St Francis Xavier Chapel "Maryknoll" Japanese Catholic Center, 222 S. Hewitt Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Welcome to St. Francis Xavier Chapel - Japanese Catholic Center Church
Fr. Toshio Sato, C.M.
New Administrator as of August 1, 2026
Autobiography:
“God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God.” (1 Cor 1:27-29)
Someone says if you want to make God smile, just present your plan! I think I made Him laugh out loud so hard. My name is Fr. Toshio Francesco Sato, CM, a Vincentian missionary priest, born and raised in norhtern part of Japan, Fukushima. My family has been cultivating rice for generations as well as raising silk warm until a few decades ago. As a youngest son of 4 at a typical Japanese house in a coutryside, which has a butsudan (a buddhist altar for ancestors) and the Kamidana (a miniture household Shinto shrine) in the same house. I grew up with hearing a buddhist chant daily by my grand mother before breakfast. I played Kendo in middle school and volleyball in high school.
When I started studying English at 13, I was so fascinated by it. So much so that I recorded American Top 40 by Casey Kasem weekly so that I could sing like an American! My English teacher who was a Japanese trained me to compete at English speech contest. I finished at 5th at the prefectural competition, while only top 3 could have gone to national. (I couldn not win over the students from the private Catholic schools which had native English speaking teachers whereas I was at a public school with only Japanese English teacher!) My love for English gave me a chance to work at the Japanese Consulate in Chicago after graduating the unviersity in 1996. Partially logistic and the rest is adminsitrative work there made me realized that I wanted to serve in a nonprofit sector and let me to the graduate study of Public Service Management at DePaul Unvieristy in 2001.
God placed people in my life, the Catholics and Vicentian priests with great examples, who strived for imitating Christ, evanglizer of the poor. Thinking back, my vocation is closely related to the desire to learn Englihsh which opened up my door to meet Christ through people whom I met. Thanks to Casey Kasem. After being baptized at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Chicago, serving their sandwich window and one year of full time volunteer work in St. Louis by the Vincentian community (Gateway Vincentian Volunteer), I joined their formation program in Chicago in 2005. Durning my discernment peirod, I visited various religious communities including the Cistercians. However, the love of God who touched St. Vincent de Paul and made him a great Apostole of Charity for the people of France also transfomed my rebelious heart to be His instrument as a Vincentian missinoary through the examples of many great Vincentian missionaries in its 400 years history.
My philosophy study was at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago with many other men and women religious congregations as well as lay students. It trained me not only intellectually but also gave me a sense of being a part of Church which consists of diverse missionary disciples. After one year of internal seminray (other religious communties call it “the Novitiate”), I moved to St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, CA, in 2009 to start my theology study with other 90 plus diocesan and religious seminarians. I was ordained the first Japanese Vinentian priest in the history of the Congregation of the Mission by Bishop David M. O’Connell, CM, at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in St. Louis, MO during our provincial assembly on June 27, 2013 with 90 plus other priests and brothers of our community.
Being the yongest of 4 probably has something to do with my incesant curiosity to expand my horizen. After 2 assignments at parishes in Dallas, TX and N. Little Rock, AR, I joined our Vincentian International Mission in Bolivia from 2020 to 2022. Bolivia is the country of 2 distinctive climates: high mountains in the west with Chile and flat tropical/Amazon area in the east with Brazil. Driving up to visit the communities at 13,000 ft or by traveling 10 hours or 3 days one-way boat ride, my limits to encounter “the others” were streached wider and I was profoundly grateful to the Jesuits and other missionaries who evangelized first and accomanied them for centuries.
From 2022 to 2025, I served as a Vocation Director for the Vincentians in the Western Province in the USA, visitng parishes, universities, and vocation events in the western part of the USA. Indeed, “the harvest is great, but the laborers are few.”[1] Christian vocation is unique to each one of us and I was plivileged to walk with talented young men (and women) in their discernment period.
God’s plan never stop surprising us. I am greatly honored to serve at St. Francis Xavier Chapel – Japanese Catholic Center, beginning on August 1, 2026. Although more than half of my life I spent in the USA, I hope I can contribute some to this historic place by walking together as fellow childern of God in the mixed cultures between Japan and the USA. I appreciate music, quiet time, learning culture and food, sharing meals, and God’s creation in natural beauty. I am so grateful to God who loved us first and continue guiding us this pilgrimage on earth together in His plan. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you always.
[1] Lk 10:2; Mt 9:37-38.