 Rev. Br.
James Junipero Moore, OP
Br. James Junipero was born in 1976 in a small rural town called Coalinga in central
California. From his earliest days, he had an interest in the church. His
father was an Anglican who raised him with a love for music and liturgy. His mother
is a Catholic who raised him with the idea of a universal church. At age 12, James
became a parish organist at his home parish and this was the beginning of his dedication
to church music.
After graduation from Coalinga High School in 1994, James enrolled in Santa Clara
University where he majored in Music and minored in History and Catholic Studies. In
1996, he became an assistant organist at St. Dominic's church in San Francisco where he
began praying and socializing with the Dominicans. Although he had felt a call to
the priesthood all of his life, it became more defined at St. Dominic's that his vocation
might be a Dominican vocation. He was attracted to the active/contemplative life
that the Dominicans lead. The mixture of the choral office and the active preaching
and teaching were all attractive aspects of religious life to him.
Graduating from Santa Clara in 1998, Br. James entered the University of Notre Dame, IN,
where he earned a Master of Arts degree in Music. While at Notre Dame, James also
was the Graduate Assistant for the Liturgical choir that sang the 10 A.M. solemn Mass at
the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the ND campus. While he was at Notre Dame, his
love for church music was fed. His desire for community was fed, and he lived
with two of his fellow organists. However, his vocation never went away.
Following graduation in May of 2000, he entered the Dominican Novitiate at St. Albert's in Oakland, CA. He made his first
profession of vows on 1 September, 2001. At St. Albert's, Br. James gives some of
the other brothers organ lessons, and sings in the Saint Albert Schola Cantorum.
|
