Fr. John Harvey's Ministry of Hospitality

The Apostolate of Hospitality: Rev. John Harvey and PNAC Seminarians

REV. CANON JOHN J. HARVEY, ICTE ‘06, DIOCESE OF BRENTWOOD (UK)

In 2006, I celebrated my Silver Jubilee to the Priesthood. After twenty-five years of pastoral ministry, I asked my bishop if it would be possible to have a small sabbatical—he agreed. I applied and was accepted to the ICTE Sabbatical Program at The Pontifical North American College in Rome. I must admit that after being in pastoral ministry for such a long time, it was a truly wonderful experience. Having the opportunity to live in the Eternal City for three months was a dream come true, and it provided a real rejuvenation of priesthood for me.

Well, here I am today celebrating forty years of sacred priesthood. The amazing thing is that I still have a very close connection with the College. From 2006 to the present day I have hosted nearly 350 seminarians at my rectory. While I was on sabbatical, some of the students discovered that I lived very close to London on the subway system. Of course, seminarians are extremely resourceful. A few of them asked to spend the Christmas vacation at the parish, to which I agreed. The rest, you might say, is history! Originally, I thought it would be a one-off hosting of students, but before I knew it, I was hosting guys from different U.S. dioceses year after year—sometimes for the whole summer!

In reflecting on forty years of pastoral ministry, I look back to my own early

Rev. Canon Harvey (center) celebrates his 65th birthday in February 2020 with seminarian-guests Rev. Mr. Daniel Hammer ’22 (Duluth), Rev. Mr. Michael Hoye ’22 (Worcester), Rev. Edward Godefroid ’21 (St. Louis), Rev. Mr. Matthew Colle ’22 (Green Bay), and Rev. Nicholas Morrison ’21 (Washington).

days of priesthood and realize that I had the same enthusiasm and zeal in desiring to serve the Lord. It’s been an incredible journey. I discovered very quickly there’s only one Savior and it isn’t me: I am just one worker in the little pocket of the Lord’s vineyard that is Loughton, U.K. To see all these young men full of that same enthusiasm and zeal is heartening and uplifting for me. Their desire to serve the Divine Master and their passion for the priesthood is truly inspirational. I have been humbled by these encounters over the past sixteen years of hosting seminarians. It has taught my people about the various stages of formation seminarians go through, and they now understand clearly the different ministries and requirements of formation. For the seminarians who have stayed at my rectory in Loughton, one of the highlights has always been our table fellowship. I remember many occasions of sitting at our Christmas table for several hours—not only enjoying good food and drink, but enjoying the company of one another, laughing, and sharing together. Most of the guys know what I always say about table fellowship: “healthy appetite, healthy vocation.” The Lord certainly knew what he was doing gathered around that Last Supper Table. I would personally say, it was probably at table that the greatest friendships were born.

Now, after sixteen years, so many of those seminarians, now priests, still keep in touch. It’s wonderful to hear stories of their own pastoral ministry. I never, in my wildest dreams, would have believed that this apostolate would last so long. But I'm truly grateful to Almighty God for allowing me to serve him through these seminarians and the ministry of hospitality. After nearly two years of COVID-19, it is wonderful to welcome back deacons and seminarians once again. The invitation is always open to any seminarians or priests who want to visit—you will always be welcome. Finally, as I always share with the guys: when you find yourselves in the same position in your own pastoral ministry, “pay it forward.” The Lord will bless you abundantly! n