A widower, Bro. Kevin started religious life with the Capuchins in Philadelphia and ended up being honored in Los Angeles for his work with the poor, homeless, and suffering, according to an article in Angelus News of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
As the article puts it:
On Feb. 9, 2020, Brother Kevin Dismas received the Brotherhood Award at the Annual Religious Brothers Mass in recognition of this work. The award, presented by Archbishop José H. Gomez, is given to one brother each year, selected by the Religious Brothers Council.
“I like to operate below radar,” Brother Kevin Dismas said. “But I’m forever grateful.”
Part of the vows he and the other Friars of the Sick Poor take include a vow of self-sufficiency, meaning they pass donations on to the poor and live off their own wages. Brother Kevin Dismas works as a PTSD and suicide counselor for Marines at Camp Pendleton in San Diego. His program is eight weeks, and if a participant survives it, he gets to remain in the Marine Corps. “Over the past five years, 105 guys have gone through this programming and come out to stay,” he told Angelus.
He also works as an outreach coordinator for a local program that keeps 400 to 500 homeless people fed each day. They make 40-pound boxes of food and distribute nearly 3,000 of these every month to families in need.
When he learned that he was receiving the Brotherhood Award, Brother Kevin Dismas said one of the first things he did was to call Father Tom Betz, provincial for the Capuchins at St. Augustine Province in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and thank him. After the death of his wife 13 years ago, that’s where he started his path of religious life. “They trained me to be a good friar,” he said. “Although I didn’t stay with them, this gift from the archbishop started with them.”
