By Gia Myers • Posted February 2, 2026

Michael Hadjak serves as the Missionary Hub director based at St. Alphonsus Parish in Maple Glen, Montgomery County. In this new role, he brings a unique blend of military discipline, law enforcement experience, and corporate leadership to the mission of reaching the 83% of baptized Catholics in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia who no longer regularly attend Mass.

A self-described “cradle Catholic,” Hadjak grew up in Northeast Philadelphia as the son of a Philadelphia police officer. He graduated from Archbishop Ryan High School and later from Penn State University’s ROTC program before beginning a career marked by service.

He served first as a Radnor Township police officer, then as an officer in the U.S. Army, and later as a senior leader in emergency management and corporate operations.

Through it all, Hadjak says his Catholic faith has remained his “great inheritance,” passed down through generations of family devotion. He recalls both grandmothers praying the rosary daily, and both grandfathers – World War II veterans – leaning on their faith throughout their lives.

“They evangelized through their actions,” Hadjak said, and how they lived their faith left a deep imprint on him.

Today, Hadjak and his wife of 20 years, Stacey, live in Blue Bell. They are parishioners of Epiphany of Our Lord Parish in Plymouth Meeting and are adjusting to life as “empty nesters” with three adult children.

Hadjak’s journey into his new role began last May, when he attended an information session at Epiphany of Our Lord about the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s new Missionary Hub initiative.

As he listened to the vision of reconnecting with the 83% who are no longer coming to Mass, something stirred in him.

“My heart raced,” he recalled. “Those are people I know and love.”

He was particularly moved by Archbishop Nelson Pérez’s willingness to address the issue head-on with an action plan designed to “burst the doors open to welcome people home,” Hadjak said.

He had already been praying for God to use him “in a new way,” and he sensed this was the answer. “I feel a vocational calling to help God’s children,” he said.

Much of that calling is shaped by his military background. Soldiers, he explains, are trained to act decisively. “Action is always better than inaction. That’s a part of me,” he said.

Hadjak’s career reflects that instinct for purposeful movement. Most recently, he served as a senior director at Comcast, preparing teams to respond effectively to both natural and man-made disasters. Before that, he held leadership roles at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Amtrak, and Chubb Insurance, overseeing complex operations across the country and around the world.

Outside of work, leadership has always been woven into Hadjak’s life. He, his father, and his sons all became Eagle Scouts. He has served as a Scoutmaster, an OCIA coordinator, a Pre-Cana team member, a confirmation catechist, and a facilitator for synod listening sessions.

He loves hiking, camping, running, drawing, and watercolor painting. But for him, the Mass has always been the center of his life.

“It has been very restorative and refreshing for me,” he said.

As he begins his work leading the Missionary Hub at St. Alphonsus, Hadjak’s first priority has been building relationships with parish staff, school faculty, parishioners, and neighboring parish communities.

“That’s been some of the most meaningful work since I’ve come on board,” he said.

He approaches his new role with deep humility, reflecting on the decades of work by many other people in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia who have preceded him – Catholic school educators, parish religious education teachers, those providing pastoral care to parishioners, among others.

Hadjak considers the Missionary Hubs to be “building right on top of the foundation set by so many people before us.”

He believes the key to the hubs’ success lies in the 17% of Catholics who still do attend Mass regularly. Just as the apostles once left the Upper Room filled with the Holy Spirit, Hadjak believes today’s active parishioners can become missionary disciples who joyfully share their faith with those who have drifted away.

“That’s ultimately where we need to be,” he said.

Evangelization, for Hadjak, isn’t about pressure. It’s about authentic joy. He compares it to sharing a favorite restaurant with friends.

“I want everyone to know how great it is to be engaged with the faith, with the Church,” he said.  “I get so much more than what I give, and I think you’ll love it too. That’s the message I want to spread.”