Fr. Gregory Gresko, O.S.B, Prior
Fr. Gregory was born on 31 August 1970 in Towson, Maryland and has lived in the Richmond metro area since 1972.  A 1988 honors graduate of Collegiate, he completed his B.S. in Psychology and English at William and Mary in 1992 and his M.A.Ed. in Secondary Education (English) at William and Mary in 1998.  He was a major force in founding Cirkevni Gymnazium Plzen, a new Catholic school begun in 1992 in what is now the Czech Republic, after the fall of the Berlin Wall.  In that role, he assisted in school administration and developed the English language curriculum for the new school.  His experience also stretched to Poland in the late 1990s, when Fr. Gregory was in charge of developing a new English literature curriculum at XIV Liceum in Wroclaw, a state school whose English department was ranked #1 in Poland at that time.  Fr. Gregory holds the Commonwealth of Virginia’s post-graduate licensure in Secondary Education (English) and currently is seeking state endorsement in school administration.  Fr. Gregory earned his S.T.B. summa cum laude in 2005 from the Pontificial Athenaeum of Sant’Anselmo in Rome and his S.T.L. magna cum laude in Moral Theology (Marriage and Family Studies, with sub-specialization in sexual ethics) in 2008 from the Pontifical Lateran University, John Paul II Institute (Vatican City), who by virtue of the S.T.L. has licensed Fr. Gregory with the necessary credentials to serve as a professor of theology at any university, seminary or school worldwide.  His S.T.L. dissertation was entitled, “Educating to Love: Foundational Pedagogy in Light of Karol Wojtyła’s Love and Responsibility”. In addition, Fr. Gregory is in the midst of researching and writing his doctoral dissertation for the same Vatican institute, on the Consecration of the Family to the Heart of Jesus in Light of the Pastoral Ministry of Père Mateo Crawley-Boevey, ss.cc.

Br. Jeffery Williams, OSB, Subprior, Director of the Retreat Center and Abbey Gift Shop
Br. Jeffery was born in Mason West Virginia and later attended the College of Southern Maryland. He specialized in music and drama and was a Statewide competitor as a tenor in various choir competitions. In 1979 he joined the U.S. Navy, serving aboard the USS Cochrane (DDG-21) as a Yeomen Second Class, filling the billet of the Ships Legal man and aide to the Ship Captain. From there he was stationed in Patuxent River, MD, with the Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron (VQ-4), in charge of the operation expenses managing a $3 million operations fund.  After a year in this role, he was transferred to the Naval Chaplain School, Newport, Rhode Island, as instructor to Naval Chaplains and was in charge of operational expenses and a direct aide to the Command Chaplain.

In 1989, after honorably serving his country, he left the Navy and began working at several group homes providing care for children and adults who were both mentally and physically challenged, as well as with children who suffered from AIDS-virus related diseases and with children with drug addiction.  From 1995 to 1998, he served for three years working both in Maryland and Virginia with state legislators on bills addressing the special needs of children and adults. He also worked with Virginia family courts assisting in the care of boys who had trouble with the law or who were being taken from their families for a variety of reasons. In 1999, he joined Mary Mother of the Church Abbey and started a new life as a Benedictine monk.  At the Abbey, Br. Jeffery has served as Retreat Director for the last 9 years and several years ago opened the Abbey Gift shop serving as its manager. He presently serves the monastic community as Subprior while continuing his other roles.

Fr. Joseph Mary Lukyamuzi, OSB, Novice Master and Director of Formation
Fr. Joseph Mary was born in Uganda on July 15, 1955 and attended St. Bernard’s College in Masaka, Uganda. Fulfilling a dream he had nourished since he was 10 years old, he had his Seminary formation both in Katigondo and St. Mary’s Ggaba major seminaries in Uganda, and he attended Makerere University in Kampala with a major in Pastoral studies and Theology. He was ordained a priest in 1981. He became the assistant pastor and Father-In-Charge of Primary and High School education in a Ugandan parish for two years, after which he was made Pastor and Health Care Coordinator for a parish 200 miles away. He also has served as a Diocesan Youth Chaplain, Coordinator for Orphan Care Programs, Director of Married Couples, and then Chaplain and teacher at two Ugandan vocational schools.

