Priest jubilarians

His assignments include: missionary to Haiti (1973-77); rector of Missionhurst Seminary, Washington (1978-79); formation director for the CICM Formation Community in Mexico (1979-81 and 1992); missionary to the Haitian Ministry in Miami (1981-93); ongoing formation in San Antonio, Texas (1983); councilor to the General Government of the Congregation in Rome (1993-99); rector of the provincial Home In Haiti (2000-03); and rector of Missionhurst (2003-12) and superior of the CICM Dominion House Community at Missionhurst (2012-18), both in Arlington.

He is retired and living at Tiffany Village Retirement Residence at St. John’s in Newfoundland.

Father David L. Martin was born May 10, 1945, in Pittsfield, Mass., the son of Edward and Frieda Martin. After graduating from St. Joseph’s Catholic Central in Pittsfield, he entered the Stigmatine novitiate.

He earned a bachelor’s in philosophy from The Catholic University of America in Washington in 1969 and returned to Massachusetts to study for his master’s in divinity at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton. He was ordained a Stigmatine priest in 1973.

Father Martin was assigned to All Saints Catholic Church in Manassas where he served until 1977, when he was reassigned to Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Milford, Mass.

Father Martin then served at Espousal Conference Center in Waltham, Mass., in 1978, as community superior and director of the youth and divorced/separated/widows and widowers program. He served as Stigmatine novice director and professed students director at St. Joseph’s College Seminary, Mountain View, Calif., (1981-85).

During his time in California, Father Martin earned a master’s in counseling from Santa Clara University and applied spirituality from the University of San Francisco.

Father Martin was incardinated into the Arlington diocese Feb. 15, 1991. His diocesan assignments include: St. Mary, Fredericksburg (1987-88); St. John the Evangelist, Warrenton (1988-89); St. Anthony of Padua, Falls Church (1989-93); Nativity Catholic Church, Burke (1993-95); St. John, Orange, in 1995 where he worked to combine the parish with St. Mark in Gordonsville in 2002 to form St. Isidore the Farmer; St. Jude Mission (2003-11); and St. Luke in McLean (2011 until his retirement in 2020).

Franciscan Father John O’Connor was born Oct. 7, 1947, in Brooklyn as one of six children. He grew up in Queens and attended Catholic elementary and high schools in upstate New York. He attended St. Joseph Seraphic Seminary in Callicoon, N.Y. He then entered the novitiate in Lafayette, N.J., in 1967, professing temporary vows in 1968. He continued his education at The Catholic University of America in Washington, earning a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, and then a master’s degree in theology from Washington Theological Union. He made his profession of solemn vows in 1971 and was ordained a priest by Cardinal Joseph L. Bernardin Sept. 22, 1973.

Father O’Connor’s first assignment was as director of campus ministry at St. Bonaventure University in Allegany, N.Y. (1973-1982). He also served as pastor of the university parish and an instructor of theology. While there, he was elected to the Cattaraugus County Mental Health Society. He was instrumental in helping Allegany, Olean and Cattaraugus County receive funding from the New York State Division of Youth for programs in these jurisdictions. As a member of the Allegany Fire Department, he served as assistant fire chief for three years.

From 1982 to 1990, he served as guardian and director of formation for Holy Name College, first in Washington, and then supervised the construction of its new facility in Silver Spring, Md. From 1984 to 1991, he was chaplain at Trinity College in Washington, and director of real estate for the province.

From 1991 to 2003, Father O’Connor served as pastor of St. Francis Church in Triangle, where he constructed a new school and became involved in community efforts, serving from 2003 to 2005 as chief of chaplains for Prince William County Department of Fire and Rescue.

Father O’Connor was elected a Provincial Councilor in 1996 and reelected in 1999 and 2002. As director of real estate for the province, he was instrumental in the development of a 63-story building, including a new St. Francis Friary, on West 31st Street in New York City.

In 2005, Father O’Connor’s was elected provincial minister, and in 2007, was elected to a two-year term as president of the English-Speaking Conference of Order of the Friars Minor Franciscans. He also served one year as Acting Definitor General of the Order of Friars Minor, Rome.

He was elected to the board of directors of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU), the first campus minister to be elected to that position. In addition, he was elected chair of the Catholic College Committee of the National Catholic Campus Ministry Association. He also served as a consultant on campus ministry to the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB). He has served on the boards of trustees of the following organizations: St. Bonaventure University; Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y.; Washington Theological Union, and St. Francis Friends of the Poor in New York City.

In 2016, Father O’Connor returned to St. Francis of Assisi in Triangle to serve as parish administrator, and shortly thereafter, he was appointed as pastor, where he continues to serve.

25 years

Oblate of St. Francis de Sales Father Joe Brennan was born July 2, 1961, in Washington, and attended the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament parochial school, Gonzaga College High School and The Catholic University of America. After working in the association field for six years, he entered the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales in 1990. He was ordained to the priesthood June 13, 1998, at St. John Neumann Church in Reston. After ministering as chaplain of Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, he has served in parish ministry in Virginia, North Carolina and Delaware. He has served as pastor at St. John Neumann since 2016.

Father Andrew J. Fisher was born April 23, 1972, and grew up attending St. Rita Church in Alexandria. He graduated from Gonzaga High School in Washington and attended Mount St. Mary’s College in Emmitsburg, Md., where he double majored in philosophy and history, earning his bachelor’s degree in 1994.

The following year, he entered Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md., and graduated with masters in divinity and church history. Father Fisher served his diaconate year at Our Lady of Angels Church in Woodbridge.

