Father John M. O’Donohue, pastor of Holy Spirit Church in Annandale, will become pastor of St. Ambrose Church in Annandale, effective June 25.
He was born in Seoul, South Korea, March 17, 1964, to Daniel and Mary O’Donohue. He spent much of his childhood globetrotting, due to his father’s career as a diplomat, living in Ghana; Carlisle, Pa.; South Korea; Virginia; and Thailand.
He graduated from Portsmouth Abbey in Portsmouth, R.I., and went on to attend the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg for two years before joining the U.S. Marine Corps. He served four years in the Marines, and participated in the Desert Storm campaign in the Persian Gulf War. He has served all over the world including in Okinawa and Saudi Arabia.
He earned a bachelor’s in history from George Mason University in Fairfax in 1994. Later that year, he entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa. During his diaconate year in 1999, he was assigned to Blessed Sacrament Church in Alexandria.
He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Paul S. Loverde June 10, 2000. He served as parochial vicar of Holy Spirit, 2000; Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Arlington, 2003; and also oversaw St. Paul Mission in Hague, 2007. He was assigned parochial administrator of Holy Spirit Church in Annandale in 2012 and became pastor in 2014.
While at Holy Spirit, he oversaw extensive renovations to the parish narthex and a new parish hall, which was blessed by Bishop Michael F. Burbidge in June 2023. “It gives a sense of welcomeness,” he said of the new narthex. “It helps our community to be able to come together with the Lord, but also be able to come together as a parish.”
