Fr. J. Patrick Serna

Father Patrick was born and raised in Corpus Christi, studied for the priesthood for the Diocese of Corpus Christi after attending two years at Del Mar Junior College, and then went on to Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving, Texas. During the three years of formation at the seminary in Irving, Father Patrick attended the University of Dallas, and took his Bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 1995. Upon graduation, Father Patrick was singled out from his other classmates and awarded the Aquinas Award in Philosophy. After spending a year in the desert missions of Coahuila, Mexico, half a year in a hermitage, and a semester at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Father Patrick was sent for further ecclesiastical studies in preparation for the priesthood.

In August 1997, Father Patrick was sent to the Pontifical North American College in Rome, and simultaneously studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University , the mother university of the Jesuits. After three years, Father Patrick matriculated with his S.T.B. from the Gregorian, and was then sent to the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (“Angelicum”), the mother university of the Dominicans. After a year of study, Father Patrick took his M.A. in Spirituality from the Angelicum in 2001. After four years in Rome, Father Patrick bid farewell to the Pontifical North American College and returned home to Corpus Christi for ordination to the Priesthood on June 23, 2001. Father Patrick’s favorite hobbies include reading and hunting, with Saint Hubert, patron of hunters, being one of his favorite saints.