A conversation with the new “Father Joe”

By Margie M. Palmer

It’s been about five months since Jimmy Vargas, better known as Deacon Jim, stepped into the role of president and CEO of Father Joe’s Villages, and while much has been written about his professional background, some of the backstory of what makes him tick has been more elusive.

The native New Yorker, who, coincidentally, grew up in the same Bronx neighborhood as his successor, said he was amused to learn he and Father Joe Carroll came from similar roots.

“I was visiting him in the hospital and we got to chatting, and we realized we both grew up in the South Bronx; I grew up at a home on 138th Street and Willis Avenue and he lived at 141st Street and Willis Avenue,” Vargas said. “We also learned he was baptized in the same church my wife was baptized in; it was a pretty interesting thing to learn.”

Vargas said he was drawn to the seminary early on in life, and at one point, considered joining the priesthood. It wasn’t until he met his wife that he learned that the priesthood was “not what God had in his plan for me.”

“We married when I was 21 but I’ve always had a love for the church and ministry,” Vargas said.  “I’ve always been extremely involved with things like bible study, preparing adults and children for the sacrament; I’ve served on spiritual committees and have been a reader at masses. Before we moved to California, I’d been asked a number of times by pastors if I’d have an interest in becoming a deacon, and being ordained, but it was such a big time commitment. What most people don’t realize is that in order to become a Deacon the Catholic Church requires the wife go through the same four and a half year program; if they don’t agree, then the husband cannot go into it.”

The timing may not have worked out while the couple lived in New York, but all of that changed 18 years ago, after La Jolla-based Copley Press recruited him to serve as their vice president and chief human resources officer. 

Prior to joining The Copley Press, the New York University graduate served as senior vice president of the Education Group at KIII Communications, where he led human resource development for publishing companies in the fields of medicine, films, humanities, primary school education and book clubs. Prior to that, he served in various director and vice president positions of human resources at Citicorp/Citibank.

Vargas was ordained in 2006 and today, he’s a deacon of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego serving the community of Mary, Star of the Sea in La Jolla; he has previously served the community of Our Lady of Angels in Downtown San Diego.

The opportunity to work at Father Joe’s Villages, he said, allowed him to use both aspects of his background.

“[Working at Father Joe’s Villages] really is running a business in every facet you can imagine, and being able to combine my business background with the pastoral side, well it’s been a great combination of the two,” he said.

Since he’s taken the helm, Vargas has become responsible for overseeing the comprehensive services offered through St. Vincent de Paul Village, Toussaint Academy, Josue Homes and the agency’s portfolio of low-income housing; which he recently all rebranded under the “Father Joe’s Villages” name.

Vargas told San Diego Downtown News that he feels truly blessed to have been invited to join the organization. Father Joe’s Villages does great work, he said, but there is always more that can be done.

“I’ve been meeting with civic leaders, business leaders and other stakeholders within the community to deliver one key message — I want us to come together collaboratively and if we are able to come together as a community to address the issue of homelessness, we will get this done,” he said. “We all want to address this crisis in our city, so let’s come together to form a comprehensive plan, and have a unified voice in order to truly get people off the street, and keep them off the street.”

On Aug. 24 [see related story] volunteers from Father Joe’s Villages set out 8,700 pairs of shoes on a Downtown street, to raise awareness to the number of homeless men, women and children there are in San Diego. Vargas has also deemed September “Good Neighbor Month,” with a number of activities meant to draw in the community to help combat homeless issues.

For more information about Father Joe’s Villages, visit neighbor.org/Father-Joes.

—Margie Palmer is a San Diego-based freelance writer who has been racking up bylines in a myriad of news publications for the past 10 years. You can write to her at [email protected].