John Marquez joined the St. James staff as sacristan in May 2010. He enjoys the balance the job affords between the quiet work of contemplatively cleaning votive glasses and the controlled chaos of serving at archdiocesan liturgies.
 
He is originally from San Francisco, where sunless summers would prepare him for the winters of Seattle. He studied at San Francisco State University, dabbling in music, psychology, and marine biology, before getting a bachelor's degree in acting. He then spent eight years (1995-2003) as a Trappist monk in northern California, where he served as community librarian and taught introductory classes in Scripture to novices. In 2005 he moved to the northwest to enroll at Seattle University's School of Theology and Ministry, and received a Master of Arts in Transforming Spirituality in 2008. Among his favorite classes at STM were Christian Anthropology, Hebrew Scriptures, Christology, Creativity and Spirituality, and Mysticism and Transformation.
 
John's interests include the mystical tradition of the Church - particularly The Cloud of Unknowing - Scripture, astronomy, reading, playing the guitar, and ice hockey. He does not like Brussels sprouts.