Who We Are

Our Clergy and Staff Team

No matter your background, personal history, age, ethnicity, culture, marital status, self-image, esteem, past or present religious affiliation; We believe in a warm, friendly and diverse congregation, offering outreach and a variety of ministry services to our growing community. You are invited, welcomed, accepted, loved and respected at The Basilica of The Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Monsignor Albert Jowdy

Administrator

Father Al was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Atlanta in 1984 and was a parochial vicar at All Saints parish in Dunwoody and St. Thomas Aquinas parish in Alpharetta. He then served as pastor at St. Thomas Aquinas (1991-2002); St. Lawrence, Lawrenceville (2003-2015); and Immaculate Heart of Mary, Atlanta (2015-2024).

During 2002-2003, he pursued postgraduate studies at Heythrop College, the Jesuit faculty of the University of London. In 2013, Pope Benedict XVI named him a Chaplain to His Holiness, with the title of Monsignor. (But he prefers to be called “Father Al.”)

Through the years, Father Al served as a member of the archdiocesan College of Consultors, the Presbyteral Council (which he chaired 1986-1992), and the Priest Personnel Board. He was a judge on the ecclesiastical Court of Appeals for the Atlanta province and acting director of the Committee for the Ongoing Formation of Priests.

Father Al’s personal interests include theater, music, reading, cooking, travel—and, in good years, UNC Tarheel basketball.