St. Michael pastor finds his calling after decades in the military, business world

by Tess Wolfe

When notified by the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland that he was to become the new pastor of St. Michael Catholic Church in December, it wasn’t the first time the Rev. John Mullee had embarked on a new mission.

He previously served as associate pastor at Our Lady Help of Christians parish in Litchfield and St. Rita’s Church in Solon. But before Mullee attended St. Mary’s Seminary in Cleveland and became a Catholic priest, he traveled the world.

Mullee, 58, is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, serving from 1983-1989 as a missile launch officer. An Ohio native, he attended Catholic school for 12 years before joining the Reserve Officers Training Corps while attending Miami University in Oxford and completing a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Missouri.

After six years of military service, followed by 20 years of working in the printing industry, car rental management and management consulting, he realized he had not met his life’s calling.

“No matter where I moved. I was always seeking something, a peace I never found in the business world,” Mullee said.

He began reading about the lives of Roman Catholic saints and of Catholic missionaries, some from Cleveland, who served in El Salvador.

“I went down [to El Salvador] a few times to meet them and learn their stories, about how they served even during the civil war when their friends around them were being murdered,” Mullee said.

In being drawn toward the priesthood, Mullee cited the influence and example of his parents, who live in Avon Lake, in raising him and his five siblings.

“They put all six of us kids through college, but they found time to work at the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry,’’ he said. “Both of them worked many hours but found time to serve the poor and those who were grieving.”

With a brother and two sisters living on the East Coast, a brother in Bay Village and sister in North Ridgeville, Mullee’s local family ties include his cousins in the Day family who are parishioners at St. Michael.

“St. Michael is a very giving community,” he said. “People have been very welcoming to me in opening their hearts. The teachers and parishioners are very open in asking how they can help strengthen and serve our community.”

He sees St. Michael as a parish seeking to build on its hospitality.

“You can see that in the Lenten fish Fridays,” Mullee said. “You see the fellowship and hospitality. The fish is good, but it’s more than that.”

The city of Independence has similar traits, he said.

“I went over to the Civic Center one day for the movie on Pope Francis. I found they were so welcoming,” he said of the residents he met there. “They do so many things for the community. Especially with the funerals I’ve had, how people come together for those who are suffering.”

Mullee hopes to encourage the sense of community he sees at St. Michael and in Independence, which he sees as a characteristic of people wherever he has traveled.

“People step up,” he said. “It’s a good example of the embodiment of how Christ called us to serve while he was on this planet. He spent most of his time with the poor, the widowed and the suffering.”

Featured image photo caption: The Rev. John Mullee.