Here’s a little information on just one of our speakers – Father Joe Mele:

When asked to be one of our speakers, Father Mele responded to the email within minutes with a resounding YES. He wanted to know if we were really having the event in a tent and was very excited when that answer was also YES. Father Mele’s family, he told us, are landscapers, so the theme of Growing in God’s Love really hit home with him.

From his home parish of Madonna del Castello in Swissvale, this millworker’s son knew as soon as he entered the seminary that God was calling him to be a priest. He says he has been happy ever since and “the desire to be a priest, to love God and neighbor, to be bound more closely to Christ and to spend myself entirely for souls is the cause of my joy.”

Ordained by Bishop Vincent Leonard in 1973, Father Mele has served in various diocesan roles and is currently the pastor at St. Jude Parish in Pittsburgh (former St. Raphael and Sacred Heart parishes). He also serves as spiritual advisor at The Ark and The Dove.

Father Mele has been a keynote speaker for events around the country and in Canada. Known for being a storyteller and a jokester, his stories are usually humorous ones appropriate to the situation. We are certain he will bring his humor, joy, and God’s love to Our Lady of the Lakes on June 25.