Fr. Jon Chalmers passionately believes that love of God and love of neighbor have a constitutive relevance in the Church, especially to offer education and healthcare to nurture health, healing, and holiness. As Executive Vice President of John Carroll Catholic High School and Pastor of Prince of Peace Catholic Church, he has particular interest in how the past informs the future, the conversation between nature and culture, and redemptive responses to social challenges.

Fr. Chalmers served as Associate Pastor at Prince of Peace from July 2021-July 2022 and during that time he came to know and love the parish. He was named Pastor of Prince of Peace by Bishop Steven Raica effective July 2022. Prior to his time at Prince of Peace, he was Pastor of Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Gate City where he served for the prior four years. Fr. Chalmers also serves as Executive Vice-President of John Carroll Catholic High School in Birmingham.

Fr. Jon grew up outside of Pittsburgh, PA; finished high school in New Jersey; and started college in Chicago. A series of wildly improbable events brought him to Alabama for what he thought would be a brief visit. Now almost thirty years later, he has found a welcoming home and several vocations in Alabama. Fr. Jon finished his undergraduate degree at The University of Alabama and then worked with the university for another 12 years. In his last role there, he was Director of the Program for Rural Services and Research where he worked with communities throughout Alabama in public education, economic development, arts, and community health.

As a graduate of Yale Divinity School and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, he has also served as president of Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School from 2015-2021 and worked in Catholic healthcare in the areas of mission leadership, formation, spiritual care, and bioethics.

Formerly an Episcopal priest, Fr. Jon received a dispensation from the obligation of celibacy from Pope Benedict XVI and was ordained in 2012. As such, he is the only married priest in the Diocese of Birmingham. He is the husband of Margaret, a civil and canon lawyer who is Moderator of the Diocesan Tribunal, and the father of teenage sons, David and Thomas.

Fr. Jon has a passion for old roads, old houses, local history, and wilderness trails. He is a 2020 graduate of Leadership Birmingham.

We are happy to welcome Father Ray Dunmyer to Prince of Peace as a retired priest in residence in the parish effective August 1, 2021. He comes to us from St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Montevallo, where he was the Pastor for the last thirteen years.

His favorite verse in Scripture is John 15:9. In that passage, Jesus speaks to the disciples at the Last Supper, as well as to you and to me: “As the Father loves me, so I love you. Live on in my love”. Father Ray believes that this is the essence of our faith -- that we receive God’s love, that we live in that love and that we share that love with all people.

Father Ray was born in Birmingham, attended Blessed Sacrament Elementary School, and graduated from John Carroll Catholic High School. He earned a Master of Divinity and a Master of the Arts in Theology degrees from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, LA. He did further graduate studies at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, earning a MA in Spiritual Formation, and at Columbia Theological Seminary earning a Doctor of Ministry. He did additional post-doctoral studies while on sabbatical at North American College in Rome.

During his 45 years as a priest in the Diocese of Birmingham, Father Ray has served in parish ministry, campus ministry, and hospital ministry. He has also served the diocese as Director of Vocations, Director of Campus Ministry, and as Department Head for the Department of Pastoral Services. In addition, he has served on the Presbyteral Council and the College of Con sultors as well as on a number of other committees for the diocese. He currently serves on the Diocesan Property Committee and on the Board of the Defined Benefits Program for Retired Priests.

In addition to his service to our diocese, he has also published articles in several periodicals including The Priest Magazine, Living Prayer, and Catholic Digest. Father Ray has offered retreats, workshops and parish missions in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, too. Throughout his ministry, Father Ray has held a special interest in ecumenism and interreligious dialogue. He belongs to several ecumenical groups, and he has participated in a number of interfaith groups and events including the “Interfaith Conversation” held here at Prince of Peace in January, 2017 with Rabbi Jonathan Miller, Imam Dr. Sameh Asal and Sister Mary McGehee, OSB. In his spare time, Father Ray enjoys travel and athletics. He is blessed with three wonderful sisters and brothers-in-law, four nieces and three nephews. Fr. Ray looks forward to participation in the parish community of Prince of Peace.

Father Fallon graduated from St Patrick's College, Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland and was ordained on June 7, 1969. Following his ordination, he moved to Alabama as a priest in the Archdiocese of Mobile where he served at St. Leo the Great in Demopolis (and its missions) for two and one-half years and then at St. Mary of the Visitation in Huntsville for one and one-half years. Father’s next assignment was Campus Ministry at University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa for 12 years. After that, he was assigned to Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Tuscaloosa for 13 years and during his tenure Holy Spirit Catholic High School was built.

In 1998 Father Fallon arrived at Prince of Peace. Under his leadership these past 20 plus years, the church has grown from 700 registered families to over 3,200. In 2000, the main sanctuary was dedicated and the first new elementary school in the diocese in 40 years, Prince of Peace Catholic School, opened. Enrollment grew and in 2004 the current elementary school building was constructed for grades pre-K through eight.

Under Father Fallon’s pastoral guidance, the church’s columbarium was built in 2007 and the school cafeteria and art room were added in 2009. The middle school building opened in 2015 to provide a state-of-the-art facility for grades six through eight, allowing classrooms in the elementary building to be reallocated to the lower grades to accommodate demand. A new education/office annex was added in 2019 to provide classroom, conference room, and office space. Father Fallon celebrated the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood on June 9, 2019 with Mass and a reception at Prince of Peace and continues to lead Prince of Peace Catholic Parish in the stewardship way of life.

Father Fallon retired on June 30, 2022 and was granted the title of Pastor Emeritus by Bishop Steven J. Raica.

Dale Wisely Ph.D. is Director of Family Life at Prince of Peace, where he works with individuals and families in need of community services related to mental health, addiction, family conflict, and parenting. He is involved in adult faith education, including coordination of our Becoming Catholic (RCIA) program and marriage preparation Programs. He consults with parish school staff about the needs of students and families. He coordinates the professional development/continuing education program for parish and school staff. He provides informational programs on topics related to mental health and family life for staff, parishioners, and school parents.

Prior to joining Prince of Peace, he was Director of Student Services and Community Education at Mountain Brook Schools (Alabama) for 12 years. He has been a child and adolescent clinical psychologist for 38 years. He previously was the senior pediatric psychologist at Children’s of Alabama.

Dr. Wisely’s M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in clinical psychology are from the University of Memphis. He served his clinical internship at West Virginia University School of Medicine, Department of Behavioral Medicine in Charleston. He also earned a Master’s in Theological Studies from Spring Hill College, a Jesuit college in Mobile, Alabama. He teaches in the area of the intersection of psychology and pastoral work for the Certificate in Spiritual Direction at Spring Hill.