Father James Puglisi

Father James Puglisi, awarded the honoris causa Doctor of Divinity by the Graduate Theological Foundation, where he is a fellow, was elected to serve two terms as Minister General of the Friars from 2004-2014. Originally from Amsterdam, NY, Father Puglisi is in residency at St. Paul Friary at Graymoor. He had long served as Director of the Centro Pro Unione, a ministry of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, an ecumenical research and action center in Rome. He also previously served as Post-Novitiate Director and Procurator General.

Father Puglisi entered the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement in 1964, was professed in 1966, and ordained to the priesthood in 1973. He was Associate Pastor at St. Anthony Parish in Hereford, TX.

In addition to his duties at Centro, Father Puglisi is a professor of ecumenism, sacraments, and ecclesiology at the Pontifical Atheneum, San Anselmo, Rome; the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas; and the Institute of Ecumenical Studies, Venice. He has been on the editorial board of Studi Ecumenici in Verona, Italy, and a member of the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue Commission in Washington, DC. He has served on the Diocesan Ecumenical Commission for Rome and has been on several international dialogues and collaborated with the World Council of Churches Faith and Order Commission. He served as Rector of Collegio San Onofrio in Rome and a Member of the Vatican Ecumenical Commission.

Father Puglisi holds a B.A. and M.A./S.T.L. in Liturgical Theology from the Catholic University of America, a Ph.D. in the History of Religion and Religious Anthropology from the Sorbonne, a Doctor of Sacred Theology in Systematic Theology from the Institute Catholique de Paris and a certificate in Ecumenical Studies from Boston University.  He was awarded the Doctor of Divinity honoris causa by the Graduate Theological Foundation, where he is a fellow. He was elected to serve two terms as Minister General of the Friars from 2004-2014.