By Winthrop Rodgers
Contributing Writer

It can be hard starting a new job, especially if your job is tending to the spiritual well-being of your neighbors. But this is the task before Fr. Mark Tobin, who took over as parochial administrator at St. Patrick Church in Kennett Square earlier this year.

While this might be a daunting prospect for some, Fr. Tobin has taken it in stride as the latest in a long line of service missions in life, including his time in Navy Special Operations before realizing a vocation and joining the priesthood.

“A desire for adventure was deeply ingrained in me. In fact, I feel like God didn't make us to live dull, meaningless, purposeless lives,” Fr. Tobin told the Chester County Press in an interview. “He made us for joy.”

In some ways, coming to St. Patrick Church is a homecoming for him, as he was raised in nearby New London Township. After graduating from Avon Grove High School, he decided to join the Navy. He served two tours in Iraq in the 2000s as a Special Warfare Combatant Crewman (SWCC) as part of an elite unit that operates small and fast boats on rivers and coastal areas.

“We’re the ‘boat guys,’” he explained. “That was a great adventure. I have a lot of fond memories of my time in the military. We formed a real brotherhood.”

After separating from the service, he moved back to Pennsylvania and, using the GI Bill, enrolled in West Chester University, where he studied business marketing. At the time he was not particularly religious.

“It never crossed my mind” to become a priest, he admitted. “All through my time in the military, my faith didn't really mean a whole lot to me. It was deeper than just not practicing my faith. It was that I was not really a man of prayer at all.”

He had planned to use his degree to start a business, perhaps related to one of his many hobbies, which he said included playing drums, photography, golf, and outdoor activities like kayaking and fishing.

But during his time at the university, he began to feel disconnected from other students. Part of it was that he was older and had more life experience than his classmates right out of high school. But there were other feelings at play. 

“I began to realize just kind of how much things had changed in my life without really even realizing it,” he said. As he looked for meaning, “some of the deeper questions started to arise.”

He said that at this moment of dislocation: “God met me with a very profound sort of grace and mercy.” This became a vocation and a considered decision to join the priesthood.

“It was a real struggle. It was a real battle because of the sacrifices and my unworthiness. All of those things came to the surface, but I also had a deep desire for it,” Fr. Tobin explained.

“I saw in it a new mission and a new adventure,” he added.

He entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in 2014 and studied philosophy and divinity. He was ordained as a priest in 2021 and continued his work within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. He was first sent to Mary, Mother of the Redeemer, a large church in Montgomery County. He learned about his new position earlier this year and arrived in Kennett Square in June.

While this may be a big change for Fr. Tobin, it also represents a transition for St. Patrick Church as well. He replaced Rev. Chris Rogers, who had been pastor at the church for ten years and now leads St. Joseph Parish in Downingtown.

So far, St. Patrick, which has about 5,000 parishioners, has welcomed him into its community with open arms.

“I have big shoes to fill as they, as they say,” he said, referring to Rev. Rogers. “But the priesthood is something to step into…and get your hands dirty and figure all of that out with the help and support of the people. I have found a lot of support from the people in the pews [and from] my staff, who have really been helpful. My style is going to be different than my predecessor. So, they're coming to know me.”

In some very local ways, he is already well in step with his new parish.

“I just had a mushroom pizza,” he said laughing. “It's nice having mushroom farmers in the pews.”

He also brings his military background into his work in informal ways, like recently joining a veterans’ breakfast at the local VFW hall.

For now, he is keeping a keen eye out for where he is needed and how he can use his background and relative youth — Fr. Tobin is just 39 years old — to minister to people in his parish and beyond.

“This area is growing. There are younger adults in this area, people our age and our generation, who aren’t really church goers,” he said, adding that he hopes to encourage those who have drifted away from the church to take another look.

“I know what it's like not to practice, and I know what it's like to be called and I just know how rewarding it is,” Tobin said.