Fr. Philip G. Bochanski

Father Philip Bochanski, a native of suburban Philadelphia, received the degrees of Master of Divinity, and Master of Arts in Theology, from Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, and was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 1999. In addition to several parish assignments, he served as a high school religion teacher, chaplain to cloistered nuns, and a spiritual director for seminarians.

In 2009, Father Bochanski began serving as chaplain for the Philadelphia chapter of Courage International, an apostolate founded in 1980 to provide pastoral care for men and women who experience same sex attractions and who have made a commitment to living chastely. He was appointed associate director of the worldwide apostolate in 2015, and served as executive director of Courage International from January 2017 to June 2023.

Father Bochanski served for several years as a consultant to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, for both its Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, and its Institute for the Catechism. In December 2019, Pope Francis awarded him the Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice†, a medal given “in recognition of sustained and exceptional service to the Church and to the Pope.”

In June 2023, Father Bochanski returned to his home Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and was appointed Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia. In this role, he advises and assists the Archbishop in the pastoral and temporal administration of the archdiocese, its offices, and its 214 parishes. He serves ex officio as a member of the administrative board of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, as vice-chair of the Board of Trustees of Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, and as chair or member of numerous archdiocesan committees, boards and corporations.

Father Bochanski is the author of six books, five sets of audio lectures, and numerous articles and book chapters, on various topics including church history, spirituality, evangelization and pastoral care.