Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church of Tallahassee recently welcomed Jonathan Shea as the new director of the parish’s youth ministries.

Shea has lived in Tallahassee since 2007, and he began serving the community only a few years later in 2012 as the middle school youth minister at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Tallahassee, an announcement published in Blessed Sacrament's Aug. 16 bulletin said. He and his wife DeeDee have four children of their own.

Shea, who goes by the name "Jono," received his bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies from the University of Oklahoma. He then went on to earn a master’s degree in Religion from Florida State University.

Serving in his capacity as a youth pastor, Shea is following a calling to minister to the youth of the church not only by teaching them about God, but by trying to help them develop a personal relationship with God as well, he said in the announcement.