Rev. Leo Loyola

RECTOR

Father Leo Loyola, a seasoned priest with experience in the Dioceses of Hawaii and Dallas, accepted the call as Redeemer's seventh Rector in January 2024.

During his tenure in Hawaii, his most significant role was as Vicar of Calvary Episcopal Church (Kaneohe, Hawaii). Alongside the vestry and church members, he helped guide a church that was dangerously at risk of closure back to a mission in good standing. By 2016, their accomplishments included:

• Growing the congregation by 15%.

• Helping bring the church budget to black.

• Lowering the median age of the congregation from 71 to 55 through group baptisms and returning young families.

• Creating a healing support group based on Episcopal Liturgy "Enriching Our Worship Book 2".

• Reinstating defunct opportunities for youth, including Sunday School and Vacation Bible School.

• Leading adult bible studies and confirmation classes.

• Facilitating various church-community activities centered on lower-income families.

Father Leo also served as Priest-in-charge (2013-2015) of St. John’s By-the-Sea Episcopal Church (Kaneohe, Hawaii), where he implemented regular usage of Hawaiian language in liturgy, particularly in the reading of the Gospel. As a Transitional Deacon (2012), he preached and served at five culturally different churches in Windward Oahu, under Rev. Giovan King, Rector of St. Christopher's (Kailua, HI).

Upon his arrival in the Diocese of Dallas (2017), Father Leo first served as Assistant Priest (under Mtr. Joy Daley) at Episcopal Church of Saint Thomas the Apostle (Dallas). Along with his priestly duties, he led confirmation classes and facilitated a book club group that explored topics of faith and topical issues. After Mtr. Joy's retirement, Father Leo served as Interim Rector. 

Most recently, Father Leo served as Assisting Priest (under Fr. Tim Cherry) at Church of the Apostles (Coppell).

As a seminarian at Virginia Theological Seminary (2012) with an interest in congregational development and church planting, Father Leo served at The Episcopal Church of the Atonement, Washington DC. There, he participated in the liturgical leadership of a predominantly African American and Afro-Caribbean community. He also facilitated a five-week Lenten forum on the Letter to the Romans. Also during this time, Father Leo served as Chaplain Intern, Goodwin House Alexandria (Virginia) in its Assisted Living, Healthcare and Dementia units. 

Born in the Philippines and later raised in Hawaii for the majority of his life, Father Leo has been married to Melody Loyola since 2007. They also have a child, Benjamin, whom they adopted at the age of five from China. Father Leo's interests outside of work include solving sudoku puzzles, traveling with his family, writing puns (he runs his own Facebook page where he has published one pun a day for the past four years!), listening to business audiobooks, watching TV cooking shows as a family, and self-learning the violin. His bucket list wish is to run one 5K in each state.