By Gia Myers • Posted June 30, 2025

It was after only a few months of retirement that experienced social worker, Chris Minnick, felt called to apply for a Care Manager position with Catholic Charities of Philadelphia (CCoP).

Through daily prayer, he asked for God’s guidance and realized the position was “a real good fit for me,” he says, looking back.

Now, Minnick works to stabilize and enrich the lives of seniors in need, aged 60 and over. They are often referred to him through word of mouth by priests or neighbors. The seniors don’t need to be members of the parish. They  don’t  need to be Catholic to receive supportive services either.

One memorable case involved a senior woman who lives with her 41-year-old son who is disabled and suffers with mental health issues. They faithfully attended Mass every Sunday, though struggled financially with paying bills and buying food.

Minnick was able to help the woman get food benefits, emergency funds, and a new HVAC system through the federally funded Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), when her central air system failed during the heat of last summer.

Additionally, Minnick advocated for the woman’s son to get the needed mental health services and helped the son apply for disability income through Social Security.

Without this work, Minnick says many area seniors would likely “be invisible” in our communities and cut off from critical support  services.

Born and raised in Rochester, NY, Minnick says he “came to Philadelphia to attend Temple University in 1976 and never left.”

Minnick graduated from Temple, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work.  He started his career as a social worker in a Catholic nursing home in Philadelphia in the 1980s and has consistently worked with the senior population throughout his career.

He later worked as a nursing home administrator, served in various leadership roles for Einstein Healthcare Network and Duke University Health System, and was a director for a senior life program in Philadelphia, from which he retired in August 2023.

His focus has long been on assisting seniors, providing them with necessary healthcare services to stay healthy and helping them keep their independence in their homes for as long as possible, what the National Institute on Aging refers to as “aging in place.”

Minnick says his work with seniors is inspired by his grandfather who lived to be 100 years old and was cared for until his passing by Minnick’s parents in their home.

In his role at CCoP, Minnick works with two parish-based elder care programs.

One program is based at St. John the Baptist Church in Manayunk, and the other at Epiphany of Our Lord Parish in South Philadelphia.  The seniors he serves live within one of the two parish communities.

He visits seniors’ homes, assesses their individual needs, plans services, helps seniors navigate complex systems and advocates for their needs.

Though he feels great fulfillment in his work, Minnick admits there are also some challenging situations he faces.

“A lot of times, there are mental health issues, substance abuse issues, or personality issues,” he says. “I rely on prayer to help me through those difficult times.”

“It helps me to focus my work and my energy,” he says, “to follow God’s teachings, to invite God to guide me as an instrument of Him in the work that I do.”

There can also be long waiting times for seniors to receive the needed services he’s requested for them.

“I continue to pray and ask God’s help to speed things along. Sometimes, miracles happen,” he says. It’s happened to me a couple of times in this position, and I definitely think there was divine intervention.”

Some people Minnick helps, he says, have lost connection to their parish and the Catholic Church, but after receiving help, “they find spiritual fulfillment, and they want to get reconnected, which is a good outcome.”

Without the CCoP elder care program, Minnick expects that the people he helps “would fall through the cracks, remain distant from the Church,” he says.  “They wouldn’t be seen in their communities. They’d become invisible because they’re isolated.”

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This piece was previously published in Catholic Charities of Philadelphia’s Annual Report. View the full report here.