Father Mike was born in Chicago, Illinois and began his preparation for the priesthood at the minor seminary of the Congregation of the Mission, the religious community founded by St. Vincent de Paul. He continued his studies in philosophy and theology and was ordained a priest in Lemont, Illinois by Cardinal Cody in 1975. In conjunction with his priestly education, Father Mike also studied Music at DePaul University in Chicago and continued graduate studies at the University of Southern California for his education in Musicology and Speech Communication.

Upon ordination, his priestly assignments included teaching music and speech communication at St. Vincent's Minor Seminary in Montebello, California and Professor of Homiletics at DeAndreis Institute of Theology in Lemont, Illinois. Father Mike's parochial experience in the Roman Catholic Church includes ministry at Miraculous Medal Church (Montebello, CA), St. Pius X Church (Santa Fe Springs, CA), St. Charles (North Hollywood) and St. Catherine's Church (Laguna Beach, CA).