Faculty Spotlight Q&A with Father Jeff Pomeisl
Father Pomeisl talks with Altar Servers as Ash Wednesday mass gets underway.
The importance of the season of Lent in our faith cannot be understated. As we start making our Lenten sacrifices and preparing for Jesus’s passion and resurrection, we celebrated the start of Lent as a Farrell community with a schoolwide mass on February 14, led by Father Jeff Pomeisl.
Since arriving at Farrell in 2017, Father Pomeisl has been a well-known figure and a welcoming presence in the school community. Whether it’s through his weekly celebrations of Mass before the school day, schoolwide celebrations of Mass, or his Pomcast episodes, Father Pomeisl hopes to spread the messages of God to all students. Father Pomeisl currently serves as Farrell’s Chaplain and as a Parochial Vicar at St. Charles.
Father Pomeisl – who holds a Master of Divinity from St. Joseph’s Seminary, as well as bachelor’s degrees in theology and philosophy – is also a big Philadelphia Eagles fan. He’s also known to hit the basketball court from time to time.
Father Pomeisl recently agreed to sit down with The Lion to discuss his journey into the priesthood and what life is like in such a profession. We thank Father Pomeisl so much for his time!
What do you do at Monsignor Farrell?
If you look at the yearbook it says I am the chaplain at the school. In reality, I am the priest who makes podcasts and dunks on kids in gym class. Sometimes I do both at the same time.
What got you into priesthood?
it is a profound mystery, to be honest. There are a few things that proved to be pivotal for my becoming a priest.
First, the prayers of my Grandma. She died when I was young and I know that she interceded from Heaven to make me a priest. I know this because the date of my first Mass was the anniversary of her death. Another big thing was reading a book by Dr. Scott Hahn called The Lamb’s Supper when I was about 15 years old.
Thirdly, I had an experience at Mass one day where I heard God’s voice very clearly tell me to be a priest. I mean, He literally said 'You should be a priest,' and those were the only words I ever heard Him say before or since. Lastly, my parents taught me to pray.
Father Pomeisl celebrating Mass at Farrell.
How was the experience of becoming and being a priest?
Becoming a priest was tough, mostly because I wanted to get married and there were so many girls who wanted to marry me! That was the hardest part. But now that I have been chosen by God to sacrifice that part of life—marriage to one woman—I realize that He gave me something better, something I never could have dreamed of on my own. I am married to the Church. Being a father is something every man is built for. Being a spiritual father is as real as it gets. I feel extremely blessed…and tired.
What is your favorite thing about being a priest?
I get that question frequently. I never know what to say. What is the answer to the question “What is your favorite part of being a father?” I feel like it’s something that cannot be broken into parts. It’s me. But, if I can offer any answer, I can talk about some things I really enjoy doing currently. Doing my YouTube channel, Pomcast, is really joyful (subscribe, by the way; hit the bell and like the videos). Playing basketball in my old man’s league. Celebrating the Sacraments at a great parish (St. Charles) and a great high school.
What is something everyone should know about you?
I have two wonderful parents and six brothers.
In addition to his role as Chaplain at Farrell, Father Pomeisl also previously taught theology.
When was pomcast created?
Pomcast was created when I came to Farrell about 7 or 8 years ago. I stole some pizza from seniors and gave it to some freshman. In return the freshman helped me invent a “podcast” which they named "Pomcast," because my last name is Pomeisl.
. Were you the only founder? Any special thanks?
Yeah, the guys who were freshman with me that first year get all the credit. They had the idea and made it happen. They ordered the equipment, designed the studio, filmed, edited, everything. I just went along for the ride. And now I stole the train and keep on riding!
Shout out to the very first originals: [alumni] Nick Delbianco, Mike Maher, John Braccia, and all the rest who jumped in over the years. Thank you, guys. Hope you can jump back on the train one day. My dream is to hire these guys and make Pomcast something professional. Let’s see what God has in store.
What got you to reboot pomcast?
It stopped when I moved to St. Charles and was no longer full-time at Farrell. Now I got my feet under me a little bit and things are smoother. Mostly, though, I wanted to pray the rosary with everyone. That’s my big thing, the nightly rosary at 7pm.
Any fun facts about you and pomcast?
There is a deep mystery surrounding Pomcast and me: the “2.5.” The 2.5 is something that no one has been able to figure out what it is…. Perhaps no one ever will. Keep watching.
The Lion is Monsignor Farrell's student digital newspaper. To read more articles from The Lion, click here.