Father Philip C. Moss, who grew up attending St. Catherine of Siena Church in Great Falls, was among the 25 men of Opus Dei ordained to the priesthood at St. Eugene Church in Rome May 20.
He was born Sept. 6, 1985, in Quito, Ecuador, the second of Bill and Betsy Moss’ five children. His brothers, Rich and Eddy, are married with children. His sister Catherine died six days after birth in 1993; his sister Mary Moss Teller died of cancer last year at age 26, leaving behind a husband and two children. “The two sisters are our intercessors in heaven and the three boys have been left here on earth to get some work done,” said Father Moss.
The family moved between the United States and Ecuador before ultimately settling in Northern Virginia. His father was raised Catholic, but his mother entered the church at St. Catherine. “Something that I really value and cherish is that I remember my parents growing in their faith, that it wasn’t just a static reality,” he said. “(St. Catherine is) a beautiful parish. Father Jerome Fasano was there and he had a big effect on my family.”
Father Moss graduated in 2003 from the Opus Dei-affiliated The Heights School in Potomac, Md. He then studied mechanical engineering at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. During his sophomore year, he applied to become a numerary, or a celibate member of Opus Dei. “I had a strong sense that Opus Dei was my family,” he said. “I had been formed largely in the spirituality of Opus Dei, which is sanctification in ordinary life. At that time, I did not have a sense at all that I was called to the priesthood. Then over the years as I matured in my vocation, I developed a deeper understanding of the beauty of the priesthood and the need for priests.”
After graduating in 2007, he worked for an IT consulting company in New York City. From 2010 to 2016, he studied theology in Rome to prepare for possible ordination. He then served as the director of an Opus Dei center in Dallas for three years, and spent another three years as director of a center in Manhattan. In 2022, he was ordained a deacon. He’s currently finishing his doctorate, and believes he will do pastoral work in Spain before returning to the United States.
“I’m excited to help lay people to be fully alive in their vocation in the (midst) of the world,” he said.
