St. Mary Magdalene Staff

I am the oldest of three children. My sister, Michelle, lives in Tempe and my brother, Nicholas, currently attends Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY studying to be an engineer, though in his words, he's studying to become Iron Man. My family came to Arizona in 1997 after moving from San Jose California to Tucson. I graduated from the University of Arizona (Bear Down and go Wildcats!) in 2007. After graduating from the UofA, I entered the seminary and attended the Pontifical College Josephinum where I graduated in May of 2013. I was ordained a priest on June 1, 2013 and served as priest in residence at St. Mary Magdalene and Chaplain and Theology teacher at Seton Catholic Preparatory High School from July 2013 until April 2018. I was assigned as Parochial Administrator at St. Mary Magdalene in April 2018. God Bless you and thank you for your prayers!

I was born in phoenix and went to Catholic school my entire life until I attended ASU, where I spent a lot of my time at the Newman Center. Before meeting my wife, Heidi, I was a seminarian for the Redemptorist order, She and I have been blessed with 8 children. I was ordained a deacon in November of 1996 and have been at St. Mary Magdalene since 2010.

I was baptized in the Episcopal church and at age 12 confirmed. I served as an altar boy and was active in my parish contemplating a vocation to the priesthood. I attended a local college to become a secondary school teacher of Earth Science and Geography. I met a young art teacher in my building and on June 12, 1971, she became my bride of now 51 years. We began our family and were blessed with three children; Jennifer Ann, our oldest, Christina Jo, and lastly Andrew Richard, who passed away at the age of 42. In 1977 I returned to graduate school at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh While at Duquesne I was also accepted into the Catholic Faith and became active in our parish community serving as a catechist and extraordinary minister of Holy Communion. In 1997 and moved to Port St. Lucie, Florida where I became active in our parish as a lector, extraordinary minister of Holy Communion and Director of Religious Education. The Diocese of Palm Beach instituted a permanent diaconate program in 2002 and began formation leading to my ordination in September 2006. I began a ministry to a nearby Florida State Prison with my wife as well as parish duties such as: directing the RCIA program, assisting with our high school youth program, conducting baptismal preparation, training extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion for my parish and the diocese, and teaching adult religion courses for the diocese.

Coming from a very musical family, I started playing the piano at age 5 and have been working as a professional musician doing live performances and studio work since I was 12 years old. I’ve studied and played a wide range of musical styles, from Classical and Jazz to Pop and Gospel. I’ve been in a few musical groups in my day and even had my own Latin and Top-40 bands (but that’s a story for another time!) My musical education has also included extensive training in the fields of music theory, choral directing and arranging.

I credit my maternal grandparents for bringing me into the Church as well as pushing me to be involved in music ministry. At age 16 they encouraged me (with maybe a tiny bit of resistance from a teenage me) to share my musical talents with our home parish, Our Lady of St. John in Houston, Texas by playing piano in the choir. Within time, I found myself answering a call to serve as the parish’s Music Director, a position I continued to serve in for years to come. What initially started as a way to honor and appease my elders, ended up becoming a passion that would eventually lead me to where I am today – something I am very grateful for. I know that my Grandma and Grandpa Lopez are looking down from heaven with joy knowing that I’m still answering the call they helped me to hear.

Throughout my adult life I’ve devoted much time and study to liturgical music in all its forms. I enjoy and appreciate the beautifully rich and diverse catalog of music from ancient to modern that has helped to embolden and honor the liturgy of our Catholic Church. I’m simultaneously humbled and excited to help my new parish community here at St. Mary Magdalene worship the Lord through music and song, and I’m eager to bring my knowledge and capabilities to the table as we as a community continue building our parish’s musical legacy together.

Laudate Dominum!

I was born and raised in the great state of Texas. I have lived in Arizona for the past 17 yrs. My family and I have been members of the parish for 10 years. I have been married for 20 years to my husband, Rick, and we have three children, Matthew, Luke and John. I am bilingual (English and Spanish) and if the need arises, I am here to help. I have been volunteering with Saint Mary Magdalene in several capacities over the extent of our time with the parish. I am now the Assistant Director of Children’s Religious Education and it has been a pleasure to get to know and work with the wonderful families that make this their parish. In my role, I, help to coordinate volunteer catechists, register new students into our program and help families through the process of receiving the Sacraments of Initiation.

Please contact me during the month of July if you would like to register your child for Religious Education or anytime if you have a question about your student already in our program. mary@smarymag.org (480) 279-6737 ext 211

I moved here with my husband from St Cloud, MN where I worked as the Faith Formation, Evangelism & Communication coordinator for the past 2 years. Prior to that I volunteered as a catechist for about 12 years and have a background in IT and project management. I was trained by Catherine of Siena Institute out of Colorado to help people discern what gifts they have received from the Holy Spirit, which I have found to be one of my greatest joys, along with sharing the wisdom of St Pope John II’s Theology of the Body. This year I celebrated 25 years of being Catholic – I was received into the church on the Easter vigil after going through RCIA in 1998. I am thrilled to join this staff and serve the people here at St Mary Magdalene as a witness of Christ’s love on our journey in faith toward heaven! Please email or call me to let me know how you would like to volunteer & your ideas for adult formation/evangelism. If you are interested in RCIA or have questions about becoming Catholic – I would be happy to talk to you; as a convert myself, I understand the inner struggles that can happen along the way and am here to accompany you on your journey of faith.

Hello, my name is Jesus Abraham Davalos, but I go by Abraham. As of writing this, I am 28 years old. I used to serve as the youth minister at Blessed Sacrament in Tolleson for four years, and I spent an additional four years in discernment and prayer as a seminarian for the Diocese of Phoenix. I attended St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver, Colorado, where I earned an undergraduate degree in Catholic philosophy and completed some graduate courses in Sacred Theology. With the help of my spiritual director and formation team I recognized that God is calling towards another vocation. I feel very welcomed here at St. Mary Magdalene, and I'm excited about the opportunity to lead teens closer to Christ and his Church.

I have been happily married since 1986 to my husband, Tim. We have been very blessed with nine children and have welcomed in-laws and a few grand kids to the mix as well.

I am honored to help you in your journey here at the parish. Contact me if you need to make an appointment with a priest, need to register for a baptism, or if I can help you with funeral planning.

I am originally from Southern California, relocating to Arizona in 2020 with my husband and three children to be closer to extended family. I am happy to be at St. Mary Magdalene and enjoy assisting parishioners by directing calls, scheduling Special Intention and In Remembrance Masses, and answering general questions about our parish.