Pastor Rev. Gregory Elder, Ph.D.

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Father Gregory Elder became pastor of Sacred Heart Church on July 1, 2021. He was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest by Bishop Gerald Barnes, under the Pastoral Provision for married Anglican Clergy in 2006, after serving for twenty years as an Anglican priest. 

Father Gregory was educated at Indiana University-Bloomington where he studied Ancient and Medieval History, and at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford here he studied Theology. While living in England, Father Elder met his future wife, Dr. Sarah O'Brien, who immigrated to the US after their marriage. He earned the Master of Divinity Degree at Nashotah House Theological Seminary in 1983 and was ordained as an Anglican priest in the same year. While serving in the Episcopal Church, he earned his MA and Ph.D. in History from the University of California, San Diego. Father Elder is Professor Emeritus of History and Humanities at Moreno Valley College, where he taught for over 28 years.

Sarah became Catholic in 1987 and Gregory in 2003. Father Elder's authorization for ordination to the Roman Catholic priesthood as a married Anglican priest was decreed by St Pope John Paul II personally, at the request of Bishop Gerald Barnes of San Bernardino and (then) Cardinal Josef Ratzinger. Since his first ordination, Father Gregory has served in nine pastoral assignments. He is a fourth Degree Knight of Columbus.

Father Gregory and Dr. Sarah Elder live in Redlands and have two grown children and two grandchildren. 

Email Fr. Elder or find him on Twitter @fatherelder.