The Rev. John Gerard Noonan, Bishop of the Diocese of Orlando, used the Aug. 2 weekly bulletin from Annunciation Catholic Church in Altamonte Springs to introduce the congregation to its new pastor.

Annunciation’s incumbent pastor, the Rev. Stephen Parkes, was recently appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Savannah in Georgia. Parkes’s successor is the Rev. Ivan Olmo, who is slated to celebrate his first Mass at Annunciation on Aug. 15.

“I am grateful to Bishop-Elect Parkes for bringing you to Christ and guiding you to understand your baptismal call so that you are also able to bring those whom you encounter to know Jesus,” Noonan wrote in the bulletin.

The Rev. Ivan Olmo | https://annunciationorlando.org/

Born and raised in New York, Olmo spent nearly a quarter of his life employed by a telephone company in management positions all over the country, including Orlando. Olmo was inspired to join the priesthood following a conversation with a priest from New Jersey.

“Father Olmo said that conversation planted a seed in his heart that continued to blossom,” Noonan wrote.

Olmo, who has an associate degree, a bachelor’s degree and an MBA, studied at St. Joseph Catholic College in Standish, Maine, before enrolling at Blessed John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Massachusetts, which had a student body comprised of men seeking to join the priesthood later in life.

Noonan himself ordained Olmo on May 25, 2013.

“Father Olmo has said, ‘God is so gracious and kind to allow me the opportunity to share in His profound love, and to be able to express this love and share it through the celebration of the sacred Mass,’” Noonan wrote.

Following his ordination, Olmo headed south to Florida where he was assigned to Resurrection Parish in Lakeland and then St. Mary Parish in Rockledge, his most current ministry. He also wears several hats, including but not limited to Vicar Forane of the Southern Deanery, Chaplain of Melbourne Central Catholic High School, and board member of The Catholic Foundation of Central Florida Board of Directors.