CHARLOTTE — Before he became a priest, before he served as pastor of a Belmont parish, Father Frank Cancro was a circus clown. That personal journey led him to spend his weekends ministering to the big top’s traveling performers – and now to a national role in the Church.
In June, he was appointed national advisor to the Catholic circus community by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee on Pastoral Care of Migrants, Refugees and Travelers. He will serve in the role through November 2024.
Father Cancro worked as a circus clown in the 1970s before being ordained a priest in 1981.
Last year he retired as pastor of Queen of the Apostles Church in Belmont. Since then he has been devoting more time to what he loves most: ministering to circus performers as he travels with them around the United States.
“I’ve always felt a connection to people who travel down the road,” Father Cancro says.
In his new position he follows in the footsteps of his longtime friend Father Jerry Hogan, a former national advisor to the circus community who passed away in May.
Father Cancro’s duties include sharing his pastoral experiences, especially communicating how best to evangelize the circus community and engage it in the life of the Church. He also will convey the needs of the circus community to the USCCB, so initiatives can be created to address them.
ON THE ROAD WITH THE CIRCUS
Father Cancro has been traveling with circus shows since 2010. While in active ministry for the Diocese of Charlotte, he spent a few days each month ministering as a circus chaplain.
“Retirement affords me the opportunity to increase that,” he explains. “I just returned yesterday from five days traveling with Garden Brothers Circus. I was at another circus in Wisconsin a few weeks ago, and later this month will be on the road for a few weekends in a row to take up Missionary Co-op collections in parishes in Indiana.”
He lives just like the performers when he is on the road, staying in RVs, trucks and circus trains while ministering to them.
Performers need a certain kind of spiritual guidance, Father Cancro told the Catholic News Herald in 2012. Circus work can be draining, as each stop on a tour takes energy and enthusiasm, without much time to recharge.
Living in tight quarters with co-workers, not to mention culture clashes and language barriers, can put a strain on performers’ spiritual lives. But prayer and study help them renew and refresh, so they can support each other.
Father Cancro brings to the circus community the sacraments that other Catholics would receive in a church, such as Holy Communion, confession, baptism, confirmation and marriage.
A MINISTRY OF PRESENCE
Since retiring, Father Cancro has also become chairman of the board for the Showpeoples Winter Quarters, an RV park for retiring circus folks or circus families between shows who do not have the resources for other options.
“We offer them space, utility hookups and community on a financial sliding scale,” Father Cancro explains.
“Also, now that I manage the circus ministry overall, there are meetings (and paperwork) that I now have more time for!” he says.
Besides his advisor and chaplain roles, Father Cancro works in conjunction with the USCCB’s Secretariat for Cultural Diversity in planning and coordination, and he serves on two different leadership teams for its “Journeying Together” initiative.
“It is often a misunderstood and misjudged lifestyle, but pastoral ministry in the circus (not just to Catholics) provides a ministry of presence to everyone in the shows. It is as fruitful as parish life,” Father Cancro says.
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
Did you know?
Approximately 300,000 people work in 50-60 circuses and 300-400 carnivals in the United States – and 40 percent of them are Catholic. The Church has a special outreach ministry to these circus performers and traveling entertainers, so that, despite not being able to be rooted in a parish, they can be fully integrated into the life of the Church.
Learn more at www.usccb.org/committees/pastoral-care-migrants-refugees-travelers/circus-and-traveling-shows-ministry.