In 1999, Fr. Joseph Mary decided to become a Benedictine monk and, after a period of discernment, relocated to the United States at Mary Mother of the Church Abbey. In 2006 he became a fully professed member of the Abbey’s monastic community. He is  currently on the Chaplain’s team  at Benedictine and Novice Master of the monastery, assists at St. Joseph parish in Richmond, gives spiritual direction and conducts spiritual retreats at the Abbey.

Fr. James M. Glass, O.S.B, Personal Secretary to the Prior
Fr. James was born in Dayton, Ohio on January 5, 1961.   He graduated from Midlothian High School (Richmond) in 1979 and received a B.S. in Engineering Science and Mechanics from Virginia Tech in 1984.  Before discovering his vocation to the priesthood, he worked for nine years as a Research Engineer specializing in industrial applications of lasers.  He was baptized as a young adult in the Southern Baptist church and was very active in an evangelical non-denominational church before being received into the Roman Catholic Church in 1993.  In 1995, he began seminary studies for the Diocese of Arlington, then in 1999 discerned a calling to return to the Richmond Diocese and join the Benedictine community, which is his “home.”   He completed his Master of Divinity Degree at Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD in 2002 and received his M.A. in Systematic Theology from St. Vincent Seminary in 2003.  His M.A. Thesis was entitled, “Marriage and the Family as a Reflection of the Trinity”.  Fr. James taught senior and sophomore theology classes at Benedictine High School for three years.  He spent his diaconate year at St. Ann’s parish in Ashland before his ordination to the priesthood on May 22, 2004.   Fr. James served for one year as Associate Pastor at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, then for two years as Parochial Vicar at St. Bridget’s Parish in Richmond before being assigned as Pastor of St. Theresa Parish in Farmville, as well as the mission parishes of Immaculate Heart of Mary in Blackstone, St. John the Baptist in Crewe, and Sacred Heart of Jesus in Meherrin.  Fr. James is part of the chaplaincy team of Benedictine High School.

Br. John Mary Lugemwa, O.S.B, Vocations Director and Abbey Webmaster
Br. John Mary Lugemwa, OSB, 30, a native of Uganda, has been a monk for eight years and is currently in the priestly formation program at Saint Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He has previously attended Saint John’s University where he earned degrees in Computer Science and Philosophy. Prior to joining the monastery, John Mary was a law student at Makerere University in Uganda. Br. John Mary is Abbey’s webmaster and also coordinates a Ministry supporting AIDS orphans, impoverished youths and women in his home country through the Uganda Rural Fund, a nonprofit he founded in 2005.

Br. Nolte McCarthy, N.Obl.S.B, Director of Business Development for the Abbey as well as the Director of Operations for Benedictine High School
Br. (Henry) Nolte McCarthy was born in Richmond on June 20, 1947 and is a member of the Benedictine class of 1966.  His father was a member of the class of 1926 and also had an uncle of the class of 1931.  He attended Belmont Abbey College from 1966-68 and after that for further studies in marketing at VCU, then serving in the Virginia Army National Guard as a Military Policeman from 1969–75.  Starting in 1969, Br. Nolte worked in the stock brokerage business in Richmond and progressed into the ready-mix concrete and stone quarrying industry, with which his family was closely associated.  He worked for several multinational corporations in this industry (Lone Star Industries, Tarmac America, Amoco Oil’s mineral division), beginning in sales and progressing to upper management.  During his later years, Br. Nolte took on the role as a turnaround manager, going into divisions that were losing money and markets and resetting their direction.  One such division was a $100 million per year cement operation that was losing $1.2+ million per year. Within 10 months, the year-end profit of the same company was $5.7 million and moved to $11.3 million in the following year.   Br. Nolte also has owned and operated as CEO for several businesses in the core industry (sand & gravel mines, ready-mix concrete operations, tug boat and barging operations on the Mississippi River) and has been retired on several occasions during his 40-year work history, living in the Bahamas and Florida and coming back for various projects, such as building a brick factory, buying a boat manufacturing plant.  Prior to joining Mary Mother of the Church Abbey as a novice Oblate, Br. Nolte moved back to Virginia to raise registered Angus beef on a farm he had purchased outside of Farmville.  Br. Nolte serves as the Director of Operations for Benedictine.