The St. Pius X Award honors alumni who have truly taken on the mission of the College to “restore all things in Christ.” The Alumni Advisory Council proudly presents this year’s award to Fr. Francis Peffley, a member of the class of 1986 and a priest of the Arlington diocese.
The Legion of Mary has played a great role in the formation and mission of Fr. Peffley. His parents met through the Legion, which Father himself joined at age ten. The example and inspiration of his family encouraged Father in pursuing a vocation. After graduating from Christendom with a B.A. in Theology, Fr. Peffley attended Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, where he earned his Master of Divinity and Master of Arts before being ordained on May 19, 1990. Father will be celebrating his 30th anniversary this May.
Throughout his decades of service to the Arlington diocese, Fr. Peffley has been involved in the in the construction of five new parishes in the Arlington diocese. Furthermore, he has helped spread devotion to Our Blessed Mother Mary through his involvement with the Legion of Mary, and he now serves as Spiritual Director of the Arlington Regia. In addition to his involvement in the Legion, Father Peffley has written two books–Inside the Legion of Mary and The Priest and the Legion of Mary—as well as numerous articles for the Homiletic and Pastoral Review, Queen of All Hearts Magazine, Maria Legionis magazine, Lay Witness, and the Arlington Catholic Herald. On his website, Father offers over two hundred audio recordings and other resources on spirituality, the saints, apologetics, evangelization and the family. His Sunday and weekday homilies and retreat talks appear online and are listened to worldwide.
Father is now stationed at St Mary of Sorrows in Fairfax, Virginia, where he serves as parochial vicar and stays active with the parish young adult ministry, pilgrimages, Catholic apologetics, evangelization, and retreat work.
In accepting the award, Fr. Peffley expressed how his education at Christendom has been an incredible blessing in his work of “restoring all things in Christ.”
For his devotion to the Church and the mission of the College, the Alumni Advisory Council is honored to present the 2019 St. Pius X Award to Fr. Francis Peffley.
