Father Phillip Brown has been Rector of Theological College, the national seminary at The Catholic University of America, since 2011. An alumnus of Theological College, Father Brown was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Bismarck, North Dakota, in 1989. He has been a Sulpician since 2005.
Father Brown holds a doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and he holds a civil law degree as well. Prior to his current position at Theological College, he was a faculty member of the School of Canon Law at The Catholic University of America from 2006 to 2010 and President of the Canon Law Society of America from 2012 to 2015. Since 2009, Father Brown has served as the General Treasurer for the Society of St. Sulpice in Paris. At St. Mary’s Seminary & University in Baltimore, Father Brown will replace the Reverend Thomas R. Hurst, S.T.L., Ph.D., who has been President-Rector for nine years.
St. Mary’s Seminary & University was founded by Sulpician Fathers from France in 1791 and is the oldest Catholic seminary in the United States. This year marks the 225th anniversary of St. Mary’s Seminary and the Sulpician fathers in the United States. In addition to the seminary, St. Mary’s also sponsors a continuing formation program for priests and the Ecumenical Institute of Theology, a graduate evening division.
The Provincial Council of the U.S. Province of the Society of St. Sulpice has appointed Sulpician Father Gerald D. McBrearity, P.S.S., S.T.B., D.Min., M.A. as Rector of Theological College, effective July 1, 2016. This appointment was made by the Sulpician Council with the approval of His Eminence Donald Cardinal Wuerl, S.T.D., Archbishop of Washington and Chancellor of the University, and John H. Garvey, J.D., President of The Catholic University of America. The Sulpician Provincial Father John C. Kemper praised the appointment, saying, “Father McBrearity has served on various levels of administration within the U.S. Province and our seminaries. He brings a wealth of experience as a seminary educator and formator. I know Fr. McBrearity possesses a ‘pastor’s heart’ which he brings to the task of priestly formation and that he will bring to this new assignment as Rector of Theological College.” Father McBrearity has been Vice-Rector of Theological College since 2011. A TC alumnus, Father McBrearity was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Atlanta in 1973. He has been a Sulpician since 1975. Father McBrearity received his S.T.B., M.A. in systematic theology, and D.Min. from The Catholic University of America. During his doctoral studies, Father McBrearity served at Theological College as a formation advisor from 1978 to 1985.