NEWS FROM THE JOSEPHINUM
Rector's Term of Service Extended by Dicastery of Clergy
An official decree from the Prefect of the Dicastery of Clergy in Rome, Lazzaro Cardinal You Heung sik, has appointed current Pontifical College Josephinum Rector/President, Very Reverend Steven P. Beseau, STD, to an additional term of three years of service.
Presently in the fourth of his original five-year term, Father Beseau, a priest of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, will continue to lead the Josephinum through June 2027.
The request for the extension originated from the seminary’s Vice-Chancellor, The Most Reverend Earl K. Fernandes, Bishop of Columbus, in consultation with Cardinal-Elect Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States and Josephinum Chancellor; The Most Reverend Joseph Naumann, Archbishop of Kansas City in Kansas; and the seminary’s Board of Trustees.
The Most Reverend Richard Henning, Bishop of Providence and Chair of the Josephinum’s Board, shared the most welcome news noting, “This happy outcome offers us stability of leadership at a critical time. We are grateful to Archbishop Naumann for his generosity in allowing Father Beseau to continue and we congratulate Father Beseau for his excellent leadership and strong commitment to the Josephinum.”
Under Father Beseau’s leadership, the Josephinum has renewed its formation program; navigated the pandemic; and begun the program adaptations required by the 6th edition of the Program of Priestly Formation, the new governing document for seminaries in the United States promulgated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He also has led a dedicated, collaborative effort on the part of Josephinum priests and faculty that has brought about a revised and approved seminary constitution, renewed mission statement, updated strategic plan, and new operational plan.
In the latter part of Father Beseau’s tenure, the Josephinum has seen the addition of three new sending dioceses and religious orders, as well as an overall enrollment increase in each of the past three years. The seminary is preparing to welcome more than 25 new seminarians this fall, bringing enrollment to its highest since 2019.
“I am honored by the faith and trust placed in me by Cardinal You Heung sik, Cardinal-Elect Pierre, Bishop Fernandes, and the Board of Trustees,” said Father Beseau. “I look forward to continuing the work we have accomplished together, to strengthen this great seminary and further ensure its vital mission of forming holy, generous, adaptable, and resilient priests for the 21st century.”
Before being appointed Rector/President of the Josephinum in 2019, Father Beseau spent three years as Assistant Professor of Moral Theology at The Athenaeum of Ohio in Cincinnati. He was Director/Chaplain of the Saint Lawrence Catholic Campus Center in Lawrence, Kansas, from 2006-2016, after a number of years serving as a parish pastor and high school chaplain in the archdiocese. Ordained in 1995, Father Beseau earned an MDiv and STB from the University of Saint Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, IL, and an STL and STD (both summa cum laude) from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Italy.
