The Most Rev. Bishop Herbert Bevard of the Diocese of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands recently appointed Fr. John Mark, pastor of St. Joseph Church, as president of St. Joseph High School. Bishop Bevard said, “We are truly blessed to have Fr. John Mark as a priest of our diocese. In his new role he will bring his passion for learning along with his devotion to his Catholic faith. He is a great spiritual and educational leader and administrator.”
Fr. John Mark was born on Grenada, and raised on Jamaica and St. Croix. He pursued his studies at St. Mary School and graduated from St. Joseph High School in 1986 as class valedictorian. He went on to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for two years before returning to St. Croix to complete his degree at UVI. He then decided to become a priest and went to Rome to study theology at the North American College. He was ordained a priest in 2001 for the Diocese of St. Thomas. All of his pastoral assignments have been on the island of St. Thomas until he was recently installed as pastor of St. Joseph Parish on May 1 by Bishop Bevard. Most recently, he was pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help on St. Thomas for the past four years.
St. Joseph High School is one of two Catholic high schools in the territory. There are three Catholic schools on St. Croix with St. Joseph being the only high school. It is fully accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.
