Bishop announces new priest assignments

The moves affect leadership positions in the diocese and elevate many priests to pastor of their parishes

The East Tennessee Catholic

More than 30 priests have received appointments from Bishop Mark Beckman in an administrative move that will impact over 25 parishes in the Diocese of Knoxville.

Bishop Beckman announced the assignments on May 16, and they are effective on July 1, if not before. Many of the appointments elevate the role of priests who already are in place in their parishes. And several are leadership positions within the diocese.

In the diocesan curia, Father Peter Iorio, pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Alcoa, has been named vicar general and moderator of the curia. In those positions, Father Iorio will serve as Bishop Beckman’s top adjutant in administering the diocese and its Chancery.

Father Iorio was ordained in 1993 at St. Augustine Church in Signal Mountain, his home parish, and has served as pastor or associate pastor at St. Mary Parish in Johnson City, St. Dominic Parish in Kingsport, St. Augustine, Sacred Heart Cathedral, St. Joseph the Worker in Madisonville, and St. Thérèse of Lisieux in Cleveland and as dean of the Five Rivers Deanery.

Also, he has served as spiritual director at Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga, where he graduated in the class of 1982, as the Diocese of Knoxville’s youth ministry coordinator, as diocesan vocations director and director of priestly life and ministry, and as associate dean of formation at Mundelein Seminary, where he attended.

Father David Carter, rector of the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Chattanooga, has been named judicial vicar and vice chancellor for canonical affairs. In those positions, Father Carter is an officer of the diocese who has authority to judge cases in the diocesan ecclesiastical court, or Tribunal, as well as being secretary of the curia and a notary.

Father Carter, who received his License in Canon Law (JCL) in 2010 from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, was ordained in July 2005 at Sacred Heart Cathedral after completing studies at Conception Seminary College in Conception, Mo., and the Pontifical North American College in Rome. After his ordination, he was assigned to St. Jude Parish in Chattanooga. He also has served as associate vocations director and associate master of ceremonies for the diocese.

In addition, Father Carter served as parochial vicar at All Saints Parish in Knoxville from 2010-13 and chaplain at Knoxville Catholic High School also from 2010-13. He was assigned to the basilica in 2013.

In his roles as judicial vicar and vice chancellor for canonical affairs, Father Carter will continue to lead the Diocese of Knoxville Tribunal, whose ministry is justice in the Catholic Church through canon law. The Tribunal is based in Chattanooga.

Father Carter previously has served as parochial administrator of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in LaFollette and Christ the King Parish in Tazewell.

Father Michael Cummins, pastor of St. Dominic Parish in Kingsport since 2014, also will serve as vicar for priests for the diocese.

In this additional role, Father Cummins will assist Bishop Beckman in matters pertaining to all priests, diocesan and religious-order, and will represent the bishop in support and guidance for priests. He will assist with communications and requests from other dioceses pertaining to priests, too.

Father Cummins was ordained in 1995 at Sacred Heart Cathedral after completing studies at Mundelein Seminary. He served as an associate pastor at All Saints Parish as well as campus minister at Knoxville Catholic High School. He also served as chaplain at Notre Dame High School and the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, and as pastor of St. Mary Parish in Athens before being named pastor of St. Dominic.

Other roles in which Father Cummins has served include dean of the Five Rivers Deanery, as director of youth ministry for the diocese, as director of vocations for the diocese, and on the diocesan College of Consultors.

Father David Boettner, rector of the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, has been appointed episcopal vicar for special administration. In this new position, Father Boettner, who will continue to serve as cathedral rector, will represent Bishop Beckman and provide pastoral oversight on special projects involving construction and expansion activities as well as ministries such as the St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic, FOCUS, and the ECHO program.

Father Boettner was ordained in 1994 at his home parish of St. Thérèse of Lisieux in Cleveland after completing seminary at St. Meinrad. He also holds a master’s degree in divinity from St. Mary of the Lake. He has served as an associate pastor at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Chattanooga and at Sacred Heart Cathedral.

Father Boettner also has served as pastor of St. Mary Parish in Athens and St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Lenoir City before being named rector of the cathedral in 2010. In other roles for the diocese, he has served as a vicar general, an episcopal vicar, moderator of the curia, and coordinator of ongoing formation of deacons.

