Peter Vaghi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Peter Vaghi is an American Roman Catholic priest and former lawyer associated with several noted American jurists. He is pastor of the Church of the Little Flower (which was named after Saint Thérèse de Lisieux and is part of the Archdiocese of Washington) in Bethesda, Maryland. He was previously pastor of the historic St. Patrick's Church in Washington, D.C.

Msgr. Vaghi was born in Washington, D.C.. After attending the College of the Holy Cross, he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to attend the University of Salzburg in Austria. Back in America, he attended the University of Virginia Law School and worked as an attorney and staffer to Senator Pete Domenici in Washington, D.C., before attending the Gregorian University in Rome, Italy to become a priest. He was ordained in 1985, and designated a "Prelate of Honor" (entitling him to be addressed and referred to as "monsignor") by Pope John Paul II in 1995.

Described as "thoughtful, worldly and cultured" by Newsweek editor Evan Thomas, Msgr. Vaghi has drawn attention because of his association with a number of highly influential conservative American jurists. [1] He participated in the baptism and conversion to Catholicism of both Robert Bork, the unsuccessful conservative Supreme Court nominee, and columnist Robert Novak. He is also said to have a close relationship with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, his college classmate, with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts, whose family belongs to his parish. Msgr. Vaghi is also active in the John Carroll Society, "an old-time Catholic service organization favored by Washington's large Catholic legal and political establishment," as whose chaplain he serves as of 1987. [2]