Fr. Brian Vincenzo Guerrini sscc, a member of the U.S. Province and resident of the Sacred Hearts community in La Verne, California, has published Triage for Pastoral Ministry (2026), a brief and practical handbook that applies the medical concept of triage to the field of pastoral care.
Drawing on his experience in such diverse ministries as education, parish life, hospital chaplaincy, missions, and formation, Fr. Guerrini proposes a structured system to help ministers discern which situations require immediate attention, which can be addressed at a later stage, and which should be referred to other professionals or shared with the community.
The book presents a four-level pastoral urgency grid — ranging from immediate crisis to the ordinary care of community life — three fundamental movements of action (assess, prioritize, and act/delegate/refer), a pastoral decision tree, and a theological reflection grounding the model in the practice of Jesus and in texts such as Acts 6 and 1 Corinthians 12. The text concludes by identifying the most common pitfalls in pastoral care and offering a summary rule to guide the minister's presence.
Fr. Guerrini is the author of numerous works on the missionary history of the Congregation and on pastoral spirituality. Triage for Pastoral Ministry may be requested directly from the author at the Sacred Hearts Community in La Verne, California.
Link to download the book: https://acortar.link/3VQPrt
06/20/2026