We look forward to welcoming the Rev. Mario Melendez as our guest priest while our own Padre Poli is on sabbatical in May through July.

Padre Mario served as associate rector for Latino ministries at Saint Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Herndon, Virginia, after serving as Episcopal co-pastor at the Church of the Holy Apostles in Virginia Beach. Holy Apostles is the only Episcopal and Roman Catholic parish fully recognized by the Episcopal Church and the Roman Catholic Church. He also served as a diocesan missioner and chaplain for the Latino/x community in the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia.

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Padre Mario graduated from Boston University School of Theology. He is married to Catherine Wallace de Melendez, a pediatric nurse at Children’s National Medical Center in Fairfax, Virginia. They have a 3-year-old son named Thomas and a 6-year-old Cardigan Welsh Corgi named Ripley.  

Padre Mario’s first Sunday at CCC will be April 27.