Fr. Roman became pastor of Divine Savior in July of 2004. He finds himself most at home presiding at Masses and preaching. It is easily noticeable that he has a special place in his heart for children. He also enjoys the adventure of the on-going development of a Catholic Community.
Prior to Divine Savior, Fr. Roman served as pastor of St. Joseph’s Church in Huntsville, AL. Despite it being a relatively small parish, a great accomplishment on the part of the parishioners was the construction of a 13,000 square foot multi-purpose building which was paid off in two years after construction was completed.
Between 1985 and 1997, Fr. Roman exercised his ministry as pastor for the first time at Queen of Peace Parish in Mesa, AZ. Those twelve years involved the pasturing of a multi-cultural parish made up of a wide variety of English speaking people, an equal number of people from Mexico, as well as sizeable groups of indigenous Guatemalans and people born in Peru as well as other countries in Central and South America, and several countries in Europe and Asia. The parish had a parochial school as well as some 700 young folks involved in religious education. Under his watch, the parish renovated every parish building, the staff doubled in size to meet the needs of two language groups and the collections more than doubled.
For seven years prior to this Fr. Roman was an associate pastor at St. Leander Church in San Leandro, CA. After getting an M.A. in Clinical Psychology he helped found a parish Counseling Service while accruing hours toward his Marriage, Family and Child Counseling License.
Before this, Fr. Roman also spent six years teaching high school. This ministry proceeded and followed his obtaining a Master’s Degree in Theology from the Franciscan School of Theology, Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA, after which he was ordained on August 22, 1974.
Fr. Roman’s formative years were spent on a dairy farm in North Eastern Wisconsin.
Family: Katie Karras was born and raised in Chico, California. She has one older brother and has been married to her husband Tim for nine years. Katie has two children, Kaylee and Kyle. She enjoys spending time with friends and family in Chico, watching football and NASCAR, and is very involved in her children’s sports teams.
Education/Work History: From 1996 to 2003 Katie worked with Sutter Health as a Compliance/Auditor Specialist, Medical Authorizations Specialist, and Trainer.
Ministry: Katie has been an active parishioner at Divine Savior since 1998. She began with the R.C.I.A. program and went on to do many other activities. She is now the Office Manager at Divine Savior Church and is very enthusiastic about the other opportunities Divine Savior will bring her in the future.
Director of Education:
I'm Sharon Laitinen, Director of Faith Formation at Divine Savior. It is a pleasure to work in a community that is friendly ,caring and desires that their faith formation be rooted in Christ; yet, reflective of the hopes and needs of God's people today.
I grew up in Duluth, MN in a family that spent a lot of time with nature especially in the way of gardening, hiking in the woods and fishing. This love of nature is still evident in my present involvements, which include bird watching, biking along the American River, cross country skiing in the Sierras and tending my flower garden. For ten years, my husband and I have been affiliated to the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration; and our local community is called "Franciscan Blessings."
My love for teaching began in my junior year of high school. I volunteered to teach CCD in my home parish and knew that I wanted to become an elementary school teacher. I received my bachelor's degree in elementary education and taught in Catholic schools for 13 years. I knew that children in Faith Formation should receive the same kind of love and attention as the children in the Catholic school; so, I received my Master's Degree at Loyola University, Chicago and became the Director of Religious Education for rural and urban parishes for the following 20 years in Wisconsin, New Mexico and California. Prior to coming to Divine Savior. I was hired by the Diocese of Sacramento to be the Coordinator of Faith Formation an was asked to mentor and support the Directors of Religious Education in this diocese.
Some of my greatest joys have been the times that I have volunteered to work in different ethnic communities throughout the country. The groups that have impacted my life were the Native American children and elders of the Oneida and the Ojibway communities in Wisconsin; the Hispanic families in the mountains of northern New Mexico; the families living in the apple orchards of Omak, Washington; and the African-American children of an inner-city school of Flint, MI.
I continue sharing my passion to teach and bring the Good News of God's love in the community of Divine Savior, Orangevale, CA.
Family/Education: Deacon Charles Marchese was born in Helper, Utah and was raised in a bilingual Italian-American home. After moving to California in 1948, Charles began his college education at California State University Sacramento. His passion for learning led him to receive a B.A. in Education from California State University San Jose as well as an Elementary Administrative Credential from California State University San Francisco. In addition, he also completed graduate work at the University of California at Berkley and California State University at Hayward.
Beyond college, Charles has also received a life Elementary Teaching Credential (Grades 1-8), a life Elementary Administrative Credential, and a life English for the Foreign Speaking and Citizenship Credential.
With a combined thirty-six and a half years of teaching at various elementary and junior high schools, and adult classes, Charles has also spent six years as vice-principal of a junior high and three years as an elementary summer school principal.
Ministry: After four and a half years of training, Charles was ordained a permanent deacon in February 1995 in the Oakland Diocese.
In addition to a passion for learning and teaching, Deacon Charles Marchese has also done hospital ministry to the sick for twenty five years. After an internship at St. Rose Hospital in Hayward, he was given charge of two hospitals in San Ramon, California. He has also served in several care homes, visiting the sick daily and administering communion.
Deacon Marchese is presently stationed at Divine Savior Catholic Church in Orangevale, California where he is in charge of the baptism program.
Family: Deacon Jim McFadden, who was ordained in June of 2004, has been married to his wife Catherine for thirty-eight years and is the father of two children - Cybelle Helene, a French professor at the University of North Carolina Greensboro and Teilhard Malcolm, deceased September 2001 at twenty-one years of age. Jim and Catherine are the proud grandparents of Calliope Helene, who was baptized by her grandfather at Divine Savior Church in June 2007.
Education/Work History: Deacon Jim McFadden has been a theology teacher at St Francis High School for nineteen years and specializes in World Religions, Church History, and Christology. He cultivated his interest in theology while studying philosophy and theology at the University of San Francisco and later earned his M.A. in philosophy at Tulane University.
Ministry: In addition to teaching, Deacon McFadden’s services include the Detention Ministry at Folsom Prison and the Adult Faith Formation Ministry at Divine Savior. He regularly ministers to the Word and altar and feels very blessed and privileged to preach at his parish, which has been his spiritual home for nineteen years. Preaching is his passion, and is now a collaborative ministry with his wife Catherine.
Family: Lisa Plein and her husband Rick are proud parents of two children.
Education/Work History: Lisa was in the Mortgage Banking industry for nineteen years. Most recently she was employed as Vice President of Real Estate Lending for the Orange County Teachers Federal Credit Union.
Ministry: Lisa has been a Divine Savior Parishioner since 1994.
Director of Liturgy
