Written by Angela Townend, Angela Townend, MSW, RSW Toldo Research Chair for the Advancement of Human Formation.
"The Church is a living body, and living bodies grow, change, and are renewed."
The Church is a living body, and living bodies grow, change, and are renewed. This past year has brought an unusual convergence of new leadership to St. Peter’s Seminary and to the Church we serve, both locally and universally. Since the election of our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, in May 2025, we have also welcomed a new Bishop, a new Rector, and new leadership for one of our most significant formation initiatives. Together, these developments mark an important moment in the life of our seminary community and invite us to reflect on God’s faithful guidance of his Church.
Earlier this summer, on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Bishop Daniel Miehm was installed as the eleventh Bishop of the Diocese of London at St. Peter’s Cathedral Basilica, succeeding Bishop Ronald Fabbro after his many years of faithful service. We are equally grateful for the leadership of our new Rector, Father Peter Keller, who now guides the daily life and formation of this house. In June, we also welcomed Dr. Julian Paparella as project lead for Forming Leaders for a Synodal Church, an initiative that lies at the heart of how we are preparing future priests to lead with wisdom, listen attentively, discern prayerfully, and walk with the people entrusted to their care.
How fitting that this season of renewal bears the name of St. Peter; our seminary, our cathedral, the feast on which Bishop Miehm was installed, and the ministry of the Holy Father himself. Together these are a quiet reminder of the rock upon which Christ has built his Church.
Periods of transition, however, can be unsettling. They invite us to loosen our hold on what is familiar and to trust that the Holy Spirit is already at work in what is still unfolding. Yet new leaders also bring distinctive gifts and particular charisms. They often perceive possibilities that those of us who have served in one place for many years may no longer notice, revealing strengths that familiarity has allowed us to overlook. Such moments become opportunities not simply for organizational change but for renewal in mission.
This is precisely why character formation for leadership in ministry, the focus of my own research and a thread woven throughout our synodal formation work, is so essential. Leadership in the Church ultimately depends upon interior maturity: the formation of shepherds whose character can bear the responsibilities of authority with humility, patience, courage, and love. A synodal Church calls for leaders who can exercise authority while in communion with others, who can guide with confidence while listening with openness, and who can hold both together with wisdom and charity.
Scripture offers us a fitting word of hope. Through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord promises: “I will give you shepherds after my own heart” (Jer 3:15). It is a profound reminder that faithful leadership is first God’s gift before it is our achievement.
As we continue to pray for Pope Leo XIV in his ministry to the universal Church, and for Bishop Miehm, Father Keller, and Dr. Paparella in their service among us, we do so with gratitude, hope, and confidence in God’s providence. May the Lord who has entrusted these responsibilities to them continue to form, strengthen, and sustain them. May this season of renewal bear abundant fruit for the mission we share, and may our own hearts remain open to the grace that every new beginning brings.
Ad multos annos.
Nous leur offrons nos meilleurs vœux et nos prières.
We offer them our prayers and every blessing.
Angela Townend, MSW, RSW
Toldo Research Chair for the Advancement of Human Formation
St. Peter’s Seminary
July 2026