Our Leadership
New President

ANNOUNCING Father Fred Jenga, C.S.C., New President of HCFM

Father Jenga, a priest of the Congregation for 17 years. Prior to being appointed as the new president of HCFM, Father Fred has served as a corporate member on the board of directors for 5 years. He also served in a pastoral role as Regional Director of Holy Cross Family Ministries in East Africa for 7 years where he helped lay the foundation for the dynamic growth in ministry outreach to families and youth. He introduced digital and in-person mission events to help families pray and grow spiritually. He built several teams of lay people, teams that have helped the ministry grow in East Africa. He also creatively educated and helped the members of Holy Cross in East Africa to learn about and embrace the ministry as an important part of the Congregation’s efforts.

The first Peyton Prayer Guild Chapters for children were formed under Father Jenga’s leadership. He developed a program that brought children in schools and parishes together to learn the Rosary, pray for their families and learn about the life of Father Patrick Peyton. This program has grown and now thousands of children are participating.

Father Jenga has multiple degrees in Communications, including San Francisco State University, Makerere University, Kampala, as well as a Bachelor of Theology from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Nairobi, and a Bachelor of Philosophy from the Pontifical Urban University in Rome. Father Jenga recently completed a Doctorate in Communication from the University of Texas. He is an active researcher in the area of Communication and Religion; and he has published and presented several papers at academic conferences.

Father Jenga was born in Uganda, where he grew up on the banks of the River Nile and Lake Victoria, in the Ugandan district of Jinja. Father Jenga speaks several languages, including his ethnic language, Lusoga, as well as Luganda, Rutooro, Swahili, and Kinyarwanda.

Cindy Slattery is the Chief Financial Officer for Holy Cross Family Ministries. She takes her responsibility very seriously to ensure that Father Peyton’s mission will continue for generations by wisely managing a secure endowment with the help of a strong finance committee.

Cindy has a bachelor’s degree in economics with a concentration in finance from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Cindy and her husband Greg, have three children, Elizabeth, Madeline and Kevin. She loves spending time with her family. She enjoys cooking and entertaining family and friends.

Father David Guffey, C.S.C., is the National Director at Family Theater Productions. In his role he is responsible for both the media production and the pastoral outreach activities. He has numerous credits for his award winning work in television and film including, “Carrying On”, “You Will See”, “Finding Mary”, “Assumptions”, “Family Dinner”, “40 Hours”, and “Down from the Mountain Top”. He is also the writer and director of the short film, “Last Deal at the Mt. Carroll Gun Club”.

Father David grew up in Mt. Carroll, Illinois where his parents Gary and Eileen and his sister Lisa still live. He enjoys hiking, photography and travel. He is a Notre Dame football enthusiast and a Los Angeles Dodgers fan.

Father Pinto Paul, C.S.C., serves as the International Director of Holy Cross Family Ministries. In his role, Father Pinto will be representing Family Rosary leadership in the 16 countries outside of the United States that have active ministries serving the spiritual and prayer needs of families.

Father Pinto is from Kerala State, India and has worked as a missionary and member of the North East Province of India in Tripura for ten years. Prior to his recent position as Special Assistant to the President at Holy Cross Family Ministries, Father Pinto was involved with Stonehill College’s Campus Ministry for six years.

Father Jim Phalan, C.S.C., has been named National Director of Family Rosary, responsible for day-to-day operations of Family Rosary as well as Catholic Mom and the Museum of Family Prayer. He brings a great devotion to Our Lady, significant experience in family prayer and a strong commitment to further Father Peyton’s mission. Father Jim has worked in many capacities at Holy Cross Family Ministries since 1994. Most recently, he served on the Family Rosary Team in France as Assistant Director managing the Family Rosary Pavilion/Chapel at the Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine in Lourdes, France.  At the same time, he served in the English-language pastoral program at the Shrine. Father Jim has a BA in Psychology and History from Stonehill College, and a Master of Divinity and a Master of Theology from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology.  In addition to his native English, Father Phalan is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese and French.