New rector, new vision for Pontifical College Josephinum |
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Wednesday, 30 September 2009 05:00 |
COLUMBUS—Under the leadership of its new rector and president, Father James A. Wehner, the Pontifical College Josephinum began its 127th year of educating future priests with more than 120 seminarians representing 24 national and international dioceses, including six seminarians from the Diocese of Toledo: Austin Ammanniti, Kyle Gase, David Kidd, George Mahas III, Jeffery Smith and Joseph Tumasian.
From left, Bishop Roger Foys of Covington, Bishop Frederick Campbell of Columbus, Father James Wehner, rector and president of the Pontifical College Josephinum, and Bishop R. Daniel Conlon of Steubenville are pictured after the installation Mass for Fr. Wehner Sept. 9. (Photo courtesy of Christopher Axline)
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A Mass of the Holy Spirit held Aug. 30 was the first community Mass Fr. Wehner celebrated. Father Walter Oxley of the Diocese of Toledo, who recently joined the faculty at the seminary, was one of the priests who concelebrated the Mass with Fr. Wehner.
Returning students saw enhancements made to campus during the summer months, including new statuary, fresh paint, and aesthetic décor. The improvements to St. Turibius Chapel received the best reception: walls once scarred by water-damage are repaired, the entire lower nave is repainted, and a new altar — a wooden piece donated by the Jubilee 2000 Museum located in downtown Columbus (Rev. Kevin Lutz ’78, curator) — now graces the sanctuary.
Another chapter in the history of the Josephinum was written Sept. 9, when Father James A. Wehner was inaugurated as the seminary’s 15th rector and president. The principal celebrant of the installation Mass was Bishop R. Daniel Conlon of Steubenville, chair of the Josephinum’s board of trustees.
Fr. Wehner was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Pittsburgh in 1995. He earned his STB, STL and STD degrees from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. During his service in the diocese, Fr. Wehner served as rector of St. Paul Seminary and held many other administrative positions. His appointment to the Josephinum by the Congregation for Catholic Education in Rome was announced May 14 and he assumed leadership of the Josephinum July 1.
The new rector’s vision for the Josephinum centers on the theme “Forming Renaissance Priests: Spiritual Fathers for the New Evangelization,” which brings together Pope John Paul II’s idea of the New Evangelization and Pope Benedict XVI’s stated “new style of life” for today’s priests.
“The renaissance priest is a man of virtue, right judgment, confidence and temperament. He has a sense of mission, and is formed by culture in the best sense,” said Fr. Wehner in his first conference with the seminarians. “And every man, by the nature of his being, is called to generate love — a generative love not denied in the priesthood. It is expressed through celibacy, a desire to cultivate something in others, to love, feed and teach the people of God. This is fatherhood. This is the priesthood.
“As we embrace this vision, our mission as a pontifical seminary becomes clear,” said Fr. Wehner. “The Josephinum is about preparing new evangelizers for the New Evangelization. Renaissance men, who are spiritual fathers and men of prayer.”
A large number of guests are expected to attend the seminary’s fall open house Oct. 3, due in part to a series of articles about the Josephinum in August issues of The Columbus Dispatch. The series titled “Answering the Call” touched on every aspect of life at the Josephinum and the formation process, centering on the experiences of seminarian Robert Bolding (Phoenix) in his final year of formation prior to ordination.
For more information on the Pontifical College Josephinum, visit www.pcj.edu.
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 26 May 2010 13:32 |
