Bishop J. Mark Spalding has announced new priest assignments, which include newly appointed pastors for five churches in the Diocese of Nashville.
Mother Teresa Church in Nolensville, one of the diocese’s newest churches, will have a new pastor in Father Mark Simpson, who is currently serving as associate pastor of Holy Family Church in Brentwood.
Father Simpson, who has been appointed pastor of Mother Teresa Church for a term of six years, grew up in Nashville and graduated from Montgomery Bell Academy before beginning his studies for the priesthood at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio.
Father Simpson was ordained by Bishop Spalding on May 25, 2019, and previously served as the chaplain at Father Ryan High School and Camp Marymount. His appointment as pastor of Mother Teresa Church will begin June 26.
As pastor, he will lead the parish during its ongoing capital campaign to raise funds to build a church on its property on Nolensville Road, which is also home to the diocese’s newest school, St. Michael Academy.
Currently, Mother Teresa Church holds its weekend Masses at Nolensville Elementary School, but plans to start celebrating Masses at St. Michael Academy after construction of the building is complete in the fall.
He will succeed Mother Teresa’s founding pastor, Father Anthony Stewart, whose request to take a leave of absence from priestly ministry has been granted, and he has therefore been released from the office of pastor of Mother Teresa Church.
Bishop Spalding also announced that Father Joseph McMahon, pastor of Holy Family Church in Brentwood, has been appointed temporary administrator of Mother Teresa Church until June 26, when Father Simpson assumes office.
The other assignments announced by Bishop Spalding, which will all be effective June 26, include:
• Father John Sims Baker is appointed pastor of Holy Rosary Church in Donelson for a term of six years.
Father Baker grew up in Ashland City and has degrees from the University of the South and Vanderbilt University. As a seminarian, he graduated from the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio.
He was ordained by Bishop Edward Kmiec on March 25, 1994, and previously has served as associate pastor at Holy Rosary Church and St. Henry Church in Nashville, professor at Father Ryan High School, chaplain of the Vanderbilt University Campus Ministry, pastor of St. Patrick Church in McEwen and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Tennessee Ridge, St. Mary of the Seven Sorrows Church in downtown Nashville, and St. Rose of Lima Church in Murfreesboro. He also served on the staff at the Josephinum.
• Father Vimal Backiyaraj, C.P., is appointed pastor of St. Francis Church in Dover and pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Tennessee Ridge, each for a term of 6 years.
Father Vimal Backiyaraj is a Passionist priest from India who was ordained in May 2014. After his ordination, he served as assistant director of a retreat house, associate pastor of a parish, vice principal of a school, and a vocations promoter for the Passionist community in India.
He moved to the United States in 2020 and served as associate pastor of St. Mary Church and Holy Family Church in Birmingham, Alabama. In September 2021, he moved to the Passionist Community of Sacred Heart in Louisville, Kentucky, where he is serving as associate pastor of St. Agnes Church.
• Father Emmanuel Dirichukwu is appointed pastor of St. Andrew Church in Sparta and pastor of St. Gregory Church in Smithville, each for a term of 6 years. He has served heretofore as Administrator of both parishes.
Father Dirichukwu was born in Nigeria. He graduated from Assumption Seminary in San Antonio, Texas, and was ordained on June 12, 2015 by Bishop David Choby. After his ordination, he served as associate pastor at Immaculate Conception Church in Clarksville and St. Stephen Catholic Community in Old Hickory.
• Father Joseph Mundakal, C.M.I., is released from the offices of pastor of St. Francis Church in Dover and pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Tennessee Ridge and is assigned as pastor of St. Frances Cabrini Church in Lebanon for a term of 6 years.
Father Mundakal was ordained as a priest for the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate religious order on May 12, 1983, in his native India.
