I'm delighted to share with you the good news that Bishop Nicholas Hudson of Plymouth has released Fr Dylan James to become a Seminary Formator and Professor at the Pontifical Beda College. Fr Dylan comes with great experience of teaching and also of seminary formation in the UK and in the US. We look forward to welcoming Fr Dylan to Rome in September and assure him of our prayers.
Summary Profile
Fr Dylan James is a priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Plymouth, ordained on 2 December 1998.
Since 2020 he has been Professor of Moral Theology and Formator at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio.
Fr Dylan brings extensive pastoral and academic experience to this appointment. He has served approximately fourteen years in parish ministry within the Diocese of Plymouth, most recently at West Moors, and previously in Shaftesbury, Dartmouth, Poole, Exeter, and Barnstaple. Alongside his pastoral work, he spent thirteen years teaching part-time at St John's Seminary, Wonersh and provided moral theology formation for the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham from 2014 to 2019.
Academically, Fr Dylan holds a licentiate in moral theology from the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. and a doctorate completed at the Angelicum University in Rome. His intellectual approach is strongly shaped by the virtue-based moral theology of Thomas Aquinas.
Fr Dylan has a long-standing commitment to the formation of young people and university students. He previously served as chaplain to the Fellowship of Catholic University Students summer training programme (2003–2006).
Before entering seminary he studied Mathematical Physics and has been an active member of the Faith Movement since his youth, contributing to its mission of presenting a rational and science-informed defence of the Christian faith.
Fr Dylan holds dual American and British citizenship, with family roots in both the United States and the United Kingdom. He was raised in Devon, England, while maintaining strong ties with the United States.