Bishop Beckman has elevated several priests from parochial administrator to pastor of their current parish. These include:

Father Julian Cardona at St. Thomas the Apostle. Father Cardona was ordained in May 2014 at Sacred Heart Cathedral after studying at seminary in his native Colombia and at St. Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology.

Father Cardona served as an associate pastor at St. Thomas the Apostle from 2015-23, when he was appointed parochial administrator of the Loudon County parish. He also has served as an associate pastor at St. Mary Parish in Johnson City.

Father Christopher Floersh at St. Albert the Great Parish in Knoxville. Father Floersh was ordained in June 2017 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and has been serving at St. Albert since July 2023.

Since his ordination, Father Floersh has served as chaplain at Notre Dame High School and parochial vicar at St. Stephen Parish in Chattanooga. He also has served as an associate pastor at St. John Neumann Parish in Farragut and as chaplain at Knoxville Catholic High School. And from 2020-24, he also served as diocesan director of vocations.

Father Jesús Guerrero at St. Elizabeth Parish in Elizabethton and St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Mountain City, where he has been serving since July 2023.

Father Guerrero, who was ordained in June 2015 at Sacred Heart Cathedral, served as parochial vicar at St. Mary Parish in Johnson City from July 2015 to July 2023. He is originally from Mexico and relocated to San Antonio, Texas, in 2003 after graduating from college. In 2005, he entered Assumption Seminary in San Antonio and later attended St. Meinrad. In 2009, he served as a missionary in Russia. He has been in the Diocese of Knoxville since 2011.

Father Pontian Kiyimba, AJ, at St. Mary Parish in Gatlinburg and Good Shepherd Parish in Newport. Father Kiyimba was ordained to the priesthood in 2005 in his native Uganda and has been active in the Diocese of Knoxville since November 2012.

He was named parochial administrator of St. Mary and Good Shepherd in July 2023.

Father Kiyimba served as an associate pastor at St. Mary Parish in Oak Ridge from October 2018 to July 2023. Prior to that assignment, he served as an associate pastor at All Saints Parish.

Father Kiyimba, who is with the Apostles of Jesus religious order and has been celebrating Mass in Swahili for members of the African Catholic community in East Tennessee as well as serving in the diocesan Hispanic Jail Ministry, became a U.S. citizen in 2022.

Father Christopher Manning at St. Mary Parish in Athens. Father Manning was appointed parochial administrator of St. Mary in June 2024. He was ordained to the priesthood in June 2013 at Sacred Heart Cathedral, his home parish.

From July 2019 through May 2024, Father Manning served as chaplain, teacher, and part of the administrative staff at Notre Dame High School. He also was chaplain of the Serra Club of Chattanooga.

Father Manning’s first assignment following his ordination was as an associate pastor at St. John Neumann beginning in July 2013. He also served as chaplain at Knoxville Catholic High School from 2014-19.

Father Bill McNeeley at Holy Family Parish in Seymour. Father McNeeley, who was ordained to the priesthood in June 2007, has been the parochial administrator at Holy Family since June 2024.

He was the first man in Diocese of Knoxville history to enter the presbyterate under the Pastoral Provision, established in 1982 by Pope St. John Paul II to allow Anglican clerics to petition for ordination to the Catholic priesthood.

Father McNeeley served as pastor of Holy Ghost Parish from July 2019 to June 2024. He previously served as assistant to the pastor and then as parochial administrator of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Alcoa from October 2018 to July 2019. Prior to his assignment at Our Lady of Fatima, Father McNeeley served as an assisting priest for St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Townsend, in pastoral service to Knoxville-area nursing homes, and as a ministerial assistant to the curia.

Father John Orr at Holy Ghost Parish in Knoxville. Father Orr was ordained in June 2001 at Sacred Heart Cathedral and has served as Holy Ghost’s parochial administrator since June 2024.

Prior to his assignment at Holy Ghost, Father Orr served as pastor of St. Mary Parish in Athens from July 2018 through May 2024. He served as pastor of St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Madisonville from July 2016 through June 2018, and before that he was pastor of St. Therese Parish in Clinton (2006-09) and associate pastor of Holy Ghost (2009-16), All Saints (2001-02), St. John Neumann (2002-06), St. Alphonsus in Crossville (2006), and Our Lady of Perpetual Help (2007-09) and spiritual director at Knoxville Catholic High School (2002-08).

