Fr. Jim McCormack, MIC

Rector of the Menlo Park Residence
St. Patrick's Seminary
Menlo Park, California

First Vows: 8/15/2006
Final Vows: 8/16/2009
Priestly Ordination: 7/10/2010

Assignments and dates:
Assistant Novice Master: 2010 - 2011
Licentiate Student, Pontifical University for the Theology of the Consecrated Life “Claretianum,” Rome: 2011 - 2013
Novice Master: 2013 - 2023
Provincial Prefect of Formation: 2013 - 2023
Superior of the DC House: 2014 - 2023
Provincial Councilor: 2017 - 2023
Parochial Vicar at St. Patrick's Parish, Yorkville, Illinois: 2023 - 2025
Rector of the Menlo Park Residence (St. Patrick's Seminary), Menlo Park, California: 2025 - Present

Do you have a devotion to a particular Saint(s)?
Different Saints have been close to me at different times in my life. During my reversion to my faith: St. Augustine; during my seminary years: Our Lady of Fatima and St. Ignatius of Loyola; overall, during my time in the Marians: Blessed George Matulaitis, St. Faustina, and St. Thérèse of Lisieux. And one Saint that has been with me all along, from my Baptism through my most recent parish assignment to my new assignment in California: St. Patrick.

Do you have a favorite story from your ministry? 
Father Casimir Krzyzanowski was a very elderly Marian priest at our house in Washington, DC, while I was the superior. Although Fr. Casimir was almost completely bald, I noticed one day that the few whisps of hair on the back of his head were getting a little long. So, I told a young seminarian to offer him a haircut after dinner.

Now, Fr. Casimir was known among our community as the “cookie monster” because he always ate one cookie after his lunch and another after his dinner. But, that day, we had run out of cookies. I had apologized to Fr. Casimir, but he made it clear that there was a “cookie crisis.” I promised I would get him more soon, but, as he sat down for dinner, I could see that he was eyeing the cookie jar, hoping there would be some cookies.

After a few minutes, the seminarian-barber approached Fr. Casimir. He had to lean down a bit close to Fr. Casimir’s ears so that the elderly Marian could hear him. The seminarian asked, “Fr. Casimir, would you like a haircut?” Fr. Casimir, looked up at him and said quite loudly to the surprise of everyone in the room, “I WANT COOKIES!” 

Favorite quote from the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska?

[Jesus said,] The greater the sinner, the greater the right he has to My mercy (Diary, 723).

Favorite prayer to Our Lady?
The Memorare.

His story:
Fr. Jim received his Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Yale University and his Master's at Stanford University. Following graduate school, he worked in Colorado for seven years designing microprocessors for Hewlett-Packard.

It was during graduate school when Fr. Jim had his first sense of a calling to the priesthood, "but I did my best to ignore it," he says with a smile. After he broke up with his fiancée, he decided to take God's call more seriously.

Fr. Jim was given the grace to follow the Lord's call during a pilgrimage to Italy in 2002. "Due to Mary's help, I came away from that pilgrimage with a deep sense of peace about becoming a priest," he says. He joined the Marians in 2005 because of their devotion to Our Blessed Mother, Mary Immaculate, their active apostolic spirit, and their desire to spread devotion to Jesus, the Divine Mercy.

When he was a seminarian, Fr. Jim reflected on his future priesthood: "I look forward to being a spiritual 'Father' for souls. My awareness of my own need for God's mercy has led me especially to appreciate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I want to be a merciful father, similar to the one in the parable of the Prodigal Son, who welcomes back with love and even runs to meet his wayward son."

Father Jim professed his perpetual vows as a Marian on Aug. 16, 2009. Following his priestly ordination on July 10, 2010, he was sent to Rome where in 2013 he earned his Licentiate degree in the Theology of the Consecrated Life.

More on Fr. Jim:
His First Feast as a Saint!
'A Ton of Joy'
'Filled with Abundant Zeal'
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Pray for Us
Mass at the Pentagon's 'Ground Zero'
Divine Mercy Plus videos