Fr. Charles Shonk grew up in Lancaster, Ohio as the youngest of four boys. He first met the Dominicans at St. Patrick Church in Columbus. He is a graduate of Denison University, where he earned a B.A. degree in Latin and Philosophy. Before entering the Order, he worked as a schoolteacher in New York City and attended St. Vincent Ferrer Church in Manhattan. “‘Grace perfects nature,’ says St. Thomas. Although many things drew me to the Dominican Order, perhaps most compelling was encountering friars who were walking proof of this principle—whose faith enhanced their humanity, whose piety could confidently affirm all that is naturally good, true, and beautiful.”

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