At St. Therese, St. Joseph the Worker, and Holy Ghost, Father Orr has offered Masses in the extraordinary form (the traditional Latin Mass) in addition to the standard Roman Rite Mass (or the Novus Ordo). He also has led Hispanic ministry in those parishes. Father Orr earned his Ph.D. in 2014 from the Maryvale Institute in the United Kingdom.

Father Larry Rice, CSP, at St. John XXIII Parish on the University of Tennessee-Knoxville campus. Father Rice is a veteran Catholic campus minister and a leader in faith-based communications. He made his first promises to the Paulist Fathers community in August 1984, and he was ordained a priest in May 1989.

Prior to joining St. John XXIII in June 2024, Father Rice served as chaplain of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. From September 2016 to June 2020, he was director of the University Catholic Center at the University of Texas at Austin, and from 2004 to 2010 he served as director of the St. Thomas More Newman Center at Ohio State University in Columbus. Father Rice served in Washington, D.C., on the staff of the Intercommunity Telecommunications Project and at Paulist Media Works from 1990 to 2002.

Bishop Beckman has made additional appointments for several priests in the Diocese of Knoxville assigned to new parishes or schools. These include:

Father A.J. Houston, who, following his June 7 ordination to the priesthood at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, has been named part-time associate pastor at St. Stephen Parish and chaplain at Notre Dame High School.

Father Houston, who was ordained to the transitional diaconate in June 2024, entered seminary in 2019 at St. Meinrad, completing his studies at the end of 2024.

His priesthood is co-sponsored by the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, and he will serve three years as a priest in the Diocese of Knoxville. After that, he will be released to the U.S. Army to serve as a chaplain.

Father Houston served as an active-duty soldier in the Army in El Paso, Texas, before discerning his vocation. He holds the rank of first lieutenant.

Father Renzo Alvarado Suarez, who has been appointed associate pastor at Our Lady of Fatima following his June 7 ordination to the priesthood at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Father Alvarado is originally from Barranquilla Atlantico, Colombia, and studied at Seminario Hispano de Santa Maria de Guadalupe in Mexico City. He was ordained to the transitional diaconate in January 2023 at Seminario Hispano.

Since completing his seminary studies and being ordained to the transitional diaconate, Father Alvarado has served at the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, St. Patrick Parish in Morristown, and Our Lady of Fatima Parish.

Father Neil Blatchford, who has been named associate pastor at St. Thomas the Apostle. Father Blatchford, since his ordination to the priesthood in June 2023 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, has served as parochial vicar at St. Mary in Oak Ridge.

Father Blatchford is a native of Chattanooga, and his home parish is St. Stephen. His brother Father Colin Blatchford, who was ordained a Diocese of Knoxville priest in May 2014 and has since been serving with Courage International, a Roman Catholic apostolate based in Trumbull, Conn., for men and women who experience same-sex attraction. Father Colin Blatchford was named associate director of Courage International in September 2020.

Father Andrés Cano, who has been named chaplain of Hispanic ministry at Holy Trinity Parish in Jefferson City and Notre Dame Parish in Greeneville. Father Cano was ordained to the priesthood in June 2009 in his native Colombia.

Since his ordination, Father Cano has served as an associate pastor at St. Mary Parish in Oak Ridge, as an associate pastor of Sacred Heart Cathedral, as an associate pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Parish, as a chaplain to the Hispanic community of St. Alphonsus Parish in Crossville, as an associate pastor of St. Mary Parish in Gatlinburg and Holy Cross Parish in Pigeon Forge, and as pastor of Holy Cross.

In August 2020, Father Cano was appointed coordinator of Hispanic Ministry in the Five Rivers Deanery and sacramental minister to the Handmaids of the Precious Blood.

Father Andrew Crabtree, who has been named associate pastor at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Chattanooga. Father Crabtree was ordained in June 2023 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, and his first assignment was as parochial vicar at St. Dominic Parish in August 2023.

Immediately following his ordination, Father Crabtree assisted at the cathedral just prior to his St. Dominic assignment.

Father Matthew Donahue, who has been named part-time associate pastor at the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, college chaplain for the University of Tennessee–Chattanooga Newman Center, and adjutant judicial vicar for the Diocese of Knoxville Tribunal.

Father Donahue was ordained in August 2021 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Immediately following his ordination, Father Donahue attended the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he received his license in canon law in 2024.

Following completion of his canon law studies, Father Donahue has served as an associate pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Chattanooga and as one of the judges for the Tribunal.

