Priest to retire after 27 years heading historic Baltimore seminary

Published: 2007-05-24

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- By his own admission, Sulpician Father Robert F. Leavitt was an unusual choice to lead St. Mary's Seminary and University in the Baltimore neighborhood of Roland Park. When the Connecticut native was named the 14th president and first president-rector in 1980, he was only 37. He didn't have any administrative experience and had only recently become a member of the Sulpicians -- the order of teaching priests who have run America's first Catholic seminary since its founding in 1791. Father Leavitt's mother and friends advised against taking the post at his alma mater, fearing the intellectual young man was better suited for the classroom than the boardroom. What made it all the more challenging was that many believed the seminary had reached a nadir in its proud history. Awash in red ink and suffering from declining enrollment, St. Mary's seemed without direction. Twenty-seven years later, Father Leavitt is preparing to step down as president-rector. He will leave St. Mary's in a much different condition than he found it. His fingerprints are everywhere -- from new buildings and programs to an endowment whose value has increased more than 15 times during his tenure.

Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .