Father Peter Harman appointed 23rd rector of the Pontifical North American College

PHOTO: Catholic Times

The Congregation for Clergy, following the recommendation of the Board of Governors of the Pontifical North American College, announced today the appointment of the twenty-third rector for the American seminary in Rome which takes effect 1 February 2016: the Reverend Peter C. Harman, S.T.D. 

Father Harman is a priest of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois who presently serves as Director of Pastoral Formation, Formation Adviser, and Director of Media Relations for the Pontifical North American College, while continuing as part-time research assistant to His Excellency, the Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki, Bishop of Springfield in Illinois.

A fellow native of my beloved Quincy (and son of the former St. John the Baptist parish), Father Harman completed his seminary formation at the Pontifical North American College and received a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Lateran University. 

He was ordained a priest on July 17, 1999 and served as Parochial Vicar at the Cathedral and at St. Agnes Parish in Springfield for five years before completing his Doctorate in Moral Theology at the Catholic University of America. He then returned to central Illinois as Pastor of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception for another five years before returning to the Pontifical North American College.

According to the statement released by the Pontifical North American College, Bishop Paprocki said:

It is a great honor for Father Peter Harman and for our diocese that he has been named the new Rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome. Father Harman is a faithful priest with many talents, as he exhibited in his various assignments here in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, particularly in overseeing the renovation of our Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception when he was Pastor of our Cathedral Parish in Springfield. We wish Father Harman well and pray for God’s blessings as he assumes these new responsibilities in forming and educating future priests for the United States.

Please join me in congratulating Father Harman on this happy occasion and in wishing him well! By adhering closing to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, may he form priests after the heart of the Good Shepherd!