Hello, Christ the King Parish!
First, it is an immense honor and joy to serve as your new Pastor and I am humbled to have this opportunity to walk alongside you all on our shared journey of faith as Catholics. Fr. Steve was my spiritual director when I was an undergrad senior discerning God’s vocational call in my life, and I have seen the many ways he has served and shepherded with great love and dedication here at Christ the King. I feel so grateful for the vibrant and Christ-centered community that he, the parish staff, and school staff have all built up here, and I desire to give my all to help continue that mission.
We’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other, but I figure this would be a good start just to introduce myself if we haven’t had the chance yet to meet in-person: I originally grew up in New Jersey, where my Mom, Dad, and pretty much the majority of my family still reside, and I’m the oldest of three, with two younger sisters (you’ll hear about them a lot in homilies to come!). Feel free to call me ‘Fr. David’ or ‘Fr. Dave’; I’m truly fine with either and all of my family jumps between David/Dave. Despite what you may think about New Jersey and even though I grew up about an hour outside of New York City, my hometown is actually quite rural and my childhood home is only 5 minutes away from the Appalachian Trail—so I have a deep love for nature and outdoor activities (especially fishing) and would always appreciate suggested places to visit in the local area! I love sports of all sorts, and my greatest fandom is first for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (not really a big surprise there!). Having grown up in the New York metro area, I’m also a big fan of the Yankees, Jets (my enduring Cross!), Knicks, and Devils (the last major sports team to keep New Jersey in their name). I enjoy cooking, reading, the occasional video game or board game, or watching a good movie as other activities in my spare time.
After completing my undergraduate education at the University of Notre Dame, I discerned God’s call to enter formation with the Congregation of Holy Cross in 2014. I professed Final Vows in 2020 and was ordained a priest in 2021, serving my first two years of ministry down at St. John Vianney Parish in Goodyear, Arizona, and then serving the past 3 years as associate pastor here in town at St. Joe’s parish. It is an incredible gift and blessing to be here at Christ the King and I know there is going to be much for me to learn and grow in serving as Pastor for the first time. Please know from this first day and every day forward you are in my daily prayers and please keep me in yours as well. I look forward to getting to know you all as we share our life of faith together.
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