It's official! Rev. John Adams is Our 10th Pastor and 3rd Rector

FR. JOHN ADAMS
10TH PASTOR & 3RD RECTOR OF
THE BASILICA OF ST. MARY OF THE ANGELS
 
Rev. John William Adams was ordained as a Roman Catholic Priest on June 7, 2014 for the Diocese of Buffalo. He grew up with his parents Bill (late) and Mary Adams, who lived in the Pittsburgh area (Duquesne, PA) with his three siblings (Mary Ann Gray, Bill Adams, Jr. and Mark Adams). He describes them all as having been very loving and supportive throughout his life and celebrated with joy his life’s vocation. One of his great loves in his current journey is that he is able to visit with and minister to his Mom, who at 90 years old, now lives with his sister, her primary care-giver, and his brother-in-law, Tom in Bethel Park, PA.

His home parish was St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Farnham, NY where in 1997 he was introduced to a wonderful community of faith and solidified and deepened his involvement with the church. While at St. Anthony’s, he served as a Eucharistic Minister, a member of the parish council, the Director of Spiritual Life and a religious education instructor. In 2005, John felt God’s call to a vocation to the priesthood. 

Fr. John graduated from Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora, NY where he obtained a Masters of Divinity. His first assignment as a parochial vicar was at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Hamburg, NY. He was named as Temporary Administrator of  St. Maximilian Parish in Corfu/East Pembroke for several months before he was sent to Christ the King Seminary as an Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology and Assistant Director of Priestly Formation and eventual Vice President of Human Development and Mission Enrichment. Fr. John is a licensed psychologist and a certified school psychologist who has been involved with research and practice involving Deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing, and those with developmental disabilities involving individuals and their families for over 35 years. He attended Pennsylvania State University as an undergraduate and majored in elementary and special education. He obtained his Master of Arts degree and his Ph.D. in counseling psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Fr. John was thrilled at the end of September, 2020 when he was named as the Administrator/ Rector at the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and the Administrator of St. John the Evangelist Church in Olean and the Administrator of the Oratory of the Sacred Heart in Portville. But now, he shares with us that his greatest blessing since his ordination and one of the major gifts of his life is when the Bishop informed him at a meeting with him on Monday, April 12, 2021 that he was named as pastor of the Basilica, St. John’s and the Oratory. He stated that his heart leapt for joy as he felt he was returning home. When he left from the Olean area after completing his pastoral year as a Seminarian in training about 10 years ago, he had hoped to return back home. In response to this gift, in his words, “The Lord is Good, Thanks be to God! Alleluia!”