shepherding as a theology teacher at St. Mary’s Catholic High School in Neenah, Wisconsin. Sam is supportive of Portiuncula Oratory because it carries forward Romuald’s and Chiara’s Scripture-grounded teaching and practical training—so priests and laity can live a love-life with Jesus, who continues to speak, lead, and heal through His sacred presence.

Fr. Norman Supancheck (Archdiocese of Los Angeles) — Ecclesial Sponsor and Board Member

Fr. Norman Supancheck is a priest of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles (ordained 1968) whose ministry has long included evangelizing outreach, pastoral care, and Catholic marriage renewal. He has been active for decades in Catholic marriage enrichment, including Marriage Encounter, Engaged Encounter, and Retrouvaille, helping couples build faithful communion that lasts beyond a weekend.

He serves Portiuncula Oratory, Inc. as a Board Member and Ecclesial Sponsor. Fr. Supancheck sees the Oratory as carrying forward Archbishop Tomás Clavel’s evangelizing heart and the purpose behind Romuald B. Simeone’s commissioned Books of John commentary: bringing seekers back to Christ through Scripture that forms daily life—strengthened by Connect-Talk® / Positive Christian Dialog (PCD), with proven marriage-renewal wisdom and priestly fraternal connection.

We are grateful for clergy who have participated and who participate personally; they do not represent any formal diocesan or religious-institutional endorsements unless stated in writing.

Fr. Norman Supancheck (Archdiocese of Los Angeles)

Founding Influencers & Intercessors

Romuald B. Simeone — Founding Influencer

Romuald B. Simeone. We are integrally intwined and unified with his Scripture scholarship, studies and development of how to reach out to persons as an evangelist and actually bring them to the Lord (through His grace), to reconcile families and marriages, and figure out ways in the late 60’s and 70’s and then continuing through the 2020’s— with the huge shifts in culture—of how to engage persons from all walks of life and meet them where they are at. This is the base from which we have formed our workshops. His saintly imaging of Jesus and treating each and every person as "special" and loveable is our model, as he, in turn modeled Christ.

Professor Emeritus Romuald B. Simeone developed Connect‑Talk® / Positive Christian Dialog (PCD) as a concrete way of re‑connecting persons to the model par excellence of relational truth: Jesus Christ. Together with his spiritual fire and his straightforward proclamation of the Word—especially his exegetical and historical, verse‑by‑verse commentaries and videos on the Gospel of John—this work forms the backbone of Portiuncula Oratory, Inc.’s teaching legacy.

Commissioned by Archbishop Tomás Clavel to write the extended exegetical and historical commentary on the Biblical Books of John, his resources and workshops continue to bring seekers back to Jesus by teaching a living, daily habit of praying Scripture (Lectio Divina) that informs, transforms, and connects daily life. For this Lectio formation, he articulated a “7 Biblically Perfect” way to read and establish Connect‑Talk with Jesus.

Very Rev. Alan McCoy, OFM — Founding Influencer

Very Rev. Alan McCoy, OFM, former Provincial of the Santa Barbara Province and of the Franciscan Institute at Old Mission Santa Barbara, encouraged Archbishop Tomás Clavel’s evangelizing vision and supported the early development of the work that would later be preserved and carried forward in Portiuncula Oratory.

He earned a doctorate in canon law from The Catholic University of America in 1944 and later taught at the Franciscan Theological Seminary in Santa Barbara. In 1966, he was elected president of the Canon Law Society of America. He also served as pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Stockton, California, where for 12 years he worked closely with the Latino community, including as vice president and regional coordinator of the National Council for the Spanish Speaking (now La Raza).

He was known throughout the province for establishing reach-out to all the friars including them into fellowship and genuine Christian friendship.

Fr. Alan was a strong proponent of non‑defensive listening and acceptance without requiring agreement—an approach aligned with the Oratory’s Connect‑Talk® / Positive Christian Dialog (PCD) ethos.

Portiuncula Oratory honors his Franciscan spirit and his concrete encouragement of a lay apostolate aimed at bringing souls back to Jesus through Scripture-grounded renewal and lived Christian communion.

Rev. Fr. William O’Connor, O.C.S.O. — Founding Influencer

Trappist monk of Holy Cross Abbey, Berryville, Virginia. Fr. O’Connor provided invaluable support and encouragement during key developmental seasons. His spiritual direction strengthened “vision” and confidence that this fruit would one day ripen on the vine of Jesus. Before his death, he entrusted to this work a special crucifix and a few personal items he had long treasured. He also served as an energetic Vocations Director.

Rev. Fr. Edward B. Brueggeman, S.J., M.A., S.T.L., S.T.D. — Founding Influencer

Professor of Theology and former Chairman of the Theology Department at Xavier University (Cincinnati, Ohio). Fr. Brueggeman’s tutoring and personal investment through spiritual direction were invaluable. He was a major force in Dr. Simeone-DiFrancesco’s theological training and development, supplying her with his handwritten notes on sacramental theology and the Divine Indwelling.

He was also a 30-year Sunday-morning television presence on a major Cincinnati channel on a program titled Dialogue, which addressed controversial topics in the news through an ecumenical panel: a priest (himself), a rabbi, and a Protestant minister. He was also involved with the National Conference of Christians & Jews. The Brueggeman Center for Dialogue was established at Xavier University in his memory. His intellectual rigor and commitment to public theological engagement helped shape the Oratory’s commitment to articulate Catholic truth clearly in contemporary culture without fear.

St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta

St. MotherTeresa committed her personal prayers for the ministry efforts of Romuald and Chiara. Here she is in Los Angeles, being very clear that the prime focus is to be "In Love" with Jesus. This is the formation she witnessed. We need not say more!

Our clerical supporters have shown us at the Oratory the indispensable gift of holy priests behind the Lord’s little sheep—praying, interceding, guiding, and teaching. Each stands as testimony to the crucial importance of these holy friendships: priests who can hold “vision” for what the Lord may develop out of the clay pots before them, and who do not hesitate to pour into these “pots” their own talents and inspiration.

We are grateful for clergy who do and have participated personally; any formal diocesan or institutional endorsements will be stated in writing.

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