Father Donahue studied for eight years in seminary, four at Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary in Indianapolis and four at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. His sister, Sister M. Elizabeth Grace, is in the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George religious order, and his uncle is Father David Mary Engo, OFM, who serves in the Diocese of Knoxville.

Father Anselm Edu, who has been named associate pastor at St. Dominic Parish in Kingsport, effective June 25. Father Edu was ordained in September 2019 as a priest of the Archdiocese of Calabar, Nigeria. He attended St. Joseph Major Seminary in Nigeria from October 2010-June 2018. Father Edu was ordained at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Calabar.

He traveled to the United States, where he performed his clinical pastoral education. CPE is an accredited form of spiritual-care education that focuses on hands-on, supervised practice in health care or other ministry settings.

As he completed his CPE at Johnson City Medical Center, Father Edu requested and was granted residence at St. Mary Parish in Johnson City. While performing his CPE, he assisted as a priest in upper East Tennessee.

Father Edu was born in Calabar, in the southern part of Nigeria. His parents live in Calabar. He was educated in Holy Family International Schools in Calabar.

He was raised to the order of the diaconate in December 2018 prior to his ordination. He ministered to parishes in Calabar until his arrival in the United States.

Father David Mary Engo, OFM, has been named chaplain for the Handmaids of the Precious Blood. Father Engo has served as parochial administrator pro tempore of Holy Cross Parish since Dec. 19, 2023.*

Father Engo also has served the diocese as a chaplain, lecturer, and retreat leader.

He attended St. John Neumann Seminary and St. Joseph Seminary in New York and was ordained to the priesthood in July 1997 with the Order of Friars Minor.

Father Engo founded the Franciscan Brothers Minor order in November 2009 and professed perpetual vows.

Father Jhon Mario García, who has been named associate pastor at St. Mary Parish in Oak Ridge. Father Garcia is originally from Colombia and entered the seminary in 2005 with the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentian Fathers) and has been a priest of the religious order.

Father García was ordained to the priesthood in August 2014. Following his ordination, he was assigned to vocational ministry for his congregation. In 2017, his superiors sent him to serve in Hispanic ministry at St. Mary Magdalen Parish in Camarillo, Calif., in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, where he served for two-and-a-half years.

He joined the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in 2020 as an associate pastor. In June 2023, he was also named director of the Hispanic marriage retreat Unidos Con Cristo for the Diocese of Knoxville.

Father García was incardinated into the Diocese of Knoxville on June 5 during a priest convocation Mass at Immaculate Conception Church. With his incardination, Father García is now a priest of the Diocese of Knoxville.

Father Bede Tam Van Nguyen, CRM, who has been named pastor of the Church of Divine Mercy in Knoxville, effective July 27. Divine Mercy serves the Vietnamese Catholic community in the Diocese of Knoxville.

Father Nguyen serves with the Congregation of the Mother of the Redeemer religious order. In February, the Diocese of Knoxville announced that it and the Congregation of the Mother of the Redeemer, U.S. Assumption Province, had signed a written agreement for the province to assume spiritual and pastoral care of Divine Mercy Parish.

Father Nguyen was ordained to the priesthood in June 2012 at Carthage, Mo., where the Congregation of the Mother of the Redeemer U.S. Assumption Province is located. He was ordained by Bishop James V. Johnston Jr., who was then the bishop of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Father Nguyen, who was born in 1972 in Bien Hoa, Vietnam, made his first profession in May 1996 in Carthage, and he made his final profession in May 2002 in Carthage. He attended Conception Seminary College in Conception, Mo., and Assumption Seminary in San Antonio.

He served from 2012-15 as parochial vicar at Christ the King Parish in Fort Worth, Texas. He served from 2015-18 as parochial vicar at Queen of Vietnam Church in Port Arthur, Texas. And from 2018-25, he served as pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Omaha, Neb.

Father Andrew Tuan Nguyen, CRM, is serving as priest at Divine Mercy from June 7 until July 28, when Father Bede Nguyen begins his assignment.

Father Bede Nguyen succeeds Father Dominic Nguyen, CRM, who will serve as pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Omaha. Father Dominic Nguyen was named pastor of Divine Mercy in April 2023. He completed his ministry in the Diocese of Knoxville on June 6.

Father Dominic Nguyen was first assigned to Divine Mercy as parochial administrator in June 2019. He was ordained to the priesthood in June 2009.

