Christopher Hoover was ordained by Bishop J. Mark Spalding as a permanent deacon on April 1st and has been assigned to serve our parish. We look forward to making him and his wife, Christina, feel welcome and getting to know them. We wanted to share a little bit about him and his family with you.

Christopher and his wife Christina come to Holy Rosary from Saint Stephen Parish in Old Hickory, where the family have been parishioners since 1999. They have four children, (three daughters and a son). Daughter Amanda is married with two children, (Oliver and Josephine) and currently lives in Okinawa, Japan with her husband (Theodore) who is in the armed forces. Daughter Hannah lives in Salt Lake City where she is a Child Life Specialist at a hospital there. Son Joshua is a student at East Tennessee State University and the youngest, daughter Angela is preparing to graduate from High School and planning to attend Tennessee Tech in the fall. Amanda and Hannah, as well as five nieces were all students at Holy Rosary Academy.

Christopher was ordained to the Diaconate on April 1st, 2023 which is the same day he crossed the Brimley-Cocoon Line. That is, the day he was as old as the actor Wilford Brimley was on the day the movie Cocoon was released in theaters. (One thing you’ll discover about Christopher is that he’s the kind of nerd who knows what the Brimley-Cocoon Line is, and when his is.)

Christopher and Christina met at Brescia College, a small Catholic school in Owensboro, Kentucky where they earned their undergraduate degrees, Christopher in Accounting and Christina in Elementary Education. They began dating on January 27th, the Feast of Saint Angela Merici, the patron saint of Brescia College, who they now consider the family’s patron saint. After a brief stop in Frankfort, Kentucky after their wedding, they moved the family to Nashville in 1997. Christopher is a practicing Certified Public Accountant at a Tax and Accounting firm downtown and Christina is the Center Director for the Centennial Hospital Childcare Center.

Christopher and Christina’s shared hobbies outside of ministry opportunities include following the Tennessee Titans, dates to the grocery store, and spending as much time as possible with the children and grandchildren. Christopher’s passions include hiking with the family and biking for fun and exercise. He is also a passionate fan of the Superman character who he sees as a compelling Christ-figure in the comics world. You will rarely meet Christopher when he is not wearing a Superman shirt underneath his clothes in remembrance of his father who passed away in 2013.

Christopher’s past ministry includes Marriage Preparation and Enrichment, Religious Education instruction, Sacristan ministry and various youth ministry adventures as chaperone. Christopher and Christina are both excited to meet the people of Holy Rosary and to walk with them on their shared journey of faith.

If you would like to contact Deacon Hoover directly, you may email him at hooverc@holyrosary.edu. Be sure to say hello and introduce yourself to him next time you see his smiling face around the parish.