Kori Pacyniak - Pastor

The Rev. Kori R. Pacyniak (pronouns: they/them)  is a non-binary Catholic priest who has served as pastor of Mary Magdalene Apostle Catholic Community (MMACC) since January of 2017. Much of Kori’s work and ministry focuses on making sure queer and trans people have the liturgical and theological resources to reclaim spiritual and faith traditions. 


Kori holds a Master of Divinity (MDiv) from Harvard Divinity School, a Master of Sacred Theology (STM) from Boston University School of Theology, and is currently a PhD candidate (ABD) at the University of California, Riverside, focusing on Queer and Trans Studies in Religion. Kori’s academic work focuses on the intersection of queer and trans identities with religious and ethnic identities. Their dissertation will look at the experiences of trans catholics with religious and secular rituals. 

 

Kori also serves as co-chair of San Diego Pride's DevOUT Interfaith Coalition and on the steering committee of TransEpiscopal, an organization working for the full inclusion and support of transgender and non-binary persons within the Episcopal Church. Previously, Kori served as parish intern at St. Luke's and St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Boston, assistant chaplain at Suffolk University, and scholar in residence at the Religious Institute.

 

Kori was ordained a deacon in June of 2019 and a priest in February of 2020, becoming the first transgender and non-binary person ordained through Roman Catholic Women Priests (RCWP). 


Kori can be reached at pastor@mmacc.org


Further coverage of Kori's ordination can be found at Uptown News and the San Diego Union-Tribune. Kori was also featured in a New Yorker article about women and non-binary people called to ordination.

BW image of Kori - a non binary priest in clerical dress

Bishop Jane Via - Pastor Emerita & Bishop in Residence

Bishop Jane Via (pronouns: she/her) has a B.A. in Spanish Language and Literature from Purdue University, a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Marquette University, and a J.D. from the University of San Diego. After several years of teaching Religious Studies at a Catholic college and university, she served as an attorney at County Counsel in San Diego, CA and a county attorney with the District Attorney's office in San Diego for a combined 26 years. 


Jane recognized her call to become an ordained Roman Catholic priest when she learned of the Roman Catholic Womenpriest (RCWP) movement in Europe. She felt compelled to use her theological knowledge, her teaching and public speaking skills, and her love of the church to call the church to change, rather than leave the church. Gandhi once said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Jane is trying to be the change she wants to see in the church.


In 2005, Jane founded MMACC with Rod Stephens, a Roman Catholic priest. Jane was ordained a deacon in 2004 on the Danube River and was ordained a priest in June of 2006 on the Bodensee off Swiss shores. Jane is a member of the Immaculate Heart Community of Los Angeles. She lives in San Diego with her husband, Phil Faker. They have two adult sons.