After serving in parishes and schools in India, Father Mundakal came to the United States in 1991 and has served in parishes in the Diocese of Joliet and the Diocese of Nashville where he has been associate pastor of St. Joseph Church in Madison, and pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Loretto and Sacred Heart Church in Lawrenceburg before serving at St. Francis of Assisi and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton churches.
• Upon his ordination to the priesthood on Saturday, May 27, at the Cathedral of the Incarnation, Deacon Augustine Mang will be assigned to complete his graduate theological studies in Rome.
Deacon Mang was born in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, and came to the United States as a refugee in 2010, living in Rockford, Illinois. He attended Rock Valley College in Rockford and the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio. Currently, he is living at the North American College in Rome and attending the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (The Angelicum).
• Father James Panackal, C.M.I. is released from the office of Pastor of St. Frances Cabrini Church in Lebanon. He has been assigned by his religious order, the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate, to serve as full-time Director of the Carmel Retreat Center in Liberty, Tennessee. He will continue to provide sacramental assistance at St. Frances Cabrini Church in Lebanon.
Father Panackal was ordained in his native India on May 11, 1984. After serving in numerous roles in India, he came to the United States in 2004, where he served as a pastor in Amarillo, Texas. He moved to the Diocese of Nashville in 2009 and since then has served as associate pastor at Holy Rosary Church, pastor of St. Lawrence Church in Joelton, associate pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Cookeville, and pastor of St. Frances Cabrini Church.
• Father Anh Tuan Phan is released from the office of associate pastor of the Cathedral of the Incarnation and is appointed chaplain of Father Ryan High School, chaplain of Camp Marymount, and part-time associate pastor at St. Edward Church in Nashville.
Father Phan was born in Vietnam and graduated from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. He was ordained by Bishop Spalding on June 30, 2018. Previously, he served as Associate Pastor of Christ the King Church in Nashville and of the Cathedral.
• Upon his ordination to the priesthood on Saturday, May 27, at the Cathedral, Deacon Oscar Romero Avelino will be appointed associate pastor of St. Rose of Lima Church in Murfreesboro.
Deacon Romero Avelino was born in Mexico City but grew up in Nashville, graduating from Glencliff High School. He graduated from St. Joseph Abbey and Seminary in Covington, Louisiana, and is currently studying for a master of divinity degree at St. Meinrad School of Theology and Seminary in St. Meinrad, Indiana.
• Father Daniel Steiner is released from the office of pastor of Holy Rosary Church in Donelson and is appointed associate pastor of the Cathedral of the Incarnation with primary responsibility for hospital ministry.
Father Steiner grew up in Peoria, Illinois, and graduated from Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He was ordained on June 3, 2016, by Bishop Choby.
He served as Associate Pastor of the Cathedral before being appointed Pastor of Holy Rosary in 2018.
• Father Aby Thanickal is released from the office of associate pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Cookeville and is appointed associate pastor of the Cathedral of the Incarnation.
Father Thanickal was ordained a priest for the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate religious order in his native India on Dec. 31, 2012. After his ordination, he served as an assistant pastor and educator in South Africa and India.
He came to the United States in 2019 and previously served as associate pastor of the Cathedral.
• Father Brent Thayer is released from the offices of chaplain of Father Ryan High School, chaplain of Camp Marymount, and part-time associate pastor at St. Edward Church in Nashville, and is appointed associate pastor of Holy Family Church in Brentwood.
Father Thayer grew up in Syracuse, New York, and graduated from Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, and St. Meinrad Seminary. He was ordained by Bishop Spalding on May 28, 2022.
• Father Siby Padinjaredath, C.P. is appointed associate pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Cookeville.
Father Padinjaredath was ordained a priest for the Passionists on Feb. 14, 1998, in his native India. He served in a parish and as the formation director for his Passionists community in India.
He came to the United States in 2015 and is currently serving at St. Ann’s Monastery and Shrine Basilica in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
• Father Javier Suarez has withdrawn from active ministry and has been released from all offices and ministries in the Diocese of Nashville.
