Religious Staff
We are blessed to have 7 members of the religious community present on our grounds.
Fr. John Mark McFarland
Rector & Prior
Fr. John Mark McFarland was fairly new to traditional Catholicism when he entered the seminary in the fall of 2006. In fact, only two years previous had he attended his first Latin Mass in September 2004. Growing up with the Novus Ordo Mass, he attended Pope John Paul II High School in Boca Raton, Florida.
Even though the name of the school suggested Catholicism, it did very little to sow the seed of a vocation. The religious atmosphere of the school was essentially non-existent. It was, as a matter of course, a nominally Catholic school, and nothing more. Following his graduation, Fr. McFarland attended the University of Maryland where he got a degree in history. Even at this time, he had no serious thought of a vocation. That started coming in September 2004 when he attended his first Latin Mass.
He was ordained in 2012, and was assigned to St. Mary's Academy in Kansas, where he has spent 5 years in the Academy teaching, and assisting with parish duties.
He is also the chaplain for the men's Holy Name Society.
Fr. Romain Pons
Pastor
Fr. Romain Pons grew up in the South of France. Following his ordination in 2008, he was stationed in Quebec, Canada, at Holy Family School in Lévis and at the Canadian District House in Montreal. During his time at Holy Family School, Father taught a variety of courses, including mathematics, biology, and physics. At our Academy, Father teaches music to high school students and offers spiritual direction. Fr. Pons is the Pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows, where, amid his busy apostolate, he directs the parish youth group, which is available to all young people after they graduate.
Fr. Jaime Pazat
Assistant
Fr. Pazat is a native of Spain, and entered the seminary of Ecône in the mid 1970's. He was ordained a priest by Archbishop Lefebvre in 1981, and was immediately stationed in El Paso, TX. 5 years later, he moved to Phoenix, where he was integral in Our Lady of Sorrows' initial growth and development. in 1995, he was transferred to St. Mary's, KS for 10 years, and then served as prior and headmaster of St. Anne's in Detroit.
He returned to Phoenix for his second tour in the Fall of 2017, where he serves as Fr. McFarland's assistant, hearing Confessions in Spanish for the local community.
Fr. Frank Kurtz
Assistant - Mission: Prescott
Fr. David Gillilan
Assistant
Fr. Samuel Fabula
Principal
Brother Alphonsus
Sacristan and Landscaping