Clergy
Fr. Walter Wagner, OP
Father Walter entered the Order of Preachers on August 15, 1988. Since his ordination on May 21, 1993, he has served as a college teacher, a retreat master, novice master, and pastor. He is the Religious Assistant to the North American Association of Dominican Monasteries. Most recently, he served as pastor at St. Vincent Ferrer and St. Catherine of Siena Parish in New York City from 2010 to 2021.
Rev. Matthew Erickson, OP
Father Matthew Erickson was born and raised in Newport, R.I. After graduating from Providence College in 1983, he entered the Dominican novitiate and was ordained to the priesthood in 1990. Father Matthew has served the Dominican Province of St. Joseph in various pastoral and administrative assignments, including Holy Name of Jesus, Philadelphia, PA; St. Mary, New Haven, CT; St. Catherine of Siena and Saint Vincent Ferrer, New York, NY; the Dominican House of Studies, Washington, DC; and Saints Philip and James, Baltimore, MD.
Fr. Joseph-Anthony Kress, OP
Fr. Joseph-Anthony entered the Dominican Province of St. Joseph in 2010. He made his solemn profession on August 9, 2014 and was ordained a priest on May 21, 2016. In the spring of 2010 he graduated from Franciscan University of Steubenville with a Bachelor of Arts and subsequently received a STB and M.Div from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception. Fr. Joseph-Anthony’s previous ministry placements include assisting at the Newman Center of George Washington University as well as at Mount De Sales Academy in Catonsville, MD. A native of St. Clairsville, OH, he is the youngest of three.
Rev. David Mott, OP
Fr. David (UVA Col ’84) was a Charlottesville area resident and an active parishioner at St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish before entering the Dominican Order in 1997. Ordained a priest in 2004, he then served as a parochial vicar in Providence, as Catholic Chaplain to American University and then to Johns Hopkins University, and as pastor to SS. Philip & James University Parish in Baltimore.
Fr. Nicholas Hartman, OP
Fr. Nicholas Hartman, O.P., grew up in Carmel, IN, as the oldest of six children. He graduated Indiana University with a BA in philosophy in 2015 and, after doing a year of grad work in philosophy at the Angelicum, entered the novitiate for the Order of Preachers in 2016. He professed solemn vows in the Order in Washington, D.C., on February 5, 2022. A few weeks after graduating from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception with his M.Div and STL, he was ordained a priest on May 20, 2023. Immediately after ordination, he was assigned to St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish.
Rev. Mr. Anthony DiTolve
Dcn. Tony was born and raised in Milford, MA. He earned an A.B. in Political Science from Boston College in 1988 and a J.D. from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC in 1991. He also holds an M.A. in Theology from St. Leo University. Since 2008 he has worked for the University of Virginia in the construction department. Prior to that he worked in law publishing for 26 years. He is admitted to practice law in both MA and DC. He was ordained a permanent deacon on September 15, 2018 and is assigned to St. Thomas Aquinas.
Office & Building Maintenance
Lori is a retired homeschooling mom and Navy wife (and daughter) of many years standing. Upon the graduation to adulthood of all of her six children, she served as Business Administrator for the Priory Building Campaign from 2009 until 2013. She succeeded Susan Philips (of 35 years service to the parish) at the end of 2013. She now spends even more of her time at the parish–when she isn’t fulfilling her duties as Baba to her seventeen grandchildren.
Marianne Jablonski
Marianne was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, and spent the majority of her life (outside of a seven-year stint in Western NY) in the Philadelphia suburbs. Marianne’s work history includes managing a crisis pregnancy home for multi-impaired women, coordinating an Archdiocese’s Crisis Pregnancy Hotline, providing engagement and case management services for chronically homelesss substance abusers, as well as working in executive support positions in area health and behavioral healthcare facilities. Prior to moving to Charlottesville, Marianne worked for the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare as a case worker. Marianne has just celebrated her 25th anniversary as a Lay Dominican, has served on the Lay Provincial Council for seven years, and was re-elected to a 2nd term as Provincial President for the Lay Fraternities of St. Dominic (aka “Third Order”), Province of St. Joseph.
Eleanor Nicholson
A homeschooling mom of five, Eleanor served as Director of Religious Education at the parish from 2011 to 2021. Before beginning her work at STA, she owned and operated her own freelance writing and editing business. To her great delight, her work at STA utilizes a great deal of this training. In her practically non-existent downtime, she continues her writing and editing work.
John Michie
Sam Nicholson
Sam Nicholson entered the Catholic Church at St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish in 2010. He has served on the parish staff since 2016. He and his wife homeschool their five children.
Liturgical Ministry
Marta Brannon
A native of Miami, Florida, Marta graduated from the Florida State University. She married her husband, Larry, after graduation, and moved to Charlottesville with their three daughters in 1986. She was received into the Dominican Laity in 2005 and made Final Profession in 2009. In May of 2009, she was elected President of the St. Thomas Aquinas Chapter of Lay Dominicans. Marta enjoys spoiling her ten grandchildren, and giving thanks for the joys and blessings that working for and worshiping at St. Thomas has afforded her and her family.
Karl Meier
Grace Bailey
Weddings Coordinator
After two years of working with the Catholic Hoos, Grace is excited to step into the role of Wedding and Marriage Ministry Coordinator. She and her husband, Grant, were married at STA in December of 2023 and are graduates of our marriage prep program. Grace is excited to walk our couples through this same program and experience of getting married here! She also believes that marriage ministry is vitally important to the Church since husbands and wives are the foundation of their domestic churches.
Kathleen Rosenberg
Religious Education/Youth Ministry
Caroline Golomb
Caroline first came to STA through Catholic Hoos, and graduated from UVA’s Masters in Teaching for elementary education (preschool-6th grade) in 2022. She has been involved in religious education at the parish for many years as a catechist, and is delighted to be serving in as the CRE.
Reed Golomb
Reed graduated from the University of Virginia in 2021 where he double majored in foreign affairs and religious studies. His passion for youth ministry stems from the powerful examples of saints like St. John Bosco and St. John Paul II.
Charlottesville and Saint Thomas Aquinas have quickly become home and been the source of so many blessings ranging from the call into youth ministry, to meeting his wonderful bride, Caroline, at Mass during the first week of classes.
Campus Ministry (Catholichoos with FOCUS)
Matt Lines
Matthew Lines is a Catholic husband, father, and convert grateful to be joining the Catholic Hoos ministry as of July 2023. Matt grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and graduated from Geneva College in 2018 with a degree in political science. After discerning a call to full-time ministry, Matt became an Anglican ordinand and was sent for seminary studies to Trinity School for Ministry while serving as a campus minister at his alma mater. It became clear in time that God was not calling him to the pastorate, but rather to the fullness of truth in the Roman Catholic Church, leading to his conversion in early 2020. Matt has been blessed to serve in a variety of ministry and professional contexts in his career, and is excited to share the fruits of God’s grace in his life with the Catholic Hoos ministry. In his spare time, he enjoys writing and reading, long walks, and good laughs with friends and family. He married his lovely wife, Isabel, in January of 2022 and they welcomed their firstborn, Thomas, in November of the same year.
