Fr. Oxley

Interview with Rev. Walter “Tad” Oxley ‘03, C’09

TAYLOR COLWELL ’23, ARCHDIOCESE OF WASHINGTON

What have you enjoyed most about your time as a spiritual director at the College? It was a great blessing to be able to remain in seminary formation after serving in the external forum at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio. I had the desire after the experience at the Josephinum to serve in the internal forum, and this has been a great grace for me. I have been blessed to see how the Holy Trinity has worked and is working so clearly in the lives of these men, and witnessing this work of grace in them has enabled me to grow in my spiritual life as a priest.

What was it like returning to the College as a faculty member after your time here as a student? I believe that the priest always needs to be in formation. The Lord Jesus is always inviting us to give more of ourselves in complete surrender to the Father, therefore, for me, this experience was as if I were in formation again, for the first time.

What do you think makes the College a unique seminary in which to serve as a spiritual director? The quality of the men at the College is so high. These men have strong intellectual, human, and spiritual foundations and desires before they arrive, so it is evident that you are assisting men who are going to be significant shepherds and fathers in the not-so-distant future of the Church.

Rev. Walter "Tad" Oxley ‘03, C’09 (Toledo) poses for a photo at the College.

As an adjunct faculty member, you provided direction to seminarians while also working at the Holy See’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. What was it like fulfilling these two roles simultaneously? It was a great gift for me to have the opportunity to be part of the College community during my years of service to the Holy See. A priest needs a community, and this community provided me, particularly in my friendships with my brother priests on faculty, a great opportunity to live the faith in fraternal communion: celebrating Mass together, praying before the Blessed Sacrament in Eucharistic Adoration together, socializing together. These have provided wonderful memories for me and made my experience of working here in Rome feel much more like home. Most of the American priests who work at the Holy See live at the Villa Stritch, and over the years there has been at least one priest permitted at a time to live at the College. I am thankful that during these years I had this opportunity. I am grateful to Bishop James Checchio for organizing the possibility together with my bishop, Bishop Daniel E. Thomas, and to Fr. Peter Harman, under whose rectorship I have lived and served.

Could you describe your next assignment and what you are looking forward to most about it? My next assignment is Secretary for Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations along with Episcopal Vicar for Clergy in the Diocese of Toledo, Ohio. I look forward to praying for, sacrificing for, and serving my brother priests during this upcoming assignment. n