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Letter from the Rector
 Dear Friends,First of all, please allow me to say how happy I am to have been named as the new rector of Theological College by the Provincial and Provincial Council of the Society of St. Sulpice. The appointment was announced in March with the approval of Cardinal Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington and Chancellor of CUA, and John Garvey, CUA president. As an alumnus of TC and member of the Class of 1989, I want to say it’s wonderful to be back home at TC! In particular to my Sulpician friends and confreres I want to once again thank you for this enormous privilege, honor and opportunity. With this, my first letter as TC’s new rector, I’d like to introduce myself and welcome you to the official web site of Theological College. Our seminary, as you may know, has a long and illustrious history as a Sulpician house of formation and as one of the leading national diocesan seminaries in the United States. Men come from all areas of the country and overseas to receive their formation as diocesan priests at TC in the tradition of the Sulpician Fathers, owners and administrators of TC. TC affiliated with The Catholic University of America and together we have been forming men for priestly ministry here on Michigan Avenue in Washington, D.C. since 1917. In just six years TC will be 100 years old. This will provide an excellent opportunity to dedicate ourselves to the renewal of the priesthood in the United States, and to take concrete steps to improve the formation program here at TC even more and secure its financial stability well into the future. I first came to TC in the mid-1980s after working for several years as an attorney in Bismarck, North Dakota. My formation occurred under the leadership of two outstanding Sulpicians, Father Al Giaquinto, S.S., and Father Larry Terrien, S.S. I made many dear friends during those years and look forward to getting acquainted and reacquainted with as many alumni, friends and benefactors of TC as possible in the coming years. TC has been blessed with wonderful and extraordinary rectors throughout its history. I am happy to say that I know personally all of them who are still living. Each in his unique way has set a high standard of seminary formation at TC. As Rector I intend to continue to build on those accomplishments. I am especially gratified that TC will have a full house this year. In fact, we were not able to accept all of the suitable candidates who wanted to come to TC this year and whose bishops wanted to send them here. That’s not exactly a problem, but even if it is it’s the kind of problem we like to have to contend with. It also means, however, if it continues (which we fully expect it will) that we will have to consider all of the possibilities for accepting as many seminarians into our formation program as possible. We’ve accepted as many seminarians as our space will allow, but we’d like to accept even more. That means that we have to take a serious look at how we might be able to provide more space for them. The administration and faculty of The School of Theology and Religious Studies, and those of the School of Philosophy at Catholic University, are our partners in the formation of our seminarians for the priesthood. We are the partners of our diocesan colleagues, bishops and vocation directors alike, in this endeavor as well. As a graduate of TC, and a recent member of the faculty of the School of Canon Law at CUA, I can speak personally about the strength of TC’s formation program in all areas – intellectual, human, spiritual and pastoral. Sulpician spirituality and our devotion to the Blessed Mother is, of course, are unique “add-ons” that deepen the experience of formation for our seminarians. Much has been done to strengthen TC’s program in these areas in recent years, and I am committed to making the formation program at TC even stronger in the years to come. I’d like to invite you to peruse our website to learn more about formation and community life at TC. Please continue your prayers for vocations to priestly ministry and the religious life, and for the ongoing renewal of the priesthood in the United States and worldwide. Please know that your are all in my prayers, as I remain, Sincerely yours in Christ,  Very Reverend Phillip J. Brown, S.S., J.D., J.C.D. Rector |
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