Father Tim O’Toole, who has been named parochial administrator of St. Henry Parish in Rogersville and St. James the Apostle Parish in Sneedville. Father O’Toole is a priest of the Diocese of Palm Beach, Fla. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1989.

He has been serving the Catholic Church on behalf of Cross Catholic Outreach, a nonprofit, faith-based organization based in Boca Raton, Fla., that collaborates with ministry partners to care for the spiritual and material well-being of the poor around the world, developing programs for food, water and health, housing, disaster relief, vulnerable children, agriculture, microenterprise, and education.

Father O’Toole is a native of New Jersey who has considerable ministry experience in the Five Rivers Deanery of the Diocese of Knoxville, including at St. Mary Parish in Johnson City and St. Dominic Parish in Kingsport, as well as at St. Anne Parish in Bristol, Va., in the Diocese of Richmond, Va.

Father Michael Raj Joseph, IVE, who has been named associate pastor at All Saints Parish in Knoxville. Father Raj was ordained to the priesthood in the Philippines in May 2024.

Father Joseph is originally from Sri Lanka and is a member of the Institute of the Incarnate Word religious order, which has a formation house in the Philippines. Following his ordination, his first assignment was in Papua, New Guinea. He will be joining the Diocese of Knoxville after most recently serving as a priest in the Solomon Islands.

Father Brent Shelton, who has been named pastor of Holy Cross Parish in Pigeon Forge.* Father Shelton was ordained to the priesthood in June 2001 at Sacred Heart Cathedral. At Holy Cross, he succeeds Father Engo.

In the Diocese of Knoxville, Father Shelton was first assigned to St. Mary Parish in Johnson City in 2001 as an associate pastor. In August 2002, he was assigned to All Saints Parish. Then in July 2004, Father Shelton became an associate pastor at Sacred Heart Cathedral, and in August 2005, he was named associate pastor of Holy Ghost Parish in Knoxville. In November 2008, he became associate pastor of Our Lady of Fatima.

Father Shelton’s first appointment as pastor took place in March 2012 at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Townsend. He was first appointed to St. Francis of Assisi in July 2011 as parochial administrator. He served in the Blount County parish until he was named pastor of St. Mary Parish and School in Oak Ridge in July 2015, where he served until taking a leave of absence in 2023.

Father Shelton received the 2016 NAACP Community Service Award for his work with two Oak Ridge pastors in promoting a “Community Matters” public forum.

In August 2017, he was named dean of the Cumberland Mountain Deanery for the Diocese of Knoxville.

And Father Shelton was one of only three U.S. priests to win the 2021 “Lead. Learn. Proclaim. Award,” which is presented by the National Catholic Education Association. The national award highlights outstanding work being done in Catholic education communities across the country.

Father Samuel Mungai, GHM, who has been named parochial administrator of St. Teresa of Kolkata Parish in Maynardville and St. John Paul II Catholic Mission in Rutledge. Father Mungai took his first oath with the Glenmary Home Missioners in June 2017, and he was ordained to the priesthood in March 2021.

Father Mungai succeeds Father Neil Pezzulo, GHM, who has been serving the Union County and Grainger County parishes since January 2020 and will become sacramental minister and canonical moderator for Holy Family Church in Blakely, Ga., and St. Luke Church in Cuthbert, Ga. He will be the Glenmary outreach minister in Georgia’s Stewart and Quitman counties.

Father Mungai served as a deacon at Holy Trinity Parish in Williamston, N.C., in the Diocese of Raleigh in 2020 until his ordination. Since his ordination, he has served as associate pastor at Holy Family Parish in Lafayette, Tenn., in the Diocese of Nashville. He also has served as parochial vicar at Holy Spirit Parish in Windsor in the Diocese of Raleigh, N.C.

Bishop Beckman also has announced that several priests will be serving outside the diocese or will be taking sabbaticals. These include:

Father Michael Hendershott, who is currently serving as associate pastor of the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul. Father Hendershott is taking a year of discernment with the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest.

Father Hendershott was ordained to the priesthood in June 2015 at Sacred Heart Cathedral. Following his ordination, he studied at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. His first assignment was as an associate pastor at the cathedral and as a religion teacher at Knoxville Catholic High School. He also has served as an associate pastor at Holy Ghost and as associate vocations director for the diocese.

In February 2024, Father Hendershott was assigned as an associate pastor at the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul.

