Our Lady of Guadalupe Church

Rev. Jake Mackowicz

Parochial Vicar & Director of Religious Education
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Fr. Jake Mackowicz was born to Polish immigrants who moved to the US when he was 6. He grew up in Irvine, California with his two younger siblings. His sister, who is 8 years his junior, is an elementary school teacher, and his younger brother is a chemical engineer.

Fr. Jake graduated from Woodbridge High School in 2006, and initially wanted to pursue a career in automotive design. His interest in design eventually led him to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a minor in psychology. As he got older, Fr. Jake discovered that he was more interested in people than things, which pushed him to become more involved at his home parish of St. John Neumann.

While in college, Fr. Jake started to feel the call to the priesthood even more powerfully. Fr. Jake read influential books like Fulton Sheen’s “The Priest is Not His Own” and Trochu’s biography on St. John Vianney. And so, in 2013, Fr. Jake travelled to Germany to discern a vocation at the Katholische Universität in Eichstätt. During this time, Fr. Jake had the opportunity to meet Pope Benedict XVI in Berlin. Yet despite unlimited access to good beer and schnitzel, Fr. Jake eventually became homesick and decided to pursue the priesthood back at his home diocese of Orange.

Fr. Jake entered St. Augustine’s Seminary in Toronto, Canada in 2014. Before embarking on his Theological studies, Fr. Jake spent a year in spiritual formation in what is called a propaedeutic year. It was during this year that he travelled to the Holy Land. He also had the opportunity to serve at a homeless shelter in downtown Toronto and work with young people at a special needs school. Fr. Jake also spent time ministering to a Syrian refugee family, helping to settle them into a new country. Eventually, after surviving 6 bitterly cold winters in Toronto, Fr. Jake finished his studies with a Bachelor of Sacred Theology.

Bishop Kevin W. Vann ordained Fr. Jake to the priesthood on June 6th 2020 at Christ Cathedral. Fr. Jake was delighted to return to his former internship parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Habra, where he has now served as Parochial Vicar since 2020. Fr. Jake feels blessed to have been welcomed so warmly by the wonderful people of La Habra, many of whom he now sees as family.

Fr. Jake enjoys watching quality films, traveling and trying food from all around the world, especially food from the Middle East and Asia.