PERSONAL
Pastor
frhans@stjuandiego.org | 503.644.1617 x 204
Fr. Hans became Pastoral Administrator at St. Juan Diego July 1st, 2021 and then Pastor in 2022.
Born in 1982 in Salem, he graduated from North Salem High in 1999 then earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.
He led retreats for youths in parishes around the western United States, then was youth minister at St. Anne in Grants Pass, working there until entering Mt. Angel Seminary in 2010. He studied theology at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. Pastoral ministry training included Central Catholic High School in Southeast Portland and Regina Coeli Prison in Rome. He participated in an immersion with Catholic Relief Services in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was deacon at St. Mary in Eugene in 2015 and was ordained a priest in 2017. His first priestly assignment was as parochial vicar at Ascension in Southeast Portland followed by 3 years as Parochial Vicar at Holy Trinity in Beaverton.
Deacon Dennis has been a member of the parish since the very first Mass. He and his wife Marci have been involved in high school youth ministry, baptism prep and RCIA at St. Juan Diego. He was ordained a Permanent Deacon for the Diocese in 2008. He has a Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry and a degree in mechanical engineering. He has worked in the electric power industry all his career. Deacon Dennis and his wife have three grown sons.
Deacon Hugo was born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico. He lived in Canada while completing his post-graduate studies in chemical engineering. He has worked in the brewing industry in Mexico and in the USA. He was ordained a permanent deacon at the Archdiocese of Denver in 2007 and continued his diaconal ministry at the Diocese of Monterey in California. His wife Leslie and he moved to Portland in 2024 to live closer to their two daughters and their families. He is very grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of the San Juan Diego parish family.
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Ana Garcia was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, CA and spontaneously moved to Portland, OR in 2010. Ana has a background in Business Management with experience managing part of a corporation chain at 21 years old. Previously, she worked in banking where she gained more in-depth knowledge of the finance industry. With her professional background, Catholic upbringing, and love of her Catholic faith, she joined Our Lady of Sorrows in SE Portland in 2021. There she learned what it is to work in Parish life and in the Summer of 2022 joined St. Juan Diego Parish. Her hobbies include enjoying the outdoors with her dog, traveling and trying new restaurants. Ana is Bilingual in both English and Spanish.
KRISTIN MOMBERT
Director of Faith Formation & Youth Ministry |
Directora de Formación de Fe y Ministerio Juvenil
Kristin is a born and raised Catholic Oregonian, growing up in Salem, OR. She attended University of Oregon and studied Religious Studies while working at the St. Thomas More Newman Center (Catholic Church) on campus during college. She worked at St. Alice in Springfield, OR for 2 years and St. Pius X in Portland, OR for 12 years before coming to St. Juan Diego in the fall of 2020.
Outside of ministry Kristin enjoys spending time with her husband, Greg and their 2 daughters, Nora and Emersyn. She loves hiking (especially near waterfalls), camping, cooking and reading!
JENY VELAZQUEZ-SAMAYOA
Administrative Assistant | Asistente Administrativa
Jeny Velazquez-Samayoa was born in Guatemala. She came to the US in 1998 with her family when she was seven years old. She is bilingual in Spanish & English. Jeny and her husband, Gonzalo welcomed their first son in June 2019 and their daughter Sofia in August 2021. Now the family of 4 enjoy spending time together by going on walks or doing fun activities.
James Moursund
Coordinator of Music | Coordinador de musica
Corvallis native James Moursund was baptized Episcopalian and attended parochial elementary and middle school. Shortly after beginning at Corvallis High School, he resolved to pursue music—specifically choral conducting—as a career. Throughout high school, he studied conducting, voice, and keyboard, eventually earning degrees from Linn-Benton Community College, Oregon State University, and the University of Southern California. His graduate studies were interrupted in their final term by lockdown protocols, prompting him to search nationwide for work. In 2020, he moved to Florida to serve as music director for Saint Paul Catholic Church in Leesburg. In 2023, he decided to return to Oregon to discern the priesthood closer to his family. After serving as a seminarian at Saint Patrick Catholic Church in Portland and Mount Angel Seminary, he has returned to “civilian life” as a church musician.
James considers himself blessed with a Christian upbringing and education. After a brief period of teenage agnosticism, he responded to the Lord’s invitation—first reaffirming his belief in God, then in the Lord Jesus, and finally in the Church Jesus established. He was received into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil in 2017. A lifetime of experiencing God’s mercy and the prompting of the Holy Spirit led James through a period of vocational discernment with the Archdiocese, and now to a continued commitment to serving the Church in Western Oregon as a layman.