Vicksburg native
elected provincial
SAN FRANCISCO – Father John Hardin, OFM, has been elected provincial minister of the Franciscan Friars of the Province of St. Barbara. Father Hardin will lead the Franciscan Friars in five Western States for the next six years, while continuing his involvement with St. Anthony Foundation in the role of president of the Board of Trustees.
Father Hardin is known throughout the Bay Area for his role as the executive director of St. Anthony Foundation, where he has served for the past seven years providing leadership for the 58-year-old organization, as well as for working with civic leaders, service providers, advocates, and residents to improve the quality of life for San Francisco’s poor.
He also spearheaded the construction of St. Anthony’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified service center, the first of its kind in San Francisco, in order to increase St. Anthony’s service capacity for the poor and homeless.
Originally from Vicksburg, Miss., Father Hardin, graduated from Mississippi State University with a B.A. in mathematics and worked for the Illinois Central Railroad and was vice president of the Los Angeles Piggy Back Service before entering the Franciscan order in 1981.
He earned his master of divinity degree from the Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley in 1985 and was ordained in 1986. In 2000, Father Hardin earned his maste’s in science of administration from the University of Notre Dame.
In his new role as minister provincial, Father Hardin will guide the community of 210 friars (the Province of St. Barbara) as they minister in a variety of ways in local, national and international projects, while continuing to be involved in the leadership of St. Anthony Foundation.
for working with civic leaders, service providers, advocates, and residents to improve the quality of life for San Francisco’s poor. 