Brother Richard Hirbe, fsp
Founder/Minister General
A California native, raised in the San Fernando Valley entered the Polish Province of the Capuchin Franciscans in Broken Arrow, OK, professing First Vows on August 11, 1976.
After a transforming encounter with a trauma patient in 2001 at St. Francis Medical Center, he was inspired to found the Friars of the Sick Poor of Los Angeles.
His ministries have included EMT – Emergency Medical Tech, Hospice Chaplain, and for the past 35 years, the Director of Chaplain Services and Medical Ethics at St. Francis Medical Center, Lynwood. A certified Chaplain for 34 years, he earned his Master’s in Pastoral Counseling and Religious Studies from Mount St Mary’s College, Los Angeles, and his accreditation in Medical Ethics from the Pacific Institute for Bioethics. Since moving the Motherhouse from Long Beach in 2018 to rural Fillmore in Ventura County, most of his free time, when not at the hospital is spent tending the orchards, gardens and hens at the Motherhouse. His interests and hobbies include agriculture, Native American Art and Spirituality and “rock & relic collecting”. His most memorable moment in life is when he, along with Bro. Cesar Galan, fsp, presented the Statutes of the Institute to the now St. Pope John Paul II in Rome at the Vatican on October 15, 2003
Brother Felipe de Jesús Martinez, fsp
Br. Felipe is a founding member of the Friars of the Sick Poor of Los Angeles. He has a great passion for the sick poor and marginalized.
He presently serves at Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Orange with 31+ years of progressive leadership experience with a rich diverse background in healthcare.
He recently served as the V.P. for Home & Community Based Care & ARTC in Buffalo, New York. He also served as a regional Director of Mission and Spiritual Care with Dignity Health in Santa Maria, As the Director of Mission, Ethics and Spiritual Care with Catholic Health Initiatives in Nebraska and the Director of Spiritual Care at St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles for sixteen years.
And ministered in Hospitals in San Diego, Bakersfield and Good Samaritan Hospital.
He was born in Comala, Mexico and immigrated to the United States in 1970. He is a graduate of St. John’s Seminary College and St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, and holds a Masters in Bio-Ethics from from Loyola Marymount University.
He is a church musician and a creative chapel decorator.
He is also inventive and resourceful in his advocacy efforts in the areas of Palliative Care, End of life Care and Organ Transplantation.
Deacon Manuel John Martinez, fsp
Deacon Manuel John Martinez, fsp made his solemn profession With the Friars on August 22, 2009.
He was ordained a permanent deacon for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles on September 8, 1990.
He served as Director of Deacons retiring in 2018, Brother Manny is Assigned as deacon at St Mary Magdalen Parish in Camarillo, CA. In his retirement he also serves as a part time funeral director at a local funeral home.
Brother Adam Benedict Becerra, fsp
Bro. Adam was perpetually professed in 2012 and serves as the Vice-Minister General.
Bro. Adam holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and Philosophy from St. John’s Seminary College, Camarillo, California, a Master of Arts degree in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California, and a Doctorate in Ministry with a concentration in Practical Systematic Theology from Barry University, Miami Shores, Florida.
He ministers at Chaminade College Preparatory as the Vice President of Mission and Strategic Initiatives. His love and passion for mission allow him to advise the Chaminade’s president and administration on how Catholic and Marianist principles frame and guide deliberations on key questions related to strategy, practice, policy, and curriculum alignment at Chaminade. He is also responsible for mission integration teams, faculty and board formation, and hiring for mission initiatives.
Bro. Adam works closely with the Marianist Province of the United States to help coordinate a new hire orientation curriculum and program that helps other Marianist schools form their new hires in the Marianist charism and educational philosophy
Bro. Adam also teaches Systematic Theology for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ Institute for Pastoral Education where he empowers Hispanic laypeople to gain a deeper understanding of their own theological insights to deepen their ministerial praxis at the parish level.
For his dedication, passion, and commitment to Catholic education and to the Institute for Pastoral Education, Bro. Adam was awarded the “Brother of the Year Award” in 2015 by Archbishop Jose Gomez.
Father John Mary Sigler fsp, BCC
Fr. John serves as the lead Catholic Chaplain at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was ordained a priest in 1994 and professed his solemn vows with the Friars of the Sick Poor in 2012.
