John F. Myslinski

Monsignor John Myslinski was born in Salem, Massachusetts, and was raised in the Boston area where he attended Catholic schools and university. He received his BA from Boston College and then joined and remained a member of the Jesuits (New England Province) for eight years. John served as a federal officer with the Capitol Police in Washington, DC, prior to entering the seminary at Mt. St. Mary’s, where he received his MA in Divinity. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Washington. As the “TV priest” for the District of Columbia, he was the host of the program Real to Reel for six years and celebrated the television Mass for the Washington metropolitan area for eight years. John served as a chaplain in the Air Force Reserves, and was the pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in Rockville, Maryland, for over a decade. John spent many years working with and for the homeless community in the DC area. He has the double honor of being named Washingtonian of the Year by Washingtonian magazine in 1993 for his work with the homeless, and being named a Monsignor by Pope John Paul II in 2005. In a letter to John on the occasion of his honor by the magazine, President George H. W. Bush wrote, “I commend you for your selfless commitment to those in need, and I thank you for helping to make our Nation's Capital a better place to live.”