Fr. Rico Passero
Pastor
Fr. Rico Passero was ordained a priest for the Diocese of St. Catharines on June 11, 2011 after obtaining a Master of Divinity degree. Before the call of the priesthood, he earned a degree in Business Administration and worked in corporate finance. He was happily appointed Pastor of St. Joseph on August 5, 2015. He has experience in prison ministry and currently also serves as the Director for Vocations for the Diocese of St. Catharines.
He comes from a large loving Italian family, is an avid sports fan – especially the Maple Leafs, Bills, Blue Jays and Raptors. He has travelled to four continents and attended five World Youth Days (’02 Toronto; ’05 Cologne; ’08 Sydney; ‘11 Madrid; and ‘15 Krakow). He loves to enjoy a nice BBQ, plate of pasta and spend time with family and friends.
Contact Fr. Rico at ricopassero@gmail.com
Fr. Stephen Innamorati
Associate Pastor
Fr. Stephen Innamorati was born and raised in St. Catharines. He received his Bachelor of Arts from the Seminary of Christ the King in Mission, BC in 2009. He worked at the Hershey Store in Niagara Falls during the summers where you may have been lucky enough to have taken a photo with him as the Hershey Kiss. Some may remember that he spent a brief time as a seminarian at St. Joseph’s with Msgr. Vladimir Zivcic in 2013 and was ordained to the priesthood in 2016 alongside Fr. Ronald Angervil, Fr. Greg Schmidt and the late Fr. Trevor Plug.
Fr. Stephen’s first assignment was at St. Julia’s church in St. Catharines, then St. Alfred’s church for four years and most recently at
Our Lady of the Scapular church in Niagara Falls. Fr. Stephen looks forward to working alongside Fr. Rico in his capacity as associate pastor at St. Joseph’s.
Contact Fr. Stephen at fr.s.innamorati@gmail.com
Fr. William Derousie (Fr. Bill)
Sacramental Minister / Weekend Assistant
Fr. Bill was ordained on June 7, 1980 at Holy Rosary Church in Thorold, Ontario by Bishop Fulton. He retired August 1, 2019 after serving the Diocese faithfully for 39 years.
He had three grandparents of French origin. His father was unilingual English, his mother unilingual French. He attended public school growing up since his father had not been baptized. He has three brothers and three sisters.
In his spare time, he enjoys reading (in French and English), working on finishing his basement, gardening, walking, travelling and cycling. He also enjoys quieter hobbies such as stamp and coin collecting.
Contact Fr. Bill at wder427@gmail.com
Fr. Ed Jankowski
CD, LCol (Ret’d)
Fr. Ed is a highly active, vibrant, and much-loved priest in the parish. He is retired after having served this parish family for many spirit filled years. He was ordained a priest on June 17, 1956 and has faithfully served the Lord as a priest ever since!
He joins the parish to concelebrate Mass on Sunday mornings at the 9:00am Mass. He is a retired military chaplain and has lived from coast to coast within Canada, and abroad as well! He loves visiting with parishioners and spending time with his family and friends.
Tracy Piggott
Office Administrator
Tracy has been the office administrator for 20 years.
She and her husband, Mike, have 3 children who all reside in Grimsby. One of her passions include horticulture, which she studied at the University of Guelph.
Another passion is serving the Lord and the wonderful parishioners at the Parish of St. Joseph!
Contact Tracy at sjrc.grimsby@cogeco.net
Samantha Pellegrino
Parish Catechist
Samantha holds an E.C.E. from Sheridan College specializing in Child Development, graduated in 2009 from St. Francis Xavier University with a Diploma in Ministry, with a Certificate in Spiritual Formation and currently attends the Avila Institute for Spiritual Direction. She has been active in Youth Ministry at Saint Joseph for 25 years.
Samantha married into an epic Italian family and is an IBM (Italian by Marriage). She is a Nanna, Caregiver and Fitness Coach. Enjoying Magnolia Market in Waco Texas is her Disney World.
Contact Samantha at mrs.samm@yahoo.com
Andrew Natale
Youth, Media and Social Minister
Andrew is a sports fanatic and can be found watching just about anything (as long as it fits around Sunday Mass). A loving dad to a growing family including 2 young boys and a Callico cat named Calli, every day is an adventure. When things quiet down, he can be found enjoying some video games, a good book or listening to a replay of Broadway Musical Soundtracks.
A big European family means lots of food and lots of fun so he is definitely prepared for his role.
Contact Andrew at andrewjnatale@gmail.com
Michelle Lepine
Evangelization Minister
Michelle comes to us here at St. Joseph with much experience in parish ministry – with young people in youth ministry, serving as a chaplain at both the elementary and secondary levels and has a variety of gifts and talents to share with our parish. Michelle’s love and passion for the Lord will certainly build on the foundation of faith in our community and she will be responsible for Adult Faith Formation – specifically ALPHA, our Vacation Bible School and other social and spiritual programs in the parish. A devoted mother of 2 and wife, Michelle has a zest for life which you will always see due to the big smile on her face.
Contact Michelle at: stjevangelization@gmail.com