Contacts | Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church

General Enquiries

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Address: 3117 W. 4th Street, Hattiesburg, MS 39401.

Tel: (601) 264-5192

Email: church@stthomas-usm.org

Get directions to our church and parish office

St Thomas Aquinas church , Hattiesburg, Mississippi

Priests

Fr. Mark Ropel

Tel : 601-264-5192

Email : ropesolt@yahoo.com

I grew up in Orange County, California. My parents are Joe and Mary Jean Ropel and I have a younger sister Linda Theodore. I graduated from Santa Clara University in 1984 and after completing ROTC at Santa Clara, served in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. I received my Master’s in Theology Degree from Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. Desiring to give back, I taught high school religion at St. John’s High School in Gulfport,MS. I discerned religious life during this time and entered the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT). I studied at the Angelicum in Rome. I was ordained a priest on February 9, 2002, by Bishop Carmody in Corpus Christi, Texas. I have served on troubled youth ranches in Clark Wyoming, and was Pastor and Team Leader for 6 Priests, 4 sisters and 30 volunteers on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in Belcourt, North Dakota. I discerned a move to the Diocese of Biloxi, and was incardinated on August 28, 2013. I was named the Pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas by Bishop Morin in November 2013 and began on January 15, 2014. I am excited to be here and look forward to taking the next step as an individual and parish with Our Lord.

Fr. Godfrey Andoh

Tel: 601-264-5192

I was born in Ghana, West Africa, and come from a small family there. I received my education in Ghana, graduating from Seminary and ordained a priest in October 2002. I came to Saint Thomas July 1, 2011.

What I love about Saint Thomas is the love and affection that is felt here and the warm heart of the people.

To anyone searching for God I would tell them that God is real and by keeping an open heart He will reveal Himself.

In my spare time I enjoy swimming, soccer and listening to music. Occasionally I play the drums with the CSA band for the Wednesday and Sunday evening Mass.

Deacon Ralph Torelli

Tel: 601-268-0754
Email: Ralphint@aol.com

Deacon Truett Roberts

Tel: 601-310-5710
Email: deltru@gmail.com

Deacon James Smith

I was born to Michael Holley Smith & Emily Jane Smith on September 2, 1986, the oldest of six. I was homeschooled all the way through high school. We moved a lot growing up–from Pascagoula, MS to Seattle, WA, then to Asheville, NC and to Houston before making a full circle back to MS. As a kid I was a very creative person, enjoying video games and reading. I received my GED and did undergraduate work at MS Gulf Coast Community College and the University of South Alabama for Mechanical Engineering. From my early teens I have been interested in art and completed some amateur comic book projects. This included four issues of a comic series with Brooklyn-based entertainment publisher. In 2005 Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and turned my life completely around. I lost my house and trauma from the incident inspired me think deeply about things. It was in ’07, while I was studying at USA that I seriously began to feel called to Priesthood. The feeling persisted and when I contacted the Diocese of Biloxi, Bp. Roger Morin accepted me for as a seminarian. I did my undergraduate work at Saint Joseph Seminary College in Covington before moving on to Notre Dame Seminary for theology. I expect to graduate in 2015 and be ordained a priest shortly thereafter – please God – and begin my work for the diocese.