Sulpician Father Shawn Gould leans on his own process of priestly formation and conversion to the Catholic faith when he ponders his new ministry as the next rector of St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Roland Park.
He says his goal in guiding the seminary is to form “good, holy priests committed to the faith.”
It’s a faith the 49-year-old joined later in life after working as a lawyer in Chicago and Milwaukee, and one that he’s still working on as he finishes a doctorate in sacred theology while also directing a propaedeutic house of formation.
After completing his work as director of the Blessed Father Michael J. McGivney Propaedeutic House of Formation and St. Mary’s Historic Site in June, Father Gould will take over at St. Mary’s Seminary July 1.
“I’m excited, but I’m mostly thinking about all the work,” Father Gould said with a chuckle about his appointment. “It’s really quite an honor.”
In January, the provincial council of the Society of St. Sulpice appointed Father Gould to succeed Father Phillip J. Brown as the next president-rector. The appointment was approved by Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori, chancellor of St. Mary’s, and Father Shayne E.M. Craig, superior general of the Society of St. Sulpice.
Archbishop Lori, also chairman of the seminary’s board of trustees, is pleased with the energy Father Gould brings to the post.
“I am delighted with the appointment,” he said. “Father Gould’s priestly zeal and deep commitment to priestly formation will serve him well as he leads the seminary community. I am also grateful to Father Phil Brown for his dedicated years of service as rector, during which he laid a strong foundation for future generations of young men discerning a call to the priesthood.”
Father Brown said he expects Father Gould to be an effective leader.
“Father Gould is an excellent choice to be my successor,” Father Brown said. “He will be a strong and effective leader of St. Mary’s in the years to come and will continue to build on the successes and initiatives that we have achieved and set in motion over the past several years. I could not be more supportive of the provincial council’s choice of Father Gould, and I am delighted at the prospect of Father Gould’s accession to the office of president-rector of St. Mary’s.”
A priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago and a member of the Society of St. Sulpice since 2021, Father Gould has directed the McGivney Propaedeutic House on Paca Street in Baltimore since 2024.
Father Gould also served from 2018 to 2021 on the faculty of St. Mary’s as assistant professor of systematic theology, spiritual director and formation faculty member.
“It’s a great faculty and a great staff,” Father Gould said of the seminary. “And the seminarians are a delight to work with.”
He said his work at the McGivney House was a terrific training ground for his new role directing an entire seminary.
“It was like a seminary in miniature. We focused on just one stage, but we provided everything that we’re going to provide the seminarians,” he said.
Father Gould is taking the lead role of St. Mary’s at a historic time as the nation celebrates its 250th anniversary. Founded in 1791 by the Sulpician Fathers from France, St. Mary’s Seminary is the oldest Catholic seminary in the United States.
He said he sees his main challenge at the historic site as increasing enrollment and recruiting from more dioceses. He said he already has spoken with many of the bishops across the nation who send seminarians to St. Mary’s and plans to connect with more vocational directors.
Enrollment at St. Mary’s is currently at 52 seminarians, and he said he’d like to get that number to about 80.
“With Gen Z, there’s some real potential there for an increase,” Father Gould said, noting a recent study that showed young men are increasingly focusing on their faith.
Ordained in Chicago in 2010, Father Gould said he discovered his passion for formation and education after spending five years as an associate pastor and three as a pastor. He said he found his calling during several priest workshops when the Archdiocese of Chicago was going through a parish renewal process.
He said he was happy with parish work, but with guidance from his spiritual director was drawn to the “educational side” of his priestly ministry.
“There are a lot of different aspects of the priesthood that are rewarding,” he said. “I think the first thing is that we are going to be instruments of the Lord. … Seminarians are men who maybe aren’t perfect, but they are believers in the faith and they see the importance of it and being better disciples. They might not all like the classwork, but they mostly like to learn about the faith. That’s present in parishes, too, but it’s more concentrated in the seminary.”
He said his experience converting to Catholicism when he worked as a lawyer reinforced his commitment to formation.
“I was grateful for what priests give us, particularly confession and the Eucharist, the teaching of the faith,” he said. “If we have good, holy priests who know the faith well and can articulate it while loving both the Lord and the people, it should make it a lot easier for others to know the good of it. It’s a fantastic mission.
“So if you can get the men to be really committed in the seminary, then they can take that with them, that stronger connection that they now have with Christ and through the Holy Spirit, and can bring that into the parishes And we’re all better for it,” Father Gould said.
Seminary Facts:
* 52 seminarians from 10 dioceses and one religious order were enrolled in the most recent term at St. Mary’s Seminary.
* 15 of those students are from the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
* 6 students were enrolled in the seminary’s Licentiate of Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) degree program.
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