Father Paul F. deLadurantaye, executive director of the St. Thomas More Institute and diocesan secretary for catechetics and sacred liturgy, has been appointed to the English section of the Vatican Secretariat of State for five years beginning Sept. 1, 2018.

“This appointment is a recognition of Father deLadurantaye’s faithful priestly service and his many gifts and abilities,” said Bishop Michael F. Burbidge. “In addition, the appointment bestows a great honor upon the Diocese of Arlington and our priest.

“I ask you to join me in praying for Father deLadurantaye as he prepares for his new assignment in service to the Holy Father in the exercise of his ministry to the universal Church. May Our Lord Jesus bless Father deLadurantaye and all his endeavors and may Mary, Mother of Priests, watch over him always.”

Father deLadurantaye said his office will be in the Apostolic Palace. His language skills will come in handy as the working language of the curia is Italian.

“I can manage in Italian, can read French, Spanish and Latin fairly well. I’m sure there are enough documents in Latin there,” he laughed.

The term is for five years.

“It’s going to be different, with many new opportunities to serve the Lord and his church, especially in the person of the Holy Father,” he said. “I’m grateful to be able to put whatever gifts and talents God has given me to aid the mission of the church. In that sense, it is exciting.”

Father deLadurantaye was born June 13, 1963, in Washington. He is the son of the late Robert E. and Ann P. deLadurantaye. After graduating from Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington in 1981, he studied for the priesthood at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa., earning a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 1984. He also earned a bachelor’s of sacred theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 1988. 

He was ordained to the priesthood May 29, 1988, by Pope John Paul II, only 45 days after he was ordained to the diaconate. He earned his licentiate degree in sacred theology from the Pontifical John Paul Institute of Studies on Marriage and the Family in Washington in 1990, as well as a doctorate in moral theology in 1997.

He served as parochial vicar of St. Bernadette Church in Springfield (1988-90) and associate director of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington (1990-95). Since 1995, he has served in the Arlington diocesan Office of Catechetics as the secretary for religious education and sacred liturgy.

He was parochial administrator of Queen of Apostles Church in Alexandria from December 2000 to August 2001, and at St. Bernadette from October 2003 to February 2004. From 2005 to 2006, he served as pastor of Queen of Apostles, and from April to June 2012, he served as parochial administrator of Holy Spirit Church in Annandale.

Father deLadurantaye is on the faculty of the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College in Alexandria and the Marymount University Catholic School Leadership Program in Arlington. He belongs to the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars and the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, is on the board of trustees at Catholic Distance University in Charles Town, W.Va., and has served on the Presybyteral Council. He has served as a diocesan judge since 1999 and serves as a diocesan censor, reviewing texts for their theological content.

He has published several articles in Catholic journals including the Homiletic and Pastoral Review, The Linacre Quarterly, the National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, Teologia i Moralnosc, and the Arlington Catholic Herald.

He is the executive director of the St. Thomas More Institute for Evangelization and Faith Formation, which was founded in 2017. He currently resides at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington.

His duties begin Sept. 1. For now he is awaiting official paperwork from Rome and trying to secure a place to live. “It’s all in God’s hands,” he said.