Carmelite Staff St. Therese-Carmelite Chapel-in-the-Mall Downloaded June 27, 2013 http://www.carmelitechapel.com/#/staff/4567482006 Fr. Herbert Jones, O.Carm. Fr. Herbert Jones, O.Carm. is the Director of the Chapel-in-the-Mall ably assisted by Frs. Felix Prior, O.Carm. and Mario López, O.Carm. , Bro. Damien Chong, O.Carm. is also a member of the staff serving as Sacristan. Fr. Herbert has been Director of the Chapel since January of 2000. He was ordained in 1960, recently celebrating 50 years of priesthood, and before coming to Peabody he served in Santiago, Chile, Lima, Peru, Teaneck, NJ, Cresskill, NJ and Bogota, NJ.         Father Felix [Prior, O.Carm.] Father Felix was born in Boston in 1932 and baptized at St. Mary’s Church in Dedham. In 1938 his family moved to Old Harbor Village in South Boston. He began his studies for the priesthood at the Carmelite Junior Seminary in Hamilton, MA, studied Philosophy at Mt. Carmel College in Niagara Falls, Ont. and Theology at Whitefriars Hall in Washington, DC. He was ordained in the Junior Seminary Chapel in 1958. His early assignments were as a high school teacher of biology and religion at Carmelite High Schools in Houston, TX and Chicago IL and Niagara Falls, Ont. In 1978 he began a whole new experience of ministry by serving as an Assistant Pastor at St. Anastasia Parish in Teaneck, NJ, St. Leo Parish in Pittsburgh, Pa, St. John of the Cross Parish in Mississauga, Ont. and at St. Matthew’s Parish in Glendale Heights, IL. In 2002 again he entered into a whole new phase of priestly ministry when he was assigned to the Chapel-in-the-Mall in Peabody.     Fr. Mario López, O.Carm. Fr. Mario López, O.Carm., a Chicago born native of Mexican heritage, grew up in Los Angeles from the age of 5, attending Catholic Schools including Mt. Carmel High School in Los Angeles where a priestly vocation was discerned and fostered in a Carmelite setting. He entered the Carmelite Seminary in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada in 1960 at the age of 18, where he did his college studies and graduated with a BA in Philosophy. Novitiate was in Pennsylvania, and 1st Profession as a Carmelite on September 29, 1962. After returning to Niagara Falls, Canada and completing studies there, and obtaining a Masters Degree in Spanish from Middlebury College, he attended Whitefriars Hall, the Carmelite Major Seminary for theological studies, for two years and completed his studies in Rome, at the Gregorian University in Rome with a BA in Theology and did further studies obtaining a Licentiate Degree in Theology in the field of Spirituality at the Teresianum. He has served in a variety of posts and missions throughout his years as a Carmelite, first serving as Retreat Director at the Carmelite Retreat House in Mahwah, New Jersey, followed by many years in several Carmelite High Schools in Mundelein, IL, Los Angeles and Encino, California. He has also served many years as an Assistant Pastor in various Carmelite Parishes in California, Arizona, New Jersey, Texas, New York, and also in Lima, Peru. His last and current mission, for the past 11 years has been at the Carmelite Chapel of St. Therese in Peabody, MA.   Brother Damien Chong, O.Carm. Brother Damien, Chong, O.Carm., serves as Sacristan at the Chapel-in-the-Mall. He entered the Carmelite Brothers House of Formation in Aakron, Ohio in 1956 and made his simple profession of vows in 1958. His first assignment was to assist the community at the Carmelite house of Theology, Whitefriars Hall, in Washington, DC,. After three years he was assigned to our high schools in California where he taught for 27 years. Before coming to Peabody, he served for ten years as an associate Pastor and Prior at St. Gelasius Parish in Chicago. Here at the Priory in Peabody he serves not only as sacristan at the Chapel, but is also chief cook and bottle-washer and jack-of-all-trades at the Priory. He is responsible for all the Christmas and Easter decorations in the Chapel and the Priory. He is also a most talented chef as can be seen from the corpulent condition of all his confreres.

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