Our Clergy

OUR PASTOR  Rev. James C. Hudgins

Fr. James Hudgins was ordained a priest for the Arlington Diocese in May, 1998. Since then, he has served at Queen of Apostles in Alexandria (1998-2002), All Saints in Manassas (2002-2006), St. Luke in McLean (2006-2007), as chaplain of Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington (2007-2011), and as pastor of St. Jude in Fredericksburg (2011-2020). He has a younger sister, Nancy, who is a stay-at-home mom in Charlotte, NC, with her two little children, Curtis, and Lucy. Fr. Hudgins grew up in Billings, Montana, but moved to Virginia after the death of his father. He attended St. Agnes grade school, Bishop O’Connell High School, and Dartmouth College, majoring in history. Fr Hudgins studied theology at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, specializing in moral theology and ecclesiastical architecture. He enjoys fitness, and music, (dabbling in piano and guitar.) His spirituality is decidedly Carmelite, drawing his greatest inspiration from the writings of St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and St. Therese of Lisieux. He has had a lifelong devotion to the Eucharist, the Rosary, and the Blessed Virgin Mary, and seeks always to be guided by faithfulness to the Magisterium of the Church, and obedience to our diocesan Bishop.

Fr. Hudgins’ homilies are recorded on Fatherhudgins.com.

Fr. Dudzinski was born and raised on a dairy farm in Princeton Wisconsin, discerned a vocation to the priesthood as a boy and entered seminary in college in Milwaukee.

After college and one year of theology he entered the Diocese of Arlington in 1983 and finished his studies at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland.  He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Keating on May 10, 1986.

He has served at Holy Family in Dale City (1986 – 1987), at St. Leo the Great in Fairfax (1987 – 1991), at St. Ambrose in Annandale (1991 – 1995), at St. James in Falls Church (1995 – 1998), at St. Clare in Clifton  as Administrator and Pastor (1998 – 2004), at St. Michael the Archangel in Annandale as Pastor (2004 – 2008), at St. Peter as Pastor (2008 – 2011), at St. Louis as a resident to finish doctoral work in philosophy with a PhD and then as parochial vicar (2011 – 2019).

Father Vaccaro is a native Virginian and comes from a family of nine. Ordained a priest on June 14, 2008, he served at Holy Spirit (2008-2011), Our Lady of Angels (2011-2014 and most recently the University of Mary Washington (2014-2023).

His younger brother, Father Stephen, was ordained in 2017 and his older brother, Fr. Brian, is a priest with the Redemptorists was ordained in 2022.

He very much enjoys teaching about the beauty of the Catholic faith, while relating it to daily life. He is a fan of the New York Yankees and refereeing basketball.

 

Hello to you all, my new family at St. Theresa’s. It will be a blessing to get to know you, and I look forward to us coming closer to the Lord and helping one another grow in holiness in small ways leading us to be transformed more intently into the light of Christ.

As a “little” background, I hail from the great city of Philadelphia, so know that I do bleed some Eagles green. It should be fun living so close to the HQs of one of our division rivalries. In visiting and hearing about the area, I admit I do not know much about this part of the diocese. Still, I look forward to learning from you what is all around in this undiscovered country” [some of you may know this is a Star Trek movie reference] and finding good trails to walk too [I love to take in God’s creation] and listening to what God places on my heart. Perhaps the Lord will give me some words of wisdom to preach or write [I am not a writer but enjoy poetry] to share with you.

Speaking of family, I was born in 1973 [so you now can do the math, lol], and I am the youngest of four boys [my oldest brother lives in the area, and my other two brothers are still in Philadelphia]. Our mom cared for us at home, and my father was a Philly cop for 25 years. I lived in Philadelphia until completing my undergraduate degree in economics at LaSalle University and then moved the first time to the diocese while getting a graduate degree in public policy at Georgetown University.

While searching for my true vocation, God was bringing me closer to His Son through various careers involving government, campaign, and non-profit work in Texas and Virginia. Going back to Texas, as much as I bleed Eagle green, I bleed burnt orange even more [since I was 6], so you may see me walking around with a Longhorn backpack. You may think, too, I love all the barbecue and spicy food. Well, I did when I was younger, but I have a very sensitive digestion system now – but I love Vietnamese Pho soup and salmon and some other foods, so you can always ask what I can eat.

Speaking of food, the best food we share is Jesus in the Eucharist. He is the center of who we are, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we earnestly pray to become more like Christ. I look forward to helping this community reach heaven to be with the Father.

We do this together through the power of the Holy Spirit! I ask you to have an open heart and let His gifts transform you. My life changed when I encountered Him in a profound way in seminary. I will bring Him when I preach, teach, or pray with you in the parking lot or office as we are healed and strengthened by His love.

Speaking of seminary, I attended the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, OH, and then Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD. By being at the Mount, be assured that I love the Rosary and Our Mother. I love all the angels and Saints, especially our patron, St. Therese. Additionally, you will hear me talk about St. Anthony. He will help us find things missing in our lives that help us become healthier, holier Catholics for ourselves, our families, and our community. Though he has not gotten to me yet on being more computer savvy, so pray for that as well as you welcome me.

