Fr Joe Shea bio

Fr. Joseph Shea, Pastor of St. Rose of Lima Church Simi Valley, California.

Since graduating from Our Lady Queen of the Angels Seminary in 1970, I attended St. John’s College Seminary for four years and obtained a B.A. in Philosophy. I moved on to St. John’s Seminary and, on May 27, 1978, I was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. I served as an associate pastor at St. Ignatius of Loyola (1978-1982) in Los Angeles and St. John Vianney (1982-1989) in Hacienda Heights. Then I worked as the Director of the Office for Vocations for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from 1989-1995. In 1995, I was appointed first as the administrator and then the pastor of Holy Family Catholic Community where I served for 13 years. For the past 9 years, I have been blessed to be the pastor of St. Rose of Lima Parish in Simi Valley.

My dad, Joseph, died in on March 28, 1991, but I am still blessed to have my dear mother Monica Jean, and my twelve siblings, together with 38 nephews and nieces, and 11 great nieces and nephews. I love getting together with them and dear friends.

I still love sports (watching, not playing): the L.A. Dodgers, the L.A. Lakers, the L.A. Angeles Kings, and Notre Dame Football. And when I get the time, I like to work out, bike, hike and fish.

Looking back on my life and 39 years of priesthood, I want to say, “If I had a hundred lives, and if God willed it, I would be a priest every time. To preach God’s Word, to celebrate the Sacraments, especially the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Holy Eucharist, to call and invite people to share their gifts in service of Christ for His Church and for this world, and to form a community into a family of faith is the greatest honor and privilege in this world and, hopefully, will make an eternal difference for me and many others in the next!”