Father Mele was ordained a priest in 1973. He served in parishes for 35 years before he was assigned to leadership on-going formation of seminarians, deacons, priests and lay ecclesial ministers for 11 years. Before he retired in 2022, he joyfully returned to parish ministry and became the founding pastor of Saint Jude Parish in Pittsburgh. Father currently assists in sacramental ministry at local parishes and occasionally still directs retreats for clergy and religious but feels called to intercessory prayer which he truly loves most of all. Father enjoys substituting twice a year for priest-friends in South Carolina and leads parish missions there as well. He hopes to eventually publish the content of the series he will be teaching here. He loves walking, reading, amateur gardening, visiting with friends and ‘intends’ to slow down long enough to take up golfing, water-color classes and return to playing his bag pipes.