The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest was founded in 1990. Its specific aim is missionary: to spread the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ in all spheres of human life. An integral part of the institute’s charism is the use of the traditional Latin Liturgy of 1962 for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the other sacraments. The institute’s spirituality is drawn from its three co-patrons: St. Benedict, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Francis de Sales. The institute’s motto, taken from St. Paul, is “Live the truth in charity.” The institute operates in more than 50 locations across 12 countries.

In the United States, the institute has a presence in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. It’s U.S. base of operations is in Chicago.

Father Michael Maples, who is accepting the positions of associate director of counseling services and assistant professor at Conception Seminary College in Conception, Mo. Father Maples was appointed a parochial vicar at St. John Neumann Parish in May 2014.

Father Maples was ordained to the priesthood in July 2005 at Sacred Heart Cathedral after completing studies at Conception Seminary and St. Meinrad Seminary. His first assignment following his ordination was as an associate pastor at Sacred Heart Cathedral.

In 2007, he was granted faculties to also celebrate the sacraments in the Byzantine Catholic rite. In July 2009, he was assigned as associate pastor at St. Thérèse of Lisieux. He also served at Holy Resurrection Catholic Mission in Seymour.

Father Maples, who also is a Benedictine oblate of St. Meinrad Arch-abbey, is a licensed psychologist who provides counseling to adults and couples at Catholic Charities of East Tennessee. The Maryville native has undergraduate degrees from the University of Tennessee and a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the University of Iowa as well as a master’s degree in divinity.

In 2021, Father Maples was named to the board of overseers at St. Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology. The board of overseers is an advisory board for the seminary.

Father Jorge Mejia, CM, who is departing All Saints Parish in Knoxville, effective June 15, and returning to Colombia.

Father Mejia, a member of the Congregation of the Mission, Lazarists, Vincentians religious order, has been an associate pastor at All Saints since July 2020. He joined the Diocese of Knoxville as a priest in early 2020.

In September 2021, Father Mejia also was appointed chaplain of the Diocese of Knoxville’s Pastoral Juvenil Ministry.

Father Joe Reed, who is taking a six-month sabbatical after serving as pastor of St. John Neumann Parish since July 2018.

Father Reed was incardinated into the Diocese of Knoxville in 2015 after rejoining the diocese in 2013. While in seminary he entered Conception Abbey, where he was a Benedictine Brother for 10 years before being ordained to the priesthood in May 2007.

Father Reed, who was born and raised in Knoxville, attended Sacred Heart School. He was a seminarian for the Diocese of Knoxville before joining Conception Abbey as a monk for nearly 20 years. He earned degrees in theology from St. John’s Seminary in Minnesota and St. Vincent Seminary in Pennsylvania.

He has taught and served as an academic adviser, spiritual director, and director of liturgy at Conception Seminary College, worked in the business and vocations offices at Conception Abbey, and as a master of ceremonies while living and studying in Rome.

Since his return to Knoxville, Father Reed has served as parochial vicar and school chaplain at Sacred Heart Cathedral. In addition to being the pastor of St. John Neumann and St. John Neumann School, he served as diocesan vocations director, co-director of the diocesan Office of Worship and Liturgy, and as master of ceremonies for diocesan Masses. He also serves as a Missionary of Mercy.

Father Jijesh Paul, MSFS, who has been appointed as parochial vicar of St. Augustine Parish in Signal Mountain and also as ministerial assistant to Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in South Pittsburg and Shepherd of the Valley Parish in Dunlap.

Father Paul is a member of the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales religious order who was ordained to the priesthood in December 2010.

He served from 2011-12 as an assistant priest at St. Paul Catholic Mission in Panishali, India. From 2012-15 he served as an assistant priest at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in the Diocese of Keetmanshoop, Namibia. He served as a parish priest from 2015-19 at Christ the King Parish in Luderitz, Namibia. From 2019-22 he served as an associate priest at St. Augustine Parish in Soweto, Namibia. During that same period, from 2020-22, he was a diocesan director with the Archdiocese of Windhoek, Namibia. He served as a priest from 2022-23 at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish in Mirand, Pretoria, South Africa. And his most recent assignment was as an associate priest from 2024-25 at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Grassy Park, Cape Town, South Africa.

 

*Update 6/26: Father Shelton is currently caring for a family member in Texas. His intention is to eventually return to the Diocese of Knoxville. Father Engo has agreed to continue to serve at Holy Cross Parish until a new priest is assigned.