Father Jeb S. Donelan, parochial vicar of St. Bernadette Church in Springfield, will become pastor of St. Philip Church in Falls Church, effective June 25.
A native Virginian who was born April 1, 1983, near Warrenton in Bealeton, he is the oldest of four siblings. He graduated from Liberty High School in 2001 and earned a degree in history from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
Father Donelan told the Catholic Herald in 2011 that he first felt the call to the priesthood in high school after the suicide of a classmate. “It was hard for people to find hope in the midst of such a tragedy,” he said. But he found hope in prayer and faith in Christ. “From that point I really felt called.”
After studying philosophy for two years at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, he studied theology for four years at the Gregorian University in Rome while preparing for the priesthood at the North American College in Rome.
He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Paul S. Loverde June 11, 2011, and served as parochial vicar of All Saints Catholic Church in Manassas, 2011, St. Anthony of Padua Church in Falls Church, 2014, and Good Shepherd Church in Alexandria, 2019, where he was known to lead rosary walks with parishioners.
Fluent in Spanish, Father Donelan was pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Church in Banica, Dominican Republic, 2021, before his assignment to St. Bernadette, 2023.
Father Donelan described “the power of forgiving sins” as “something indescribable. ” Everybody carries some kind of burden,” he said. “To help people to walk with that burden and to realize that happiness and joy is still possible, even with whatever sin and whatever pain they carry, is a really great gift and privilege to be able to give somebody.”
