St. Mary’s Seminary names Father Shawn Gould as next rector January 15, 2026By Catholic Review Staff Catholic Review Filed Under: Colleges, Feature, Local News, News, Vocations Sulpician Father Shawn D. Gould has been named by his society’s provincial council as the next president-rector of St. Mary’s Seminary & University in Roland Park, effective July 1. The appointment received the prerequisite approvals of Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori, chancellor of St. Mary’s, and Father Shayne E.M. Craig, superior general of the Society of St. Sulpice. Father Shawn Gould will take over as rector of St. Mary’s Seminary in July. (Courtesy St. Mary’s Seminar) Father Gould will succeed Sulpician Father Phillip J. Brown, who will retire June 30 after 10 years leading the seminary. “This is a moment of great promise for St. Mary’s,” said Father Daniel F. Moore, Sulpician provincial superior, in a news release. “Father Shawn Gould brings to this essential ministry a deep love for the priesthood, a genuine pastoral heart, and a virtuous apostolic vision rooted in the Church’s living tradition. Under his leadership, St. Mary’s will continue to flourish as a Sulpician house of prayer, priestly formation and missionary zeal, serving the bishops of our nation, the seminarians entrusted to us, and the needs of the Church with enhanced clarity and purpose.” A priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago and a member of the Society of St. Sulpice since 2021, he has served since 2024 as the director of the Blessed Father Michael J. McGivney Propaedeutic House of Formation and St. Mary’s Historic Site in Baltimore. “I am grateful to Father Moore and the Provincial Council, to Archbishop Lori, and to the St. Mary’s Board of Trustees for the confidence they have placed in me,” Father Gould said in a news release. “I thank Father Brown for his excellent stewardship of St. Mary’s over the past decade, and I look forward to working with the faculty, staff and benefactors of St. Mary’s as we continue to implement Father Olier’s vision of an apostolic house promoting conformity to Christ in the interior lives of seminarians and priests.” Father Gould also served on the faculty of St. Mary’s Seminary as assistant professor of Systematic Theology, spiritual director and formation faculty member. Father Gould holds pontifical theological degrees with distinction, a juris doctor from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, and is completing doctoral studies at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome, with research deeply rooted in the Christological and spiritual theology of Jean-Jacques Olier and the French School. Sulpician Father Phillip J. Brown will retire June 30 as president-rector of St. Mary’s Seminary and University. (Courtesy St. Mary’s Seminary) “I am delighted with the appointment of Father Shawn Gould as the next president-rector of St. Mary’s Seminary and University,” Archbishop Lori said in a news release. “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 Moore also praised Father Brown’s leadership. “The province is profoundly grateful to Father Brown for his decade of devoted service as president-rector of St. Mary’s, Roland Park,” Moore said. “He has guided the institution with wisdom, steadiness and fidelity during a period of significant challenge and transition, and his leadership has left an enduring mark on the life of the seminary and university.” Father Brown also praised his successor. “Father Gould is an excellent choice to be my successor,” he said in a news release. “He will be a strong and effective leader of St. Mary’s in the years to come and will continue to build on the success and initiatives that we have achieved and set in motion over the past several 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. 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. Also read:https://catholicreview.org/archbishop-lori-dedicates-mcgivney-house-of-formation/ https://catholicreview.org/coming-home-first-year-seminarians-returning-to-historic-paca-street-location/ Read More Local News Catholic Charities strengthens Fugett Center offerings with partnerships Catholics asked to step up for Maryland’s Virtual Catholic Advocacy Day New vision ahead for pastoral councils Sister Joan Elias, leader in Catholic education, dies at 94 Speaker and musician Nick De La Torre to lead pre-Lenten mission in Frederick County Deacon Lee Benson, who ministered in Harford County, dies at 73 Copyright © 2026 Catholic Review Media Print
