KNIGHT OF THE MONTH
DR. ANTHONY MASCOLA
by: Mark Angel - DGK
Brothers, I was proud to suggest Brother Anthony as our Knight of the Month, and my fellow council officers enthusiastically agreed with the choice. I asked him to write about himself, his family, how he became Catholic, etc. His response was so interesting and impressive that I present it in its entirety here:
I was born in San Pedro and am of Italian heritage on both my father and mother’s side
Alexa, Anthony, Ryan & Jenny Mascola
Our family is from Ischia, a small island just outside of Naples. We have been fishermen going to sea for as far back as I can determine, at least seven generations, and our family attended the church “Chiesa della Spirito Santo” in Ischia at least since the 1600’s. I am a patroni of the church, sworn to its protection as every first born of our family has been for the past four hundred plus years.
We had the S.G. Giuseppe and Southern Queen, commercial fishing boats called purse seiners here in San Pedro. I grew up watching my Grandfather, father and brother and many other family members go to sea as commercial fishermen since the time I was a boy
I worked as a professional mariner growing up and put myself through school as did all of my family by working on the water
I had all of my sacraments at Holy Trinity in San Pedro where I met my dear wife Jenny who had all of her sacraments there as well. She was a cradle Catholic of Irish and Polish descent and we have known each other since the third grade.
I played baseball and football at San Pedro High School and Jenny played volleyball there. We were in school service organizations together and went to the prom together and I married Jenny in my senior year in Medical School at USC. We have two wonderful children on earth and a daughter Ashley watching over us in heaven.
I did my internship, residency and fellowship at Stanford University and was on the faculty there for 12 years where I served as the Director of Evidence Based Practices and Ongoing Education in the Department of Psychiatry. That is where I became a “Fisher of men”.
My research, teaching and clinical expertise are in delivering a type of counseling called Cognitive Behavior Therapy, which aims to cultivate virtue and resilience in people in times of great duress
I worked at Stanford in the Division of Behavioral Medicine until my wife’s parents became ill and we moved back home to care for them, and I took a job at the University of California where I began mentoring undergraduate, graduate, law and medical students.
My wife Jenny sadly passed of metastatic cancer two years ago.
I recently left the University of California to practice consistently with my conscience, and I am now starting a private practice in Psychiatry and a non-profit organization to help families access Catholic medical care
I am active in the Catholic Medical Association and working on projects to help mentor young Catholic students pursuing careers in Medicine in a committee called Novus Medicus.
I am also working with MyCatholicDoctor.com which is a nationwide movement to make healthcare consistent with Catholic values more accessible to families who desire this.
I am starting a mentoring program called “Fishers of Men” to help young Catholics keep their faith and overcome life stressors by strengthening their fellowship with good Catholic mentors and train them in developing resilience through cultivation of virtue and training in CBT.
My daughter Alexa graduated from the University of Dallas, a small Catholic Newman college, and now works at the Thomistic Institute with the Dominican Friars in Washington DC developing programs to help young men and women attending secular schools to deepen their fellowship and faith through retreats, lectures and content on their YouTube channel.
My son Ryan earned his Eagle Scout in Troop 604 here at Santiago de Compostela and is now studying electrical engineering at Cal Poly. He is a member of IEEE and the Newman club there.
In addition to coaching my kids’ athletic teams, and volunteering for the Scouts, I have served as a technical rope rescue technician doing high angle rescue for Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue Unit. I am now active with the US Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 114-06-01 in Newport Beach where I serve on the boat crew. I lead a program in credentialing our boat crewmen in Basic Life Support, AED and first aid in preparation for patrols during the upcoming Olympic games. I am a member of the Italian Catholic Federation at Mary Star in San Pedro and return regularly to take my parents to meetings there.
I am a new Knight and have been drawn to participate in serving our church as my forefathers did theirs and I am greatly inspired by your example and fellowship in service. It is quite an honor to me to be selected by you all.
