Born and raised in Wausau, WI, Fr. Damask went to the University of South Carolina to study engineering. At USC, he encountered a thriving Catholic Newman Center and a dynamic Catholic priest that helped inspire him to consider a vocation to the priesthood. He transferred from USC to the University of Dallas (Holy Trinity Seminary) for minor seminary and philosophy studies. He completed minor seminary at The Catholic University of America (Theological College Seminary) in Washington, DC, earning bachelor and licentiate degrees in philosophy. After his philosophy studies, Fr. Damask attended St. Vincent College and Seminary in Latrobe, PA, where he earned a Master of Arts in Sacred Theology with a concentration in Sacred Scripture. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Charleston in June of 2025, and his first priestly assignment is as a parochial vicar at St. Mary’s Catholic Church here in Greenville.