Twelve days afloat — that’s what separated Ralph Chieffo’s life in Italy and his life in America. When he was 7 years old, he boarded an ocean liner in the Port of Naples with his parents, his brother and his sister, and they shared a little room for 12 days until the ship arrived in New York Harbor.

“To provide an elementary education for us, my mom and dad became astronauts, venturing into the unknown with trust in God and relatives who embraced us,” he said. Now 70 years old, Chieffo helps provide elementary education for more than 350 children. He is a Catholic priest and pastor of St. Mary Magdalen Parish in Upper Providence, Pennsylvania, near Media.