Get to Know Your Priests
Fr. Scott Santarosa, SJ
Pastor
Fr. Scott is delighted to begin ministry at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish. Originally from Sacramento, he attended both Jesuit High School and Santa Clara University. After a year of volunteer work with Jesuit Volunteer Corp (JVC), he joined the Jesuits. During his formation attended Fordham University and the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, now part of Santa Clara University.
Upon his priestly ordination in 2000, he spent five years at Verbum Dei High School in Watts, Los Angeles, a year in tertianship, and seven and a half years at Dolores Mission Parish in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, where he describes it as a privilege to serve as Pastor. Working as Provincial of the Oregon and U.S. West Provinces, his most recent assignment, required his care of the 470 Jesuits of the Province as well as the various works of the Province, one of which numbers Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish. He now is delighted to step back into parish ministry, fresh off a sabbatical featuring a stint in El Paso, Texas. He looks forward to listening closely to where the Spirit might be leading the parish at this point in its history.
Fr. Neal "Pepe" Wilkinson, SJ
Parochial Vicar
I was the third of four children born to older parents. Our parents shared their wisdom and communicated that they value us. There was a lot of love and laughter in our house. Our parents placed great value on Catholic education and made sacrifices to give us many opportunities to learn.
Since enrolling in a Jesuit college at the age of 14, I realized that learning would never stop. I learned in my land of Wisconsin and Minnesota, in formation as a Jesuit and in pastoral service in the cities of Chicago, St. Paul Minneapolis, St. Louis, Boston and Omaha, on an Indian reservation in South Dakota and in Spain and Morocco. The good people of Our Lady of Guadalupe have taught me a lot. It seems that the more I learn, the less I know. In other words, there is much more to learn.
Fr. Hung Nguyen, SJ
Parochial Vicar
He was born in Vietnam and immigrated to Chicago, along with his parents and two sisters, in 1998. His oldest brother remained in Vietnam to serve as a diocesan priest. Hung attended the last three years of high school at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois, and after graduation, entered the Society of Jesus in Berkley, Michigan. As a novice, he was sent on experiments to Seattle, Indianapolis, Detroit and Peru. Next, he was missioned to study philosophy at Loyola University Chicago, where he spent a year studying abroad at the Beijing Center for Chinese Studies in China. During regency, he taught at Saint Ignatius College Prep in Chicago and spent his last year of regency with the Kino Border Initiative accompanying migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border. For the next three years, he studied theology in Mexico City and Bogotá, Colombia. In Bogotá, he was involved in spiritual direction ministry for the students at Colegio San Bartolomé La Merced and accompanied students on mission trips during Holy Weeks. He came back to the U.S. to finish a Master of Divinity degree at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University, where he was fortunate to have an experience accompanying the men inside San Quentin State Prison shortly before the start of the pandemic. As a deacon, he served at the Vietnamese Martyrs Catholic Community of Divine Mercy Parish in Oakland, California. After ordination, he was missioned to serve as parochial vicar at Sacred Heart Parish in El Paso, Texas.
Fr. Brad Mills, SJ
Parochial Vicar
Brad Mills, S.J., was born and raised in San Jose, CA. He graduated from Santa Clara University, and later joined the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, where he spent two and a half years in Peru and Bolivia. He entered the Jesuit Novitiate in August of 2010, and took first vows in 2012. At Saint Louis University he completed his philosophy studies and received a master’s degree in social work in 2015. From 2015 to 2018 Fr. Brad worked at Catholic Charities and Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in San Diego, where his duties included individual and group psychotherapy, catechesis, helping people apply for U.S. citizenship, visiting an immigration detention center, and outreach in Tijuana. For theology studies, Fr. Brad spent two years at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia. and later worked as a deacon in several small villages near Cartagena. He was ordained to the priesthood in Los Angeles in June 2021. For his first year as a priest, he was an associate pastor at Most Holy Trinity Parish in San Jose, CA. Fr. Brad looks forward to coming back to Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Javier Mozo
Deacon
Javier Mozo has resided in the United States since 1989. He and his wife Beatriz are originally from Tlaxcala Mexico. They have been married since 1992 and have three children.
They have been active members of the parish since 2007 and during this time Javier served eight years as coordinator of CERS (Comunidad Evangelizadora para la Reconciliación y el Servicio).
By the grace of God, Javier was ordained a Deacon in the Diocese of San Diego on June 12, 2021. Javier serves our community by assisting priests and preaching during masses, weddings and funerals and by celebrating baptisms. He celebrates the Liturgy of the Word on Monday evenings.