One of six children born to Paul and Anne Essig.  He grew up in the Reading area and was a member of Saint Catharine of Siena Parish in Mount Penn, and attended Saint Catharine’s grade school.  He spent his high school years at Saint Joseph Preparatory Seminary, administered by the Vincentian Fathers, outside of Princeton, NJ.  He went on to study for the priesthood by attending Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia for both his college years and theology studies, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy and his Master of Divinity.  In June of 1994 he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Allentown and went on to serve in a number of parishes as an assistant.  In March of 2005 he was assigned to his first pastorship at Saints Peter & Paul in Lehighton (Carbon County).  In June of 2021 he received his assignment as pastor at Saint John Baptist de la Salle and was officially installed on Saturday, September 25 of that year.