Clergy
Rev. Oscar Mendez, OFM
Pastor
Fr. Oscar is a native of El Salvador, Central America. He came to the U.S.A. in 1972, and graduated from San Francisco State University in 1977, with a B.A. in Cell Biology. He entered the Franciscans while living in San Francisco in 1982, and studied at F.S.T. (Franciscan School of Theology) in Berkeley. He was ordained to the priesthood on Dec 16, 1989. His first assignment was as a parochial vicar at St. Anthony of Padua church in San Francisco. He went back to his country to study medicine and graduated in 2000. He practiced medicine for several years. Fr. Oscar has been a pastor at St. Anthony’s in San Francisco, and St. Elizabeth’s in Oakland. He served as Vocations Director for three years with the Franciscans and came to Mission San Luis Rey Parish in April of 2018 as Associate Pastor. He has also been working as a Formation Director for the past year. Fr. Oscar began serving as our pastor on July 1, 2020.
Rev. Sam Nasada, OFM
Associate Pastor
Fr. Sam was born in Jakarta, Indonesia. He moved to the United States to get his degrees in Industrial Engineering and went on to work in the manufacturing industries in southern California for a few years. After becoming more active with the local Church and the Indonesian Catholic young adult group in Los Angeles, Fr. Sam started discerning a call to priesthood and religious life. He joined the Franciscans in 2010, professed solemn vows in 2016, and obtained his Master of Divinity degree from the Franciscan School of Theology in 2017. When the socio-political climate of the country seemed to be increasingly anti-immigrant, he decided to help establish a new Franciscan community in Elfrida, near the border town of Douglas, Arizona. December 3, 2019, Fr. Sam was ordained at the Our Lady of the Angels Conventual Church at the Franciscan Renewal Center. He served at the Franciscan Renewal Center in Arizona, lovingly known as “the Casa” since 2018 as a transitional deacon, and finally a priest. Fr. Sam moved to San Luis Rey Parish to begin serving as Associate Pastor on July 1, 2020.
Rev. Alberto Villafan, OFM
Associate Pastor
I was born and raised in Mexico, Chavinda, Michoacan. I arrived in the United States in 1986. I joined the Franciscan Friars in 1990. I graduated from Holy Name college in 2000, Oakland, California. In 2004, I graduated from the Franciscan School of Theology, Berkeley, California. I was ordained as a priest in 2005 at Saint Francis of Assisi Parish, Los Angeles, California. I moved from Los Angeles to Oakland, California, Saint Elizabeth Parish to work as an associate pastor. I worked there from 2010 to 2016. Then I was transferred to Our Lady of Guadalupe, Guadalupe, Arizona serve as a pastor. I was there from 2016 to 2020.
Faith Formation
Bro. Javier “Tito” Garcia, OFM, MDiv
Director of Faith Formation
Bro. Javier "Tito" Garcia Marquez was born in San Juan de Los Lagos, Jalisco in Mexico. He is the 9th child of Teresa Marquez and Jose de Jesus Garcia, a farmworker. His parents are immigrants, originally from the highlands of the state of Jalisco. He had eighteen brothers and sisters (thirteen alive). Bro. Tito was educated in Mexico and the United States in both Catholic and public schools. He graduated from the Franciscan School of Theology, receiving a Masters of Divinity. He is happy to start working for Father Vince and all the people at this parish. He loves to makes greetings cards and donate them and loves to collect canceled postage stamps. Please remember him when you see them. Please stop and introduce to him so he can start knowing each one of you. He loves to watch movies, eat, and travel. He loves to visit old buildings and castles. Please keep him in your prayers.
Liturgy and Music
Kerey Quaid
Music DirectorKerey Quaid was born and raised in Fremont, California. He studied Creative Arts and music at San Jose State University. He has been a music minister since 1982, and that has been his vocation for twenty-five years. The organ is his fourth instrument (after piano, block flute, and percussion) but he is always happy to play the organ when it is the best instrument for the song at hand, or for the mood desired in the liturgy. Kerey has an MTS from the Franciscan School of Theology. He and his wife, Randi, moved to Oceanside four years ago.
Emma Whitten
Associate Music Director
Born in Oak Ridge, TN, Dr. Emma Whitten is an accomplished organist and church musician specializing in early Baroque and contemporary organ repertoire. Emma recently moved to Oceanside from Phoenix, Arizona, where she lived for five years. She has studied at the University of Notre Dame, University of Kansas, and Arizona State University, where she received her Doctorate of Musical Arts in Organ Performance in 2014. Emma has studied and performed on historic organs in Germany, Spain, Hungary, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. In addition to music, she loves to hike, watch tennis, and solve cryptic crosswords. She has two older sisters, and her parents live in east Tennessee – her mother is a botanical gardener, and her father is a physicist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. For more information about Emma, or to sign up for news updates about her organ performances, please visit her website at www.emmawhitten.com.
Social Outreach
Angel Ibarra
Director of Social Outreach and Advocacy
Angel will be responsible for continuing the good work that has been done and developing programs for the poor and disenfranchised that the whole community can be involved with. In addition, he will work with the Parish community to determine which advocacy issues to focus on.
Angel is a graduate of The Catholic University of America where he studied politics. Later, he went on to become a teacher in Philadelphia Catholic schools for several years. He recently moved to the San Diego area to pursue his master’s degree in Peace and Justice from the University of San Diego. Most recently, he worked at USD’s Trans-Border Institute where he helped facilitate and develop partnerships between various grassroot organizations working toward positive peace along the U.S. and Mexico border.
Administrative Services
Gwyn Grimes
Parish Administrator
I’m originally from Ohio but moved to California with my family after high school graduation. I have a degree in Accounting from Chapman University. My background had been working in the medical manufacturing field, but after volunteering for several non-profit organizations I realized that working at a non-profit was what I really wanted to do. I’ve been working at the Mission for the past eight years as the Director of Finance. I’ve lived in Oceanside for about 20 years where my husband and I raised our two children. They’re now grown and planning a wedding and graduating from University. I love to read, go to the movies, hike, play board games, and card games and bake.
Elizabeth Rose
Bookkeeper
Elizabeth has worked in the field of accounting for over 25 years and has been the bookkeeper for Mission San Luis Rey since March of 2013. She grew up in Hemet, CA and graduated from San Diego State University with a BS in Business Management. After spending some years living in Montana, Massachusetts, and Georgia, she settled in Oceanside in 2001. Elizabeth and her two children have been parishioners of MSLRP since 2007. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, concerts and traveling.
Shirley González
Pastoral Associate
Shirley González serves as Pastoral Associate, sharing responsibility for the daily pastoral care of the faithful. Shirley’s competence and compassion find expression in a wide range of service to Mission San Luis Rey Parish. From Baptisms to Funerals or Weddings, and many years of service in parish administration, Shirley supports the priests and staff to work creatively and cooperatively in a lively, faith-filled community. Shirley is happily married with two beautiful children.
Karen Willson
Director of IT/Communications
Karen Willson is the Director of IT and Communications for Mission San Luis Rey Parish. Her background includes Computer Science teacher for six years, magazine editor, writer, producer, production manager and public relations manager for a wide range of projects for children and adults: drama, educational and online multimedia, special effects, and live shows. With her husband and writing partner, Chris Weber, Karen has written more than 50 produced children's television shows for companies such as CBS, Disney, Warner Brothers, Filmation, TMS and many more.
