Fr. Tony Stephens was born in 1976 and is a native of Angelus, Kansas. In 1999, Fr. Tony graduated from Christendom College in Front Royal. Virginia. Discerning a call to religious life and the priesthood, he joined the Fathers of Mercy in 2000. He studied for the priesthood at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, and he was ordained a priest in 2005.
The Congregation of the Fathers of Mercy was founded in 1808, originally under the title of “the Missionaries of France.” The community was founded for the purpose of re-evangelizing the French people after the Catholic Faith had been subjected to years of attacks and persecution during the French Revolution. It is now an exclusively American community, headquartered in South Union, Kentucky. The primary apostolate of the Fathers of Mercy is to conduct parish missions and retreats in effort to re-evangelize and revitalize the faith of those who hear.