Fr. Benjamin Petty

Fr. Ben grew up in an Air Force family and lived in Ohio, Utah, and Virginia, but considers the DC area his home.  He is the oldest of three children.  He studied philosophy and theater at Wheaton College, IL.  For a brief stint he worked in professional and community theater following college.  In 2006 he converted to Catholicism and went on to earn his masters degree from the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family Life here in Washington, D.C.  He entered seminary in 2013 and spent two years studying at Catholic University.  He was then sent to the Pontifical North American College in Rome to complete his studies.  He was ordained in 2019 by Archbishop Wilton Gregory.  He served for two years as a parochial vicar at St. Mary's in Landover Hills, MD and was appointed as the chaplain of the GW Newman Center in July of 2022. He still loves theater, almost any activity in or around water, being with his family and friends, and most of all being a priest.