LOUISA -- The former Catholic priest convicted in federal court of secretly wiring donation money overseas appeared in state court yesterday to face charges of stealing church money.

Rodney L. Rodis, 52, had John R. "Jack" Maus assigned as his defense attorney during a hearing yesterday, according to the Louisa County Circuit Court clerk's office.

Judge Timothy K. Sanner set an arraignment hearing for next Monday at 9 a.m., court records show.

The state case revives 13 felony counts accusing Rodis of stealing money donated to Immaculate Conception and St. Jude Catholic churches in Louisa County while he was pastor of both from 1995 to 2006.

Rodis retired in May 2006.

In the fall of that year, the Diocese of Richmond discovered a secret bank account in which Rodis was depositing donation money.

The diocese asked for a police investigation, and a Louisa grand jury indicted Rodis in January 2007.

The diocese later learned that Rodis apparently had been married in his native Philippines two years before coming to the United States. He was living with his wife and children in Spotsylvania County while pastor of the two churches.

Federal authorities then began a wire-fraud investigation into the matter. Last year, then-prosecutor R. Don Short dropped state charges to let the federal case proceed but maintained the state's option to reactivate the Louisa County case.

In February, Rodis received a fiveyear federal prison term for mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. He is serving his sentence at a federal prison in North Carolina.

Investigators believe Rodis diverted as much as $1 million for personal use during the two churches' major capital campaigns. He was ordered to pay back $591,484. He wired money to the Philippines, where his family purchased property, according to federal court evidence.

This spring, new Louisa Commonwealth's Attorney Thomas A. Garrett Jr. decided to once again pursue state charges against Rodis because he thought the theft should be addressed.

Rodis could face a sentence of up to 260 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

Contact staff writer Calvin R. Trice at (540) 932-3674 or ctrice@timesdispatch.com.