The year was 1990, and Greg was completing his Catholic seminary studies in Denver. Hoping to be ordained and assigned within his Colorado diocese, he sent a letter to the Colorado Springs bishop, asking to meet with him. Hearing nothing in reply, Greg Adolf met with Bishop Moreno in Tucson instead, and arranged to be ordained and to work in our diocese. Later, when they met at an event, the Colorado bishop expressed disappointment that Fr. Greg had not wanted to work there. It turned out that the bishop had been ill at the time Greg sent the letter, and never received it.

That was not Greg Adolf’s only experience with errant mail. He might have become a maritime lawyer instead of a priest had he entered Georgetown University in the fall of 1966. Having applied, but receiving no response, he entered Notre Dame instead. Later that fall, Georgetown contacted him to ask why he didn’t show up on campus. They had accepted him, but it was later realized that because of a mailroom fire, the acceptance was destroyed. He stayed at Notre Dame, graduating in 1970.

Greg was born in 1948 at the hospital in Cheyenne Wells, CO, in a neighboring county from the family home in Burlington. His parents, World War II veterans, were living in the early years of their marriage near the homestead that Greg’s great-grandfather had acquired after earlier migrating from Russia. Adolf ancestors, German Lutherans, had settled in southern Russia at one point, but immigrated to America in 1886. Young Greg was baptized and raised Lutheran.

The family, now including a younger brother, Tony, moved to the then small city of Phoenix when Greg was 4. Greg’s father was in construction. It was a 3-generation household, as Greg’s mother’s folks, Catholics, lived with them. It was from this background that Greg was exposed to both religions. Fr. Greg says it was a family joke that they were the only Lutherans on the block who ate fish on Fridays and prayed the rosary. Greg attended public schools, going to high school at West Phoenix High. There was also an addition to the Adolf household when a sister, Lisa, was adopted in 1968.

At Notre Dame, Greg majored in history, and minored in theology. He was a member of the Notre Dame team that appeared on national TV on the program G.E. College Bowl, a program that featured academic competition between schools.

By the time he graduated from college, Greg wanted to enter the Lutheran ministry, so he enrolled at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, where he earned a Master of Divinity degree in 1974. Ordained that year into the Lutheran Church in America, he was assigned as the associate pastor at Dove of Peace Lutheran parish in Tucson. This began a career that involved becoming senior pastor in 1978, a position he held for 11 years. During that time he was elected Dean of the Clergy for the state of Arizona for two terms, from 1984 to 1988.

In 1989 Fr. Greg resigned from the Lutheran clergy and was received into the Catholic Church. He was ordained by Bishop Moreno on June 1, 1991 at St. Augustine Cathedral.

Fr. Greg was assigned as associate pastor to Fr. Harry Ledwith, when the latter replaced Fr. Richard Voigt here in 1991.  Figuring Fr. Greg with only a little parish experience would be soon ready for a pastorate, he was advised not to unpack his bags here. But as fate would have it, only a year later, Fr. Harry was offered his dream assignment as pastor at St. Pius X parish in Tucson.  Fr. Greg suddenly found himself assigned as our administrator, and in early 1993 was made the eighth pastor of St. Andrew’s. He unpacked his bags, and has been with us ever since, much to our delight. He has been satisfied to make his career, here.  Fr. Greg says he has always been impressed by the know-how in this parish, and enjoys our diversity of cultures.

With all his evident skills, we might suppose that Fr. Greg has, or had ambitions beyond being a parish priest. He insists it’s not so, or that such ambitions were satisfied during his years with the Lutherans. He says he will be satisfied to continue as he is doing, here at St. Andrew’s if that be the case, until he can do it no longer. Even then, Fr. Greg says, he would only scale back. “I don’t believe that one should retire as a priest,” he says, and that will be the case with him.