Posted November 4, 2021

A change in leadership for St. Charles Borromeo Seminary was announced on the patronal feast day Nov. 4 in which Bishop Timothy Senior will step down after 10 years as rector.

He will assume a new role as chancellor, focusing on a forthcoming capital campaign for the seminary and its relocation by fall of 2024 from Wynnewood to Upper Gwynedd Township, Montgomery County on the campus of Gwynedd Mercy University.

Assuming the duties of rector and responsibility for forming seminarians as future priests, permanent deacons and lay leaders for the Philadelphia Archdiocese will be Father Keith Chylinski.

Himself an alumnus of St. Charles, he has served on the seminary’s faculty since 2014, teaching courses in psychology to seminarians in the Theology and College divisions.

He is also the director of counseling services and has created a curriculum on psychosexual development for the entire formation program.

[hotblock]

“I have the utmost confidence in Bishop Senior and Father Chylinski as they continue to work together to write the next chapter in the seminary’s history,” said Archbishop Nelson Pérez in announcing the appointments. “This new working relationship will allow Bishop Senior to focus on the seminary’s relocation and capital campaign, while Father Chylinski will provide continuity and leadership for the seminary’s human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral dimensions of priestly formation.”

The appointments are effective July 1, 2022.

Both men will transition into their new roles next spring, working together with other administrative staff of the seminary to ensure continuity of its formation and educational programs.

“I am very grateful to the archbishop for his confidence in me, and to Bishop Senior for his kind and consistent support throughout my years on the faculty,” said Father Chylinski. “Bishop Senior has been a model of dedicated leadership, rooted in his true love for the seminary. Like him, I believe that it is a sacred privilege to be in the work of seminary formation, and I look forward to serving the St. Charles community in this new capacity as rector.”

Father Chylinski was ordained a priest for the archdiocese in 2007 by Cardinal Justin Rigali. He holds Master of Arts and Master of Divinity degrees from St. Charles and earned a Master of Science Degree from the Institute for the Psychological Sciences, now Divine Mercy University in Virginia, in 2014.

An accomplished singer and pianist, Father Chylinski earned a Bachelor of Arts in music in 2000 from Temple University.

Bishop Senior also holds a long association with St. Charles Seminary, first as a seminarian until his priestly ordination in 1985, then as rector since 2011.

In that role he has led the seminary’s transition following the sale of the property in 2019 at its campus in Wynnewood where it has stood for 150 years, continuing its mission to form men for priestly service in the Catholic Church since 1832.

The seminary began this academic year with an overall enrollment of 149 seminarians in its College and Theology divisions, spirituality year and other programs. The seminarian population is becoming increasingly diverse with approximately 38% of its students now coming from Asian, Latino, or African countries.

Of the 27 new seminarians this year, 12 are studying for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, among the 66 total seminarians studying for the archdiocese at St. Charles.

“The seminary is and will continue to be the heart of the church and I look forward to the new opportunities at our doorstep with our exciting relocation plans and the opportunity to tell our story and articulate our needs to the faithful of Philadelphia and beyond,” said Bishop Senior.

***

For more information about St. Charles Seminary, call 610-667-3394 or visit www.scs.edu.