Father Brian T. Castañeda was born and raised in Los Angeles, California.  He is the proud son of Florencio and Maria Castañeda, who emigrated from the Philippines. He is a product of Catholic education in Los Angeles.  After graduating from Daniel Murphy High School, and while attending his second year of college at the University of Southern California, he discovered his vocation. He transferred to St. John’s Seminary and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy with a minor in Spanish and Theology.

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In 1999, at the age of 26, Father Brian was ordained a priest to serve in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.  After completing his first assignment of three years at St. Alphonsus in East Los Angeles, he became the associate pastor, assisting in the opening of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.  He later went on to serve three years as pastor of the twinned parishes: Holy Spirit Church and St. Mary Magdalen Church in mid-city Los Angeles. In 2010, he was asked to serve as the priest-secretary to Archbishop Jose Gomez.  Following that assignment, he served as pastor at St. Gregory the Great in Whittier until 2020, when he was appointed pastor of St. Brendan Catholic Church, his home parish and the elementary school, which he attended.