Nova Johnson
About Nova
Nova Johnson is a Catholic evangelist, catechist, writer, pro-life advocate, and ministry developer whose life has been shaped by a persistent desire to follow Jesus Christ wherever He leads. She holds a Master’s Degree in Catholic Theology and Education Ministry from Catholic International University and brings nearly four decades of Christian witness, parish service, legal advocacy, outreach, and organizational leadership to Bridge of Mercy Ministries.
read moreRaised outside the Church, Nova experienced a personal conversion to Christ at age sixteen and began independently exploring Scripture, Christian worship, and the life of faith. Her search eventually led her to the Catholic Church while attending the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. Through the ministry of Father Steve Stolowski at the Sewanee Catholic Community, she was received into full communion with the Church on April 2, 1989. Decades later, she and her spiritual mentor Father Steve would together become co-founders of Bridge of Mercy Ministries.
Nova’s ministry has included parish catechesis for children, Catholic singles ministry, street evangelization, outreach to poor and homeless people, several years of overnight volunteer service at Birmingham’s First Light women’s shelter, pro-life sidewalk counseling, and service in post-abortion ministries. She has promoted Pope Saint John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, adult chastity, vocational discernment, and greater pastoral attention to single Catholic adults. Her international work has included fostering ecumenical Christian relationships and traveling overseas to attend prayer gatherings, women’s meetings, and Christian concerts in Andhra Pradesh, India.
As President of Bridge of Mercy Ministries, Nova works to help parishes become true spiritual homes where the overlooked are recognized, the wounded are accompanied, and those who have drifted away are invited home to Jesus Christ.
Nova’s Story of Personal Faith
read lessFather Steve Stolowski
About Father Steve
Father Steve Stolowski is a retired priest of the Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee, ordained in 1979. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy with a minor in religious studies and a Master of Divinity from Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in Indiana. During nearly five decades of priestly ministry, he has served at the Church of the Holy Rosary in Nashville, pastored Good Shepherd Church in Decherd and Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Springfield, ministered at the Sisters of Mercy convent, and served in prison chaplaincy at three institutions.
read moreKnown for his direct preaching, fatherly concern, Marian devotion, humor, and practical ingenuity, Father Steve has a distinctive history of personal apostolate as the “mechanic and firefighting priest.” Following his own father’s example both as a fireman and a “Motoring Samaritan,” he repaired vehicles, assisted stranded motorists, supported rural fire departments, restored a fire engine, and designed an innovative water-drafting pump.
Father Steve also developed a dedicated ministry to people struggling with alcoholism and drug addiction. He studied treatment approaches and rehabilitation programs carefully, learning how to guide individuals toward effective help while respecting their dignity. Over the course of his ministry, he has helped nearly one hundred people enter rehabilitation programs and begin the difficult work of recovery.
Although naturally robust and athletic throughout his life, once running fifteen miles every day with his high school cross-country team, Father Steve has lived since adolescence with epilepsy. After his medical diagnosis was reviewed in Rome, he was approved for admission to priestly ministry. He has faithfully managed it through medication, disciplined routines, and practical adaptations, including memorizing the prayers of the Mass when prolonged reading could trigger seizures. He has always had a special gift for compassion and mercy toward people facing life-changing medical or other limiting conditions.
As co-founder and a member of the Board of Directors, Father Steve brings Bridge of Mercy Ministries humility, humor, pastoral realism, compassion for the wounded, commitment to conversion and evangelization, and a joyful desire to bring spiritually stranded Catholics home to Jesus Christ.
Father Steve’s Story of Personal Faith
read lessDeacon Mike Wiedemer
About Deacon Mike
Deacon Michael P. “Mike” Wiedemer serves on the Board of Directors of Bridge of Mercy Ministries, bringing decades of experience in military leadership, aerospace engineering, Catholic formation, and pastoral service. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, he also earned graduate degrees in industrial management, management, and theology.
read moreDeacon Mike served for 32 years in the United States Air Force, retiring with the rank of major general. His distinguished career included leadership in missile systems, satellite navigation, aircraft testing, logistics, and major defense programs. He contributed to the NAVSTAR Global Positioning System, commanded the Arnold Engineering Development Center and the Sacramento Air Logistics Center, and later served as Director of the Defense Commissary Agency. His military honors include the Defense Superior Service Medal and two awards of the Legion of Merit.
Throughout his career and retirement, Deacon Mike and his wife, Pam, have shared a deep commitment to their Catholic faith and to serving God together. Their marriage has been a foundation for a life of prayer, family devotion, parish ministry, charitable service, and faithful witness. Deacon Mike has served through the Knights of Columbus, pro-life efforts, and ministry at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Decherd, Tennessee.
Ordained a permanent deacon for the Diocese of Nashville in 2023, he serves St. Paul the Apostle Church in Tullahoma and St. Mark Church in Manchester. He brings Bridge of Mercy disciplined leadership, theological depth, strategic wisdom, and a servant’s heart formed through his vocation to marriage, the diaconate, and a lifetime of service to God and neighbor.
Deacon Mike’s Story of Personal Faith
read lessFather Michael Tarigopula
About Father Michael
Father Joseph Michael Tarigopula is a priest of the Diocese of Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, India, and serves on the Board of Directors of Bridge of Mercy Ministries. Ordained on April 28, 1994, he has ministered for more than three decades in India and the United States and currently serves as Parochial Vicar at Queen of Apostles Parish in Madison, Wisconsin.
read moreBorn in the village of Pannur, Father Michael was the eighth of ten children in a deeply Catholic family. The Church was the center of his childhood, and the example of a loving parish priest inspired him to enter boarding seminary at age thirteen. His early experience of family hardship also gave him a lasting sensitivity to the poor, especially children whose opportunities are limited by poverty.
After serving in the Diocese of Nellore, Father Michael came to the United States in 2003 to serve at Epiphany Parish in Sayre, Pennsylvania. When he returned to India, he became pastor of the Infant of Prague Diocesan Shrine and helped establish the Infant Jesus Orphanage, providing vulnerable children with care, stability, and access to education. He later founded the Agnesh Multipurpose Development Society in memory of his mother, Agnes, whose faith and generosity toward the poor shaped his own vocation. In 2019, the Friends of Agnes Charitable Foundation was established in the United States to strengthen support for this work in India.
Father Michael returned to the United States in 2013 to serve in the Diocese of Madison. His ministry is marked by joy, gratitude, love for the sacraments, affection for children, and a strong belief that the parish should be a true spiritual home.
Through Bridge of Mercy Ministries, Father Michael brings international pastoral experience, a deep concern for the poor, and a commitment to welcoming those who feel forgotten or distant from the Church. His guiding advice is simple: “Be grateful to God in your own corner, do good, and build up God’s Kingdom.”
Father Michael’s Story of Personal Faith
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