Fr. John earned his bachelor’s degree in social science from San Diego State University. He studied philosophy at the University of San Diego, then earned his master’s in divinity from St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo. After ordination, Fr. John completed four units of clinical pastoral education at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
Fr. John credits his family and lifelong friends for inspiring him to help those in need; these values are the root of his calling to serve the sick, poor, and marginalized as a friar. Fr. John is a native of Los Angeles.
Father César John Paul Galán, fsp
A native of Southern California, Brother César entered the Friars of the Sick Poor after two units of clinical pastoral education and six years of ministry at St. Francis Medical Center as a trauma chaplain.
After another six years at St. Francis and continued discernment during formation as a friar, Brother César entered St. John’s Seminary to begin his studies for the priesthood.
The seminarian seeks to further the Charism of fsp as a friar, ministering in both hospital chaplaincy and parish life.
Fr Cesar was ordained a priest on June 3, 2023 and serves as Associate Pastor at St Raymond’s, Downey and Priest Chaplain at St Francis Medical Center, Lynwood.
Father Rodolfo de Jesús Valenzuela, fsp
Fr. Rudy is pastor at Holy Spirit Parish and CEO at Clinica Santa María de Guadalupe in San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, Mexico.
He is also a Family Nurse Practitioner and is a Fellow of both the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and the American Academy of Nursing.
He is widely recognized for his work among underserved communities at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Bro. Hilian Camillus Hernández, fsp,
Bro. Hilian Camillus Hernández, fsp, was invested in the habit and received as a novice in the Friars of the Sick Poor on June 7, 2025 fulfilling his desire of being devoted to serving God and the most vulnerable through a ministry in healthcare and compassion. He holds a degree in Nursing from the University of Havana, Cuba, and has been sent on mission in his previous Community to various countries including the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Colombia, and the United States—serving as an Administrator and nurse, bringing not only medical care but also hope and comfort to those most vulnerable and in need.
It was on April 6, 2023, guided by divine providence and through his introduction to Fr. César Galán, fsp, that he encountered the Friars of the Sick Poor of Los Angeles, being drawn to the friars with a spirit of dedication and fraternity. He currently serves as a Nurse Assistant at St. Francis Medical Center, where his ministry has already been honored with the Daisy Award—a testament to Christ’s love reflected in the care of every patient.
With humility, faith, and charity, Bro. Hilian continues his journey as an instrument of healing and mercy in the hands of the Lord bringing hope, healing and presence to the sick poor.
Brother José Luis Raphael Castañeda, fsp
Br. José Luis Raphael Castañeda, fsp began his journey with The Friars of the Sick Poor of Los Angeles on October 14, 2023. His formation began in 2015, when he entered the seminary for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and attended the Queen of Angels Center for Priestly Formation (formerly Juan Diego House) in Gardena, CA. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts from Marymount California University on May 10, 2019. That same year, in July 2019, he entered St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, CA, where he studied until 2021.
On April 3, 2021, he joined Zion Mission House, a lay Catholic men’s community also located in Gardena. Br. José Luis also served in various capacities at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Gardena: first as a volunteer in the Religious Education Office and then as a receptionist in the rectory office, before becoming the Parish Office and Facilities Manager on April 5, 2021.
In August 2023, he returned to St. John’s Seminary to pursue a Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry. His Investiture as a member of The Friars of the Sick Poor of Los Angeles took place on April 13, 2024.
Br. Luis of the Sacred Heart Salas, fsp
Br. Luis was received into the Friars of the Sick Poor on March 8, 2025 after discerning and walking with the friars for over a year.
He currently serves in full time pastoral ministry at Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish in Rancho Cucamonga, CA where he helps in Liturgy Coordination, Religious Education (specifically Confirmation, OCIA, and adult and parent formation), and other pastoral matters.
Br. Luis holds a bachelors degree in Philosophy and in Psychological Sciences and is completing a paralegal certification program through which he furthers the fsp charism of HOPE by advocating for, protecting and upholding the human dignity of those that are most vulnerable. He continues to discern where God calls him to serve and minister as a Friar of the Sick Poor entrusting his vocation to Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
