Leadership
Fr.
Patrick A. Smith's bio
Sister Gloria Agumagu's
bio
 Fr. Patrick A. Smith, Pastor
St. Augustine Catholic Church
Washington, D.C.
Father Patrick Smith, a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington
and pastor of St. Augustine Catholic Church since 2004, is
a sought after speaker, preacher, revivalist, and retreat
director for youth
and adults. He serves as a regularly featured priest on the
Sunday morning Archdiocesan Mass for Shut-ins.
Since his 1990 ordination, Father has been called upon by
the Archdiocesan Offices of Evangelization, Youth Ministry,
Young Adult
Ministry, and Vocations; by the Pro-Life Office; and
by the Offices of Black Catholics and of Adult Religious
Formation.
He participated
in the Archdiocese of Washington Eucharistic Congress
in September 2004 as both a workshop leader and a speaker
at
the outdoor Youth Rally. He led St. Augustine youth at
XX World Youth Day 2005 in Cologne, Germany.
Father Smith was born in the District of Columbia as the
sixth of eight children. He attended local Catholic schools
from his elementary
years through high school. After graduating from Mackin High
School, he attended Mount Saint Mary's College in Emmitsburg,
Md., majoring
in Theology and first discerning his calling to priestly
ministry.
Fr. Smith was blessed with the opportunity to do his
seminary education at the North American College in Rome,
where
he earned two post graduate degrees in Sacred Theology.
In 1990
he was
ordained to
the priesthood at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington
by James Cardinal Hickey.
Following his ordination, Fr. Smith was assigned as associate
pastor to Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Takoma Park, Md.
Only 15 months later he assumed full pastoral responsibility
for a small rural parish
in Southern Maryland, St. Peter Claver.
In 1996, during his tenure in Southern Maryland, Fr.
Smith was chosen to be one of two priests featured in
a nationally
televised documentary on the life of Catholic priests,
Answering God's
Call: An Experience of the Priesthood. The ABC documentary
aired
in 1997,
one month prior to Fr. Smith’s reassignment as pastor
of St. Teresa of Avila Parish in the Anacostia section of
Washington.
In 2004, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick assigned Fr. Smith to
the historic Saint Augustine Catholic Church here in North
West Washington.
In 2008, 150 years since the founding of the parish, Father
Smith, with the enthusiastic support of the parishioners
of St. Augustine
Church, led the effort to return the School back to full
parish management and oversight. The alternative was closure
and conversion to a charter
school. Fr. Smith, the school parents and the parishioners
alike thankfully never considered this latter alternative
a viable option.
Fr. Smith strongly believes that if we work together as church
and school we will successfully chart the course toward Blue
Ribbon recognition and faithful service to the children that
God has given
us the joy and the responsibility of educating.
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Courtesy
Catholic Standard |
Sister Gloria Agumagu,
HHCJ
Principal, St. Augustine School
Sister Gloria Agumagu, HHCJ, became the principal of St. Augustine
School in July 2008, coming to the school from Queen of Peace Catholic
School in Queens, N.Y., where she worked for three years, teaching
computers and remedial mathematics. Sister Gloria is a native of Nigeria
and has been a member of the Handmaids of the Holy Child Jesus for
28 years.
She is one of three Handmaids of the Holy Child Jesus assigned
to St. Augustine School, and her religious congregation focuses on
education, social work and medical care.
She has served as a principal at three Catholic schools in Nigeria,
including one where she worked with 35 faculty members in a school
with 700 students. She has taught at Catholic schools in Brooklyn,
N.Y., Port Arthur, Texas, Beaumont, Texas, and she has become a U.S.
citizen during her time in our country.
Sister Gloria’s motto is “love and service,” and
she hopes that her life can be one of “fiat,” or obedience
to the will of God.
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