Saint Patrick Catholic Church is transitioning to a new model of pastoral leadership– one that has been very successful in other parishes throughout the archdiocese.
The model includes a Pastoral Coordinator who will oversee the day to day administrative duties of the parish community including the staff, the budget and more.
The sacramental needs of Saint Patrick Catholic Church & School– Mass, Reconciliation, Weddings, Anointing of the Sick and more will be handled by three members of the Jesuit community in Tacoma: Fr. Tom Lamanna, the superior, Fr. John Fuchs, a very familiar face at St. Pats, along with Fr. Jerry Graham. They have decades of experience and hearts dedicated to the faithful service of the Church.
Meet the team!
Kevin Lovejoy, Pastoral Coordinator
Kevin is the seventh of eight children. He grew up on Capitol Hill in Seattle, WA. They were parishioners at Saint Joe’s and the Cathedral. After graduating from Seattle Prep in 1977, Kevin moved on to the University of Notre Dame, and later earned a law degree from Catholic University.
He spent the next 25 years with his wife Lisa and children traveling the world as an Army Judge Advocate. His final assignment as a Judge Advocate brought the family back to the Pacific Northwest, where they lived on post at Fort Lewis. Based on their incredibly positive experience as new parishioners at Saint Patrick, Kevin and Lisa and their four children—Sarah, Joe, Hannah, and Dan decided to make Tacoma their permanent home.
After working two years with Connelly Law Offices, Kevin hung up his shingle and accepted Father Seamus’ offer to serve St. Pats as the Parish and School Administrator, a position he’s held since April 2012. He looks forward to the opportunity to continue serving St. Pats in his new role as Pastoral Coordinator.
Father Tom Lamanna, S.J.
He was born and raised in Spokane and graduated from both Gonzaga Prep and Gonzaga U. He entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1986 and professed first vows two years later. He was missioned to St. Michael’s Institute at Gonzaga U for philosophy studies and Gonzaga Prep for his regency. He did his theology studies in Boston and was ordained in 1997. Then returned to Gonzaga Prep for his first assignment and was there through December of 2001. He made his tertianship in Alaska and after tertianship he was missioned to work at the Jesuit Novitiate in Portland Oregon. He was Socius to the Novice Director for two years and then was Novice Director 2004-2013, the last two years in Culver City California at the combined novitiate for the California and Oregon provinces of the Society of Jesus. The second semester of the 2013-14 school year he began teaching at Bellarmine Prep and became superior of the Jesuit community in the summer of 2014.
He served on numerous boards of directors; L’Arche Spokane, Bellarmine Prep, Gonzaga Prep, the Jesuit Spirituality Center (Portland), SEEL Portland. Besides his experience in secondary education and has been a spiritual director in both SEEL Spokane and SEEL Portland, as well as given Ignatian Spirituality training to the directors of SEEL Portland. He helped facilitate board retreats for the Secondary and Middle School Commission of the Oregon Province and St. Andrew’s Nativity School. He has provided retreats and faculty and staff formation for St. Andrew’s Nativity School, Seattle Prep, Jesuit High School, Bellarmine Prep, and St. John’s High School.
Father Jerry Graham, S. J.
Jerry Graham, S. J. is a Jesuit priest and poet. At the age of 35 he converted to Catholicism and joined the Society of Jesus three years later in 1989. He earned an MFA in Creative Writing, Poetry at the University of Alaska, Anchorage. His work has been in parishes and Ignatian spirituality. In his spare time, he has been working on a Christian epic poem: Ah Dante! Another Inferno. Before moving to the Bellarmine Jesuit Community in Tacoma, he served as chaplain for the Gonzaga in Florence study abroad program in Florence, Italy.
Father John Fuchs, S.J
Fr. John Fuchs, S.J., was born in Tacoma, Washington, and grew up living three blocks from Saint Patrick Catholic Church. He attended St. Patrick Catholic School all eight years and was educated and disciplined by the Dominican sisters. Sister Anthony, who is still a member of the parish community, drafted him into being an altar boy in the fifth grade. He attended Bellarmine High School for four years, where he was brainwashed by the Jesuits and then entered the Jesuit Novitiate after graduation.
He was ordained in 1975. His first assignment was at St. Ignatius Church in Portland, Oregon. Then he was assigned as the assistant Novice Director of the Jesuit Novitiate. After that he received a counseling degree at Boston College and worked in the counseling department and Gonzaga University. Next he was appointed Novice Director of the Jesuit Novitiate for seven years. Following that he was appointed Pastor at St. Leo Church for nine years. Then he was the Spiritual Formation Director at the Palisades Retreat Center for six years and Superior of the Bellarmine Jesuit Community for nine years. Now he helps with the spiritual formation of the Bellarmine faculty and staff, offers spiritual direction for individuals, directs the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, and ministers to the sacramental needs of the Archdiocese, such as at Saint Patrick Catholic Church.
