e.l.f. co-founder Scott-Vincent Borba to be ordained in Fresno Diocese

Scott-Vincent Borba will return to Visalia next weekend not as a cosmetics entrepreneur, but as a newly ordained priest, a striking reversal for a man who once built a fortune in beauty and then gave it away to pursue the seminary. For the Diocese of Fresno, his ordination adds a high-profile name to a priesthood pipeline the church has been trying to strengthen across Fresno County and the central San Joaquin Valley.

The ordination Mass is scheduled for Saturday, May 23, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Visalia. Borba will be ordained alongside Marco Ayala and Jose Francisco Orozco. The diocese says a livestream will be available, a practical option for a ceremony expected to draw attention well beyond the parish boundaries.

St. Charles Borromeo is not a small neighborhood church. The Diocese of Fresno says it is the largest parish church in North America, with seating for more than 3,200 people. It is also part of Good Shepherd Catholic Parish in Visalia, tying the ordination to one of the city’s most visible Catholic institutions and to a parish community that has grown in step with the Valley.

Borba’s path to the altar has been as unusual as his public profile. A Visalia native, he co-founded e.l.f. Cosmetics in 2004 and later walked away from the wealth that came with the company. He has said he was once a "poster boy for luxury living" and that, after turning his life toward God, he has "never been happier." He studied at St. Patrick’s Seminary and University in Menlo Park and is now a deacon.

His ordination lands at a moment when the Diocese of Fresno is still trying to rebuild its clergy ranks. In 2024, the diocese ordained seven new priests and two transitional deacons, its largest priestly class since 1968. That backdrop makes Borba’s ordination more than a personal milestone. It is another test of whether the diocese can keep attracting men from the Valley itself, and whether a local vocation with national name recognition can help reinforce the church’s identity in a region where Catholic parishes continue to serve large and growing communities.

The diocesan vocations office, led by Fr. Iván Hernández Melchor, continues to invite men discerning the priesthood. Borba’s return to Visalia as an ordinand gives that effort a face Fresno County is unlikely to miss.