Father Daniel Hopcus: 50 Golden Years!

When discussing Father Daniel Hopcus with various Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, so many adjectives come up.

Father Dan, as he is commonly called, celebrated his 50-year Jubilee on April 30.

In the process of putting together a piece regarding his milestone, many sisters were interviewed, and their responses were glowing.

Father Dan is humble, tender-hearted, attentive, friendly and more.

Father Dan has been with the Sisters of Providence for 12 years. But the relationship with the sisters goes back further than a decade.

“I’ve worked with the Sisters of Providence for 30 years,” he recently said.

He said he worked with the sisters during ceremonies at Marywood Schools, located in Orange County, Calif., specifically Sisters Paula Damanio and Jan Craven.

“We came to know each other through the years of working together,” Sister Paula said. “We would talk about the role of women in the church. We often had some enlightening and enlivening conversations. I really came to admire him as a pastor, as a minister. Eventually, we became very good friends.”

Father Dan was ordained in 1964 within the Orange Diocese. He began his ministry as an associate pastor for Holy Family, Orange, Calif. (1964-69), before going to St. Joan of Arc, West Los Angeles (1969-74). He also spent three years at St. Pius V, Buena Park, Calif., before a two-year stint at St. Columban, Garden Grove, Calif.

He then became pastor at St. Martin de Porres, Yorba Linda, Calif., in 1978, before starting a ministry at St. Hedwig, Los Alamitos, Calif., in 1990.

In 2001, he became senior priest at Our Lady of Guadalupe, La Habra, Calif.

During a sabbatical in 2001, Father Dan was asked by Sisters Paula and Jan if he would be interested in becoming the chaplain for the Sisters of Providence.

He was only two years away from retirement, but thought he needed to come to Indiana.

“When I came here, it was with the intention of staying here,” Father Dan said. “As long as I’m physically able to work, I’m here for good. I love it here. The sisters are respectful, friendly, generous, intelligent, creative, organized, reliable, supportive, just about everything I can imagine. I feel that Providence brought me here and I’m thankful.”