Meet our Staff

Pastoral Staff

Fr. Michael Lumpe

Pastor
614.876.1272 ext 223

Bio

Father Mike was born and raised in Columbus in a family of hard-working, loving, and faithful parents; he has a sister and brother (both married) and four nephews and neices. He was Baptized at Corpus Christi Parish, received his First Communion and Confirmation at Christ the King Parish and graduated from Christ the King School, graduated from Saint Charles Preparatory School, and is a graduate of John Carroll University. Upon graduation from JCU, Father Mike enjoyed a 16-year professional career in Public Affairs and Government Affairs with a large Cleveland electric utility. According to Father Mike, “God was calling me to the priesthood during this time, but I was fighting back. God was persistent, so I discerned the ‘call’ with a trusted priest from my days at Saint Charles – Monsignor Tom Gallen. Based on our many discussions, Monsignor said the ‘call’ was genuine, and suggested that I go on a discernment weekend at the Josephinum; that weekend opened my eyes, mind and heart. God won! And I have never been happier in my life than serving as a Catholic Priest!” Father Mike entered the Josephinum in 1998 and was ordained in 2004 by Bishop James Griffin. He has served as Associate Pastor, Saint Matthew the Apostle (Gahanna); Pastor, Christ the King; Pastor, Saint Catharine of Siena; Rector, Saint Joseph Cathedral & Pastor, Holy Cross Church; Vice-Rector, Pontifical College Josephinum; Pastor, Saint Michael the Archangel; and Chaplain, Mother Angeline McCrory Manor. On the Diocesan level, Father Mike has served as Chaplain for the Joint Office for Inner-city Needs (JOIN); Chaplain, Columbus Division of Police and Division of Fire; Diocesan Vicar for Priests, and continues to serve as Diocesan Vicar for Hospital Ministry and Vicar for Senior and Infirm Priests. He also was appointed to serve the Bishop on the College of Consultors and the Priest Personnel Board. Father Mike is a cancer survivor (Stage III Colon Cancer) and enjoys hospital ministry, especially at the OSU James Cancer Center where his cancer journey began in 2013. As a “roll up your sleeves” Priest, Father Mike enjoys serving the needs of all, and likes to focus on helping the poor and needy, the aged and infirm, and those who are forgotten or marginalized by society. “I cannot stand to see people go hungry, or for people to feel alone or abandoned,” he said, which is why Father Mike was founding pastor with a group of caring parishioners of the Bishop Griffin Resource Center. Father Mike enjoys spending time with family and friends, “quiet time” on his day off, and is a long-time fan of Cleveland sports teams – he joins in the mantra of Cleveland Browns fans: “Wait ‘til next season.” Father Mike has a Facebook page, but does not use Facebook Messenger.

Fr. Jacob Gordon

Parochial Vicar
614.876.1272
frgordon@stbrendans.net

Bio

Fr Jake is one of 6 children. He was born in Paulding, Ohio and raised on a farm until the age of 5 when his parents divorced and he moved to New Haven, Indiana. His mom worked two jobs and dad worked in the farm drainage contracting business. During youth, he enjoyed baseball, music and drums, breakdancing, skateboarding, wrestling, band, and quiz bowl. When his sister Sarah was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor at age 10, she would pray with Jake a lot and they talked about the meaning of life during the 2 years she received treatments before she went home to God in 1989. During the Spring of that year, he received the Sacrament of Confirmation at Bishop Darcy at which point he began to contemplate priesthood. He worked in the family farm drainage business with his dad and uncle and graduated in 1993 from Wayne Trace High School. He enlisted in the Marine Corps, completing four years there, gaining knowledge of and experience in military police work, machine guns, computers, radios, desert and urban warfare training, and NCO leadership coursework, and eventually became a Corporal (E-4). After his military career, he attended the Pontifical College Josephinum from 1997-2001. His mother, Brenda, was diagnosed with cancer in 1997 and went home to God in 1999; he witnessed the blessing of seeing his mom receive strength and peace from the Lord and the Sacraments given her through their parish priests. Jake finished theology at Mt. St. Mary's Seminary in Cincinnati, and was ordained a priest by Archbishop Blair on June 3, 2006. Fr Jake served in parishes and schools in Toledo, Delphos, Fremont, Lake Erie islands, and Defiance county and collaborated with Catholic faithful in various ministries: youth ministry leadership, homeless shelters, catechesis and service for migrant families, federal prison ministry before coming to St Brendan parish in 2026.

Fr. Sam Severance

Parochial Vicar
614.876.1272 ext 226
frseverance@stbrendans.net

Bio

Father Sam Severance is a native of Columbus, Ohio. He was baptized at St Anthony Parish in Columbus, received his First Communion at St Joseph Parish in Plain City, and was confirmed at St Brigid of Kildare Parish in Dublin. Growing up, he attended St Brigid of Kildare for grade school and graduated from Bishop Watterson High School in 2014. After high school, he attended Otterbein University for a few years and graduated from the College of Wooster in the Spring of 2019 with a degree in Philosophy. He entered seminary shortly after graduating from Wooster at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus. He spent six years at the Josephinum and graduated from the school of theology a week prior to ordination to the priesthood on May 17, 2025. Fr Severance enjoys sports, watching movies, hanging out with friends, and driving around in Father Dooley’s beetle bug!

Fr. Weldit Tesfazghi Abay

Parochial Vicar

Eritrean Catholic Community
614.876.1272 ext 238
frweldit@stbrendans.net

Bio

Fr. Weldit was born and raised in Zagr, Eritrea, in the horn of Africa where he became a priest in 2009 and served in the Archdiocese of Asmara, Eritrea. He also worked a year in Sudan and 3 years in Egypt. From 2019-21, Fr Weldit attended the English and Cultural Studies program at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology in Franklin, Wisconsin. During that time, he would perform priestly duties for the Eritrean Community in Charlotte, North Carolina. Fr Weldit currently resides at St. Brendan the Navigator Parish and is in holy service to the Eritrean Catholic Community of Columbus.