Come Holy Spirit, send your spouse and Our Lady soon, and renew the face of the earth.

St. Theresa [and St. Anthony], pray for us!

Deacon Paul Konold was born and raised in Evanston, Illinois, and attended Catholic schools grades K through 12.  Upon graduation, he enlisted in the Navy and became a sonar technician.  What started out as a 3-year enlistment ended up as a 20-year career, and he retired as a senior chief petty officer.  While in the Navy, he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of San Diego.

In 1972, Paul married Stephanie Fiore, a newly graduated schoolteacher from Boston, and during the 70’s, God blessed them with a son and two daughters.  They raised their children in southeastern Connecticut and were active in parish life.  Stephanie taught at St. Joseph elementary school in New London and all three children attended Catholic schools grades K through 12.

In 1990, Paul felt called to the diaconate, and that started a formation journey that would span two dioceses and take 12 years to complete.  He earned a master’s degree in pastoral ministry from Providence College, and on October 19, 2002, Bishop Robert J. McManus ordained him to the diaconate at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in Providence, Rhode Island.

Upon ordination, Deacon Paul was assigned to St. Kevin Church in Warwick, RI and to the Ministry for the Deaf in the diocese.  He remained in those ministries until 2007 when his employer, Amgen, transferred him from its facility in RI to its facility in Seattle, Washington.  Archbishop Alexander J. Brunett granted him faculties to minister in the Archdiocese of Seattle and assigned him to St. Michael Church in Snohomish, WA.

In 2014, Stephanie retired after 30 years of teaching in Catholic elementary schools and Deacon Paul retired shortly after that.  They moved to Loudoun County to be close to their three grandchildren, and in June 2015, Bishop Paul S. Loverde granted Deacon Paul faculties to minister in the Diocese of Arlington and assigned him to St. Theresa’s.  Deacon Paul and Stephanie are very pleased to make St. Theresa’s and their grandchildren the focus of their retirement.

Deacon Anthony Renzette born in Newark, Delaware the oldest of Leo and Mary Jane Renzette’s five children. He attended Holy Angels Elementary School and Salesianum High School. After high school, he attended the University of Delaware where he graduated with a B.A. in Philosophy where he met his future wife, Elizabeth. They were married in 1995 and moved to Ashburn in the summer of 2000 where they have raised their four children: Brenin, Ellie, Cullen, and Declan.

After a two decade long career mostly focused in the high tech industry, Anthony felt a call to the diaconate and began a period of discernment that lasted several years while balancing family, professional and community responsibilities. He was admitted to the Diocese of Arlington’s Permanent Diaconate Formation Program in 2014 and was ordained to the diaconate on January 12, 2019 by Bishop Michael F. Burbidge. Upon ordination, Deacon Renzette was assigned to St. Theresa and has been here ever since. You can often find him at a variety of activities around the parish including Legion of Mary meetings, Baptism classes, the Men’s Bible Study, CCD classes, and assisting wherever there is a need. He also enjoys sports, including any of the University of Delaware teams, the Philadelphia Phillies, Flyers, and Eagles, and spending as much of his free time as he can with his beloved family.

Deacon Renzette can be contacted at: deacon@renzette.org.

Deacon Matt Noah was ordained a Permanent Deacon  by Bishop of Arlington Michael F. Buridge on Feb 20th, 2021.  St.  Theresa’s is Dcn. Noah’s home parish as he entered into full communion with Church here in December of 1994.   He first joined St. Theresa’s in 1993 when we were meeting at Broad Run High School.  Before ordination, he taught CCD, RCIA, sang in the Choir, was an adult leader and a contractor for WorkCamp, and is a Third-Degree Knight of Columbus.

In August of 2023, he will celebrate 37 years of marriage with his wife, Carole, and has been blessed to have three children, Nick (33), Kelly (27), and one who is in heaven praying for them.  Nick is a software programmer and lives in Atlanta, GA with his wife and two children, Parker (5) and Easton (3).  Kelly lives in Ashburn and is a SPED teacher for LCPS.

He is originally from New Paltz, NY – a hippie town in the Hudson Valley – and was a Naval Officer from 1983-1987, back when all the US had to worry about were the Soviets.  He earned a BS in Chemical Engineering from Clarkson University (as did Carole) and a MS in Software Engineering from George Mason.  He retired from the USG in the summer of 2021.

His hobbies include fly-fishing, wargaming (it is even geekier than it sounds), reading, baseball, and hiking.  He also enjoys asking local Nats fans how they are doing the day after the NY Mets beat them.

Please know that he prays for this Parish every day.  May God bless you with the wisdom to know His will for you, the humility to accept it, and the courage and strength to do it.

ICXC NIKA,

Deacon Matthew K. Noah

dcnnoah@sainttheresaparish.com