Born in Scotland in 1969, Fr. James moved to Halifax, Canada in 1982 with his family. He is the oldest of four children born to Ron and Linda. After studying Biochemistry and planning to enter medical school, Fr. James felt a call to the priesthood which he struggled to resist. Eventually he studied at Christ the King Seminary in B.C. and later at St. Augustine’s in Toronto.
Fr. James was ordained in 1997 and currently serves as pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Canadian Martyrs Parish in Halifax, N.S. (which is a newly combined parish made up of two previously different ones). He is also the founder and director of the John Paul II Media Institute which seeks to serve the Church by creating media that builds up the Kingdom of God. It mainly is engaged in digital video production as well as educating and training students in media creation. In 2002 he created Catholicism 201 and directed its production for DVD in 2005. In addition to loving his priesthood he has a passion for soccer, music, mac computers, movies and his dog Monsi.