MOST REVEREND J. MARK SPALDING, J.C.L.

Bishop Spalding was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Louisville on August 3, 1991, by Archbishop Thomas C. Kelly, O.P. After ordination, he continued graduate studies at Louvain, earning his Licentiate in Canon Law in 1992. He returned to the Archdiocese in 1992 and served as associate pastor of the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral from 1992 to 1996. He was appointed part-time judge for the Metropolitan Tribunal in 1993, Adjutant Judicial Vicar in 1995, and Judicial Vicar and Director of the Metropolitan Tribunal from 1998 to 2011. 

From 1996 to 1998, Bishop Spalding was associate pastor of St. Augustine Church in Lebanon, Kentucky, and from 1998 to 1999, he served as a part-time associate pastor at St. Margaret Mary Church in Louisville. While continuing to serve as Judicial Vicar, Bishop Spalding was appointed pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in La Grange, Kentucky in 1999 and served there until 2011. Appointed Vicar General by Archbishop Joseph Kurtz in 2011, Bishop Spalding was also named pastor of Holy Trinity Church in Louisville that year. In 2016, Bishop Spalding was appointed pastor of Holy Name Church while continuing as pastor of Holy Trinity Church.

Bishop Spalding served on the College of Consultors, the Priests’ Council, the Archdiocesan Planning Commission, the Development Council for the Archdiocese, and the Catholic Services Appeal Pastors’ Committee. Other assignments included serving as presbyteral moderator at two parishes as well as filling the role as priest-chaplain at Bethlehem High School from 1992 to 1996, and at Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville from 2011 to 2017.

His appointment as the 12th Bishop of Nashville by Pope Francis was announced on November 21, 2017. His episcopal ordination and installation as the Bishop of Nashville was on February 2, 2018.

Bishop J. Mark Spalding, the oldest of three children, was born on January 13, 1965, in Lebanon, Kentucky, and was baptized at Holy Trinity Church in Fredericktown, Kentucky. His mother Mary Aileen Thompson grew up on a farm in Marion County and his father Joseph Lawrence Spalding was raised on a farm in Washington County. After their marriage, the Spaldings raised their children on a family farm in Washington County. Father Spalding attended Fredericktown Elementary School and Bethlehem High School in Bardstown.

After graduating in 1983 from Bethlehem High School, Bishop Spalding attended college at Saint Meinrad Seminary, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in history in 1987. He attended major seminary at the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium where he earned an M.A. and an S.T.B. in Religious Studies in 1990.

PJ Anderson

PJ’s most recent studio album, Mercy, Mercy, debuted at #7 on iTunes and received glowing reviews. In recent years, PJ has led thousands in worship at events worldwide, including World Youth Day in Krakow, Poland and the Mass for Life in Washington, DC.  For the past 10 years, he has spent his summers with Catholic Heart Work Camp, offering his musical talents and serving as a director, giving students meaningful opportunities to serve and minister in cities across the US and abroad. Amidst these opportunities, the recent years have been a time of immense growth for PJ as a worship artist and storyteller.

Dana Catherine

A young singer/songwriter, speaker, and former youth minister from North Carolina, Dana travels throughout the U.S. to encourage and inspire others with her songs and witness. Growing up in a Catholic family, Dana always had a strong faith, but it wasn’t until she went to college at UNC Chapel Hill that her relationship with God truly deepened. Through the ups and downs of college life, Dana began to understand that true and lasting happiness, peace, and purpose is found in Christ alone. Only then did she realize that God was calling her to step out and share His truth and love with others using the musical gifts she was given. Now, Dana finds abundant joy in allowing the Lord to use her and her music for His greater glory.

Noelle Garcia

Noelle was born in Texas, but has lived in Colorado, Tennessee, Michigan and now Dodge City, Kansas! She has been speaking to youth and adults for over ten years. Her primary mission is to teach through her own testimony, that we are all “wonderfully made” in God’s image. Noelle has been featured in CNN’s Latino in America and EWTN’s Life on the Rock as she shared her witness of God’s love through the midst of her struggle with depression and poor self-image and how that encounter with Christ radically changed her life.

Joe Melendrez

Joe shares the Gospel in many unique ways, from his development of a faith-based clothing line (God Swagg Apparel), his release of five major Catholic hip-hop albums, to sharing the winnings from a college Chipotle contest (a year of free burritos), as a means to evangelize to different people with each meal!

Joe’s BA in Religious studies from the University of Dayton has led him to become a Religion Teacher and Youth Minister for over 10 years. In addition to his work in Catholic education, Joe’s electric ministry of music and evangelization has taken him to Europe, Africa, Australia, South America and all across the USA. Joe uses his skills to animate huge crowds of teens, and he continues to share these gifts at major youth rallies, conferences, and national events. Today, Joe Melendrez is a husband and father, as well as a natural MC, a dynamic musical performer, an inspiring speaker, and an expert retreat leader.