Father Edward Michael Mazich, O.S.B., a monk of Saint Vincent Archabbey, has been named the twelfth Rector of Saint Vincent Seminary. A member of the Benedictine community for 21 years, he has studied at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, receiving the Licentiate in Sacred Scripture (S.S.L.) in 2003. Father Edward continued his studies at the Gregorian University in Rome, earning a Licentiate in Fundamental Theology (S.T.L.) in 2005. He then completed his studies in England, receiving a Doctorate in Theology (D.Phil.) from the University of Oxford in 2009, having written his dissertation on John Henry Newman’s Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine.
Father Edward began serving on the seminary faculty in 2007, teaching Sacred Scripture. In 2008, he was named Director of Solemnly Professed Benedictine and Other Religious Seminarians and Assistant Director of Human Formation. He was appointed Novice Master of the monastic community in 2009, and served in that capacity through 2013.
Father Edward served as President of the Saint Benedict Education Foundation, which raises funds for the Pontifical Athenaeum of Sant’ Anselmo, the international Benedictine University in Rome, from 2007 to 2010. He continues to serve the foundation as a consultant.
Father Edward writes and publishes at both the popular and academic levels. He contributes to a column on the Sunday Homilies that appears in The Catholic Accent of the Diocese of Greensburg; Jednota, the national newspaper of the First Catholic Slovak Union; the website of the National Institute for the Renewal of the Priesthood and the Saint Vincent Archabbey website. He is active in retreat ministry, frequently offering retreats for laity, religious, and clergy. In July of 2015 he gave the annual retreat for the clergy of the Archdiocese of Beijing, China.
Father Edward made his simple profession of monastic vows July 10, 1995 at Saint Vincent Archabbey Basilica, and his solemn profession of vows on July 11, 1998. He was ordained to the diaconate on April 10, 2000, in the Archabbey Basilica by Bishop J. Kevin Boland of Savannah. Most Rev. Anthony G. Bosco, former Bishop of Greensburg, ordained him to the priesthood on July 14, 2001, at the Archabbey Basilica.
A native of Danville in the Diocese of Harrisburg, he is the son of the late Alice (Connolley) and John Mazich.
He attended Saint Joseph School in Danville, and is a 1990 graduate of Danville Area High School. He received a bachelor of science degree in mathematics from Penn State University in 1994 and received a master of arts degree in theology from Saint Vincent Seminary in May of 1998. He is a member of Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society and Phi Beta Kappa.
Father Edward succeeds Very Rev. Timothy F. Whalen, a priest of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, and former chancellor of the Orchard Lake Schools in Michigan. Father Whalen, who has served as Seminary Rector since January of 2012, has been appointed by the Most Reverend David A. Zubik, Bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, to serve as the pastor of Saint Mary of the Assumption Parish in Glenshaw, Pennsylvania, effective July 13.
“It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of Father Edward as the new rector of Saint Vincent Seminary,” said Archabbot Douglas R. Nowicki, O.S.B., Chancellor of the Seminary. “His service as a member of the faculty, as Director of Human Formation, and on various Seminary committees will allow him to step into this leadership role immediately. His graduate work in Rome allowed him to study at the very heart of the Church, and he brings this experience to our seminarians.”
“I am delighted with the appointment of Father Edward as Rector of Saint Vincent Seminary,” said Dr. James Maher, chairman of the Seminary Board of Regents, “I have worked with him as a member of the Rector’s Council, and know that he is eminently qualified to continue the work of Father Whalen in preparing future generations of priests to serve the Church.”
Archabbot Douglas expressed heartfelt gratitude to Father Whalen, who has served as Rector of the Seminary for the past three and a half years. Father Whalen completed his three-year term as Rector in January of 2015 and agreed to continue until the end of the current academic year, which ended on June 30.
Archabbot Douglas noted that “Father Whalen has served the Seminary exceptionally well. He has been an outstanding role model for our seminarians. His pastoral experience and administrative experience have served our seminarians well in their years of formation at Saint Vincent.
His ability to respond quickly with both insight and compassion to the daily challenges of seminary formation have been a great blessing in preparing our seminarians for pastoral ministry in the Church today.”
