New Rector of Theological College to Be Installed

Mass and Installation: New Rector of Theological College to Be Installed

Wednesday, Oct. 12, 5 p.m.

Theological College, the national diocesan seminary of The Catholic University of America, will install Very Rev. Phillip J. Brown, S.S., as the seminary's 15th rector during a Mass on Oct. 12 at the Basilica.

Prior to his appointment as rector in July, Father Brown taught at the University's canon law school from 2006 to 2010. During this period, he resided at Theological College and served as an extern spiritual director to the seminarians. Earlier, he was assigned for five years to the faculty of St. Mary's Seminary & University in Baltimore.

Ordained for the Diocese of Bismarck in 1989, Father Brown served as a pastor or parochial vicar at a number of parishes in the Bismarck diocese between 1989 and 2001. He earned a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Georgian University in Rome and served as a judge of the Marriage Tribunal in Bismarck from 1999 to 2001.

Father Brown earned his law degree from the University of North Dakota in 1979 and practiced law in North Dakota for six years before entering formation at Theological College. As a lay attorney, he focused on areas related to child welfare. As a lawyer and priest, he has also worked in the areas of domestic violence and addiction.

Theological College was founded in 1917 and is owned and administrated by the priests of the Society of St. Sulpice, pioneers in priestly formation in the United States since 1791. More than 1,500 diocesan priests from throughout the United States have completed their formation at Theological College.

The Mass is open to the Theological College and Catholic University communities. A reception and dinner immediately following the Mass are by invitation only. For more information, call 202-756-4905.