Father Steven Beseau was appointed to an additional three-year term as rector and president of the Pontifical College Josephinum, the Vatican announced this month in an official decree from the prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy in Rome, Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik  

Father Beseau, a priest of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, who is currently in the fourth year of his original five-year term, will continue to lead the Josephinum through June 2027. 

The request for the extension originated from Bishop Earl Fernandes, the seminary’s vice chancellor, in consultation with Cardinal-Elect Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States and Josephinum chancellor; Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas; and the seminary’s Board of Trustees. 

“This happy outcome offers us stability of leadership at a critical time,” said Bishop Richard Henning of Providence, Rhode Island, the chair of the Josephinum’s board. “We are grateful to Archbishop Naumann for his generosity in allowing Father Beseau to continue, and we congratulate Father Beseau for his excellent leadership and strong commitment to the Josephinum.”

Under Father Beseau’s leadership, the Josephinum has renewed its formation program, navigated the pandemic and begun the program adaptations required by the sixth edition of the Program of Priestly Formation, the new governing document for seminaries in the United States promulgated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Father Beseau also has led a dedicated, collaborative effort on the part of Josephinum priests and faculty that has brought about a revised and approved seminary constitution, renewed mission statement, updated strategic plan and new operational plan. 

In the latter part of Father Beseau’s tenure, the Josephinum has seen the addition of three sending dioceses and religious orders, as well as an overall enrollment increase in each of the past three years. The seminary is preparing to welcome more than 25 new seminarians this fall, bringing enrollment to its highest total since 2019. 

“I am honored by the faith and trust placed in me by Cardinal You Heung-sik, Cardinal-Elect Pierre, Bishop Fernandes and the Board of Trustees,” Father Beseau said. “I look forward to continuing the work we have accomplished together, to strengthen this great seminary and further ensure its vital mission of forming holy, generous, adaptable and resilient priests for the 21st century.” 

Before being appointed rector and president of the Josephinum in 2019, Father Beseau spent three years as assistant professor of moral theology at The Athenaeum of Ohio in Cincinnati. He was director/chaplain of the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center in Lawrence, Kansas, from 2006 to 2016 after a number of years serving as a parish pastor and high school chaplain in the Kansas City, Kansas, archdiocese.

Ordained in 1995, Father Beseau earned an MDiv and STB  from the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Illinois, and an STL and STD  (both summa cum laude) from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.