After his ordination to the priesthood by Arlington Bishop Thomas J. Welsh May 16, 1998, he was assigned as parochial vicar at St. William of York Church in Stafford (1998-01). His second assignment was as the director of liturgy at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington (2001-07). He also has served at Queen of Apostles Church in Alexandria (2007-09) and the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington (summer/fall of 2009). He has served as pastor of St. Ambrose Church in Annandale since 2009.

Father James C. Hudgins was born May 11, 1970, to Peggy and David Hudgins. He spent his early years growing up in Billings, Mont., and his family moved to Arlington when he was 10 years old. He attended St. Agnes School and Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington. In 1992, he earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H.

Following college, Father Hudgins entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa., where he served as head sacristan.

He served at St. Leo the Great Church in Fairfax during his diaconate year.

Father Hudgins was ordained to the priesthood May 16, 1998, by Arlington Bishop Thomas J. Welsh.

His first assignment was parochial vicar of Queen of Apostles Church in Alexandria. In 2002, he was appointed parochial vicar of All Saints Catholic Church in Manassas.

Father Hudgins became parochial vicar of St. Luke Church in McLean in 2006. From 2007 to 2011, he served as chaplain and assistant principal of O’Connell. In 2011, he was assigned to St. Jude, where he became pastor in 2013. In 2020 he was appointed pastor of St. Theresa Church in Ashburn, where he continues to serve.

Father Sunny Joseph was born May 8, 1973, in Kerala, India, to Joseph and Elizabeth Puthenpurackal, one of 10 children.

In 1994, he graduated from the University of Mahatma Gandhi with a bachelor’s in social sciences. He earned a certificate in computing in 2003 from Indira Gandhi N.U. He went on to attend the Pontifical Institute of Theology and graduated in 1994 with a bachelor’s in philosophy and a bachelor’s in theology in 1998.

He was ordained Dec. 27, 1998, by Archbishop Joseph Powathil in the Archdiocese of Changanacherry in Kerala. He served as parochial vicar in various parishes in the Archdiocese of Changanacherry (1999-2003) and as pastor (2003-19) at various parishes there. He was director of the Archdiocesan Apostolate for the Migrant Faithful (2015-19) and director of the Archdiocesan Internet Mission (2012-19).

Interspersed with his time in India, Father Sunny served in the Arlington diocese at St. John the Apostle Church in Leesburg in 2011 and 2016, and at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church in Fredericksburg in 2017 and 2018. Since August 2019, he has been associated permanently with the Arlington diocese. He is parochial vicar of St. Timothy Church in Chantilly and part-time chaplain at INOVA Fairfax Hospital.

Father Christopher Pollard was born April 18, 1971, the fourth of four boys, to Ilse and David Pollard. His older brother Marcus was ordained a diocesan priest in 1990.

Father Pollard attended public elementary schools in Annandale and Fairfax, and became a National Merit finalist at Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, graduating in 1989. He also received the Brent Youth Award that same year for his outstanding academic and volunteer record.

Father Pollard earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Chicago in 1992.

He belonged to the Youth Apostles Institute (1989-93) and served in several parishes: St. Bernadette in Springfield, St. Thomas the Apostle in Chicago, St. Ambrose in Annandale and Queen of Apostles in Alexandria, working as an assistant to the youth minister, a CCD teacher and CYO assistant moderator.

He worked as a research assistant at Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University in Washington, while attending Notre Dame Institute for Catechetics (now Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College).

He entered the Theological College for the Diocese of Arlington while earning a licentiate in philosophy from The Catholic University of America in Washington.

In the fall of 1994, Father Pollard entered the Pontifical North American College and attended the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

In the summer of 1995, he served as a chaplain candidate for the U.S. Naval Reserves and served aboard the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt in the Mediterranean. The following summer he served at St. Leo the Great Church in Fairfax.

He was ordained a deacon in St. Peter’s Basilica Oct. 2, 1997.

He was ordained to the priesthood by Arlington Bishop Thomas J. Welsh May 16, 1998, at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington, and was assigned parochial vicar of St. Mark in Vienna (1998-02). He served as parochial vicar of St. Agnes in Arlington (2002-06); parochial vicar of St. John the Baptist in Front Royal (2006-09); and administrator of St. Isidore Church in Orange (2009).

He served as attaché to the Holy See Mission to the United Nations in New York (2009-12).

He was assigned to St. John the Beloved Church in McLean in October 2012 and has been pastor since January 2014.

Father Lino Rico Rostro was born March 11, 1973, in México, to Lino Rico Gutiérrez and Bernardina Rostro Torres. He has five brothers and five sisters. He studied philosophy and theology in the Seminary of the Archdiocese of San Luis Potosí, México. He attended seminary at Seminario Josefino Guadalupano, Arquidiócesis de San Luis Potosí, México.

He was ordained a transitional deacon Jan. 17, 1998, and a priest June 24, 1998, and was incardinated into the Archdiocese of San Luis Potosí, México. He came to the Arlington diocese in 2003 to be near his family. He was invited to assist with Spanish-speaking ministry at the request of the Office of the Spanish Apostolate and the Office of Multicultural Ministries. He was incardinated into the diocese Aug. 30, 2014.

His assignments in the Arlington diocese include: residence at St. Stephen the Martyr Church, Middleburg (2003-04); parochial vicar, Christ the Redeemer Church, Sterling (2004-11); St. Ann Church, Arlington (2011-13); St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Fredericksburg (2013-16); St. William of York Church, Stafford (2016-21); and Good Shepherd Church in Alexandria (2021-currently).