Reverend John J. Ames

Pastor

Father John J. Ames, is a native of Philadelphia who grew up in Saint Vincent DePaul Parish (Richboro). He attended Our Lady of Good Counsel grade school and Archbishop Wood High School. Upon graduation, he attended Penn State University and then entered Saint Charles Seminary. Cardinal John Krol ordained him to the Priesthood in 1982.Father Ames then served as a Parochial Vicar at Saint Laurence Parish (Upper Darby) and Saint Thomas Aquinas Aquinas (South Philadelphia). He taught theology at Lansdale Catholic High School (Lansdale). After earning a doctorate in theology at The Catholic University of America (Washington, DC), he was assigned in 1992 to teach theology at Cardinal O’Hara High School (Springfield) and serve as Chair of the Theology Department. In 1998, Father Ames was assigned as the Catholic Newman Chaplain at Bryn Mawr, Haverford Swarthmore Colleges. Throughout his years as a priest, Father has served as an adjunct theology instructor at several local colleges. From 2005-2014, as Deputy Secretary of Catechetical Formation, he assisted the Archbishop in fostering religious education and faith formation throughout the Archdiocese. During this time, he also supervised Catholic Campus Ministry in the Archdiocese. After this, Father served as the Dean of the School of Theological Studies at Saint Charles Seminary in Philadelphia. In 2017, Father Ames was assigned to be the pastor of Saint Colman Parish and the Catholic Chaplain for Swarthmore, Haverford and Bryn Mawr Colleges.