Fr. John Mark Solitario is from St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in West Springfield, MA and the eldest of four children.  After attending Catholic schools through high school, he earned his bachelor of arts from Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia.  Desiring to contribute to Catholic education, he was admitted to the PACT (Providence Alliance of Catholic Teachers) Program at Providence College where he completed a Masters of Education and taught high school in Lowell, MA for two years.  He credits his growth in the Catholic Faith and inspiration to live it fully to outstanding teachers and role models, among them not a few Dominicans—priests, sisters, and lay.   “From the time I met the Order, I aspired to the Dominican ideal of contemplation followed by a generous sharing of the fruits of that encounter with God.  I have found this ideal realized and sustained within the fraternal life of the Province of St. Joseph.”