Parish Staff

Father James Mayo, Pastor

Father James Mayo, our pastor, was installed as pastor of St. Michael's in July 2005. Assigned to St. Michael's to help shepherd the parish as it sought to preserve the best of its near 120 years of parish life, and building new buildings to house it for the next century, Fr. Mayo was welcomed by a community of kind, generous, prayerful diverse, and thoughtful people.

Fr. Mayo is of Irish/German ancestry, born in Mississippi, but raised in Ashland, Oregon. He is a convert to the Roman Catholic Church from the Southern Baptist Church. He is the oldest of five children. He did both undergraduate and graduate degrees at Mount Angel Seminary in St. Benedict, Oregon, and was ordained in 1976. In the early 1980s he studied Canon Law at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Assigned to St. Michael's in 2005, Fr. Mayo has served in city, suburban and country parishes. He works in the Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese as a Judge and at Mt. Angel Seminary as a Spiritual Director.


Deacon Charles Amsberry, Pastoral Associate

Deacon Chuck is the oldest of 8 children - all sons. They are "cradle" Catholics, blessed by the faith and love of their parents. He attended Mt. Angel Seminary, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy and M.Div. in Theology. He decided to not pursue ordination to priesthood, but has worked in Church ministry save for 9 years when working as a professional librarian (He also earned a M.L.S. degree.). Deacon Chuck married his wife, Carol, on October 1, 1988 and they have three children: Francis (18), Anthony (16), and Clare (13). He was ordained a married (permanent) Deacon on October 16, 2004. He is blessed in his marriage, family life, and his opportunity to serve the Lord in His Catholic Church.


Father Lucas Laborde, Campus Minister

Fr. Lucas Laborde was born January 13, 1975 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He earned his Masters in Philosophy at the Universidad del Norte Santo Tomás de Aquino in 2000. He joined the Saint John Society, a society of apostolic life dedicated to evangelization among students, professionals and the poor, from its very beginning through personally knowing the founders of the Society. He studied Theology at San Carlos Borromeo Seminary in Rosario, Argentina, and was ordained to the priesthood in 2005. He is fluent in English and Spanish. He has had the experience of teaching at many different levels, from Middle School and High School classes to College, both in Catholic teaching and Philosophy. He has also ministered to the youth and young adults in different settings, leading summer camps, retreats and evangelization missions. Fr. Laborde spent the last five years as a Campus Minister at the OSU Newman Center and as a Parochial Vicar at St. Mary’s Parish in Corvallis, OR. In 2008, Archbishop Vlazny appointed him as Vicar for Hispanic Ministry in the Archdiocese of Portland.


Rosemary Rettig, Social Services Minister

Rosemary moved to Portland in 1979 from San Francisco, California where she earned a BFA from San Francisco College for (Catholic) Women, now part of the University of San Francisco. Her post-college life was profoundly influenced during the 1970s and 1980s by her affiliation with the Catholic Worker Movement in San Francisco and Portland's Catholic Worker Community which started the St. Francis Dining Hall. Rosemary also works as a Catechist of the Good Shepherd at the Franciscan Montessori Earth School and continues her arts and crafts in a home studio (A Child's Creche). She is a mother of two and a recent grandmother.



Jerri Schultz, Parish Secretary

Jerri came to St. Michael as a temp in December 2000, falling in love with the gardens & Michael the church cat. A transplant from northern Indiana, she appreciates the evergreen, everblooming nature of Portland. "I miss the thunderstorms, fireflies, red winged blackbirds, & Eastern bluejays of Indiana," she says. "Yet, the mild year round weather here suits me better. And I'd never see an eagle on my walk to the grocery store back home!"



Meghan Jackson, Music Coordinator

Meghan Jackson grew up in Tigard, Oregon, attending Mass at her family parish, St. Anthony's, and graduating from Tigard High. She received a B.A. in Music from Linfield College in McMinnville, then moved to Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, to earn her Masters in Vocal Performance from the University of Illinois. She missed Oregon greatly and returned to Portland in 1996 to join the Portland Opera Chorus, with whom she still performs today.

In 1998, she began cantoring at St. John Fisher Parish in SW Portland. She sang there and assisted the Music Director for eight years. In 2007, she joined the staff at St. Michael's as a cantor, then became the Music Coordinator in 2008.

She is the proud mom of two daughters, Shannon (7) and Erica (3).


Parish Pastoral Council

This body of nine (9) parishioners plus the Pastor & Pastoral Staff share in the ministry of shepherding this community of faith. They work to provide for long-range planning, staffing and ministry in the parish. They are elected in a procedure they establish based on nominations by parishioners and others. The membership ideally seeks to represent the diverse parish community St. Michael's enjoys. They ordinarily meet on the 3rd Saturday of each month (save July & August) at 9:30 AM. Chair: Jay Johnson Phone: 503-650-2260

Parish Finance Council

This body of nine (9) parishioners, together with the Pastor and Parish Bookkeeper, is responsible for the fabric of our parish, i.e. our buildings, parking, landscaping, etc. Importantly, they also monitor finances - income and expenditures. They prepare the annual parish budget and look at long-term financial planning and security. They look at insurance, liability and other legal issues. According to canon law, members are appointed for 3-year terms by the Pastor. They are appointed according to parish needs and their competencies. They ordinarily meet on the third Thursday evening of each month (save July & August) at 6:30 PM. Chair: Dr. Gerard Mildner, Ph.D. Phone: 503-239-4434