At Our Lady of Mount Carmel, faith isn’t just a weekend obligation, it’s something meant to be lived, shared, and embodied every single day. For Father Mark, that’s more than a sermon, it’s a mission.
Since returning to OLMC in 2020, Father Mark has worked quietly and intentionally to create something deeper than a traditional parish model. He’s not just leading a church. He’s helping build a community, a visible, living sign of what faith in action can look like.
“I want a parish where faith doesn’t end when you leave the church on Sunday,” he says. “It’s about what you do on Monday. It’s about how you speak to people, how you serve, how you show up.”
That theme, living your faith outside the pews, shows up everywhere in his ministry. Whether he’s encouraging school kids to remember the three W’s (Words, Works, and Way of Life), reminding parishioners to simply introduce themselves to someone new, or challenging us all to “be the sign” that points others toward Christ, the message is clear: Faith is not passive. It’s active.
It’s also deeply personal.
Father Mark’s journey to the priesthood didn’t start in a seminary, it started in a junior high classroom. After teaching for four years, he felt God calling him to do something more. That “more” eventually brought him full circle: from his hometown of Fairfield to OLMC, then to Cahokia and Freeburg, and finally back to Herrin, where his ministry now touches over 860 households.
And yet, he still stands at the back of church after every Mass, greeting each person by name when he can. He jokes that Catholics have three “churches”, the 5:00, the 8:00, and the 11:00, and they don’t always know each other. But that’s part of what drives his vision: unity.
“We’re one parish family,” he says. “And I want people to feel that. To know they’re welcome. That there’s always room for one more.”
That same spirit is behind his support of OLMC’s “Futures Begin in Faith” campaign. While financial goals are important, he sees this moment as a chance to build something even bigger: a campaign for stewardship, for unity, for lasting connection.
“If we can build a community where people are more involved in each other’s lives… where they’re visiting the sick, serving the hungry, helping around the church, not just giving money, but showing up, that’s the real success.”
Father Mark’s hope for the future isn’t complicated. It’s deeply human. He wants families to feel like they belong. He wants grandparents, teachers, neighbors, and students to all feel part of the same story. And he wants OLMC to be a place where people grow in faith, not just for themselves, but for the generations that come after them.
“There’s someone out there who just needs an invitation,” he says. “Someone who hasn’t been to church in a while, or who doesn’t know where they fit. The difference between ‘You should go’ and ‘Let’s go together’, that changes everything.”
It’s a simple message. But like most of Father Mark’s work, it’s the kind that stays with you.
Because real faith?
It shows up. It steps forward. It makes room for one more.
