Our Priests
Immaculate Conception Church is serviced by priests from the Society of St. Pius X. They reside in the Priory, located in close proximity to the church. Daily Mass is offered in Post Falls and Spokane Valley by these priests (See our schedule [link!!] for more details). By their constant presence they ensure the availability of the sacraments at all times. On the weekends some of them travel to say Mass at various Mass centers throughout the Northwest. During the week they teach at our boys’ school [link!] and a girls’ school run by Dominican teaching sisters.
Fr. Paul Vassal is the Prior and acts as pastor at ICC. He was born in ___, France and attended St. Michael's school in Châteauroux. He studied for 2 years at the Institute Saint Pie X in Paris and after 6 years of seminary was ordained in Ecône, Switzerland in 2002. As a priest he taught for a number of years at St. Bernard's School in Bailly. He was then instated as Prior in Lyon, France. He is now happy to be stationed in the United States. Since 2011 he has held the present post, which also involves his being Headmaster of Immaculate Conception Academy. He is a teacher of Latin in the school and is chaplain to a number of the lay apostolates in our community, including the Holy Name Society, the Heart of Mary Guild, the Legion of Mary, and the Arch-confraternity of St. Stephen.
Fr. Hugues Bergez is the chaplain to the two convents that we serve: St. Dominic School in Post Falls [link?] and the Carmel of the Holy Trinity in Spokane Valley, Washington. The son of a French diplomat, he was born in Madagascar. In 1996 he was ordained at the seminary of the Society in Switzerland. After serving as a missionary in Africa for a few years he was stationed at our retreat house in Ridgefield, CT. He then spent some time in Los Gatos, CA before being transferred to Post Falls in 2014. In addition to the above mentioned chaplaincies, Father Bergez is chaplain as well for the Catholic Cadets of America and the Third Orders of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Francis. He also teaches Religion classes to the girls who attend St. Dominic School.
Education previous to the seminary?
Fr. Scott Graves comes from Sunnyvale, CA. After attending a year of college he entered St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary, receiving priestly ordination in 2012. He presently teaches Religion classes at our boys’ school, Immaculate Conception Academy. He says Mass on the weekends at a Mass center in Edmonds, Washington (near Seattle). He is the chaplain for the Third Order of the SSPX and the St. John of God Group.
Fr. William Kimball comes from Upstate New York. He attended the SSPX school in Syracuse, NY. After receiving an Associate’s degree at St. Mary’s College, he entered the Society seminary in Winona, MN and was ordained in 2013. He teaches Religion and Music at ICA and directs the boys choir. On Sundays he says Mass in New Plymouth, Idaho (near Boise). He is the chaplain of the Knights of the Immaculata and the Eucharistic Crusade.
Fr. James Carlisle hails from the small town of Nicholville, NY. A graduate of our school in Illinois, Notre Dame de La Salette, he was ordained in 2012. He says Mass south of our Priory in St. Maries and Cottonwood, Idaho. He teaches Religion in the boys’ school and is the chaplain of Exsurge, the group for Young Adults.
Fr. Charles Deister is a native of Kansas City, Missouri and a graduate of La Salette. Ordained in 2014, he takes care of the Montana circuit, driving to Kalispell and Victor (near Missoula) to say Mass. He teaches Religion and Latin in our boys’ school. He is the Director of the Catechism for Non-Academy Students.