Father Jonathan DeFelice, O.S.B. is the President of New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

's third oldest Catholic college, Saint Anselm College

Saint Anselm College

Saint Anselm College is a nationally ranked, private, Benedictine, Catholic liberal arts college in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Founded in 1889 by Abbot Hilary Pfrängle, O.S.B. of Saint Mary's Abbey in Newark, New Jersey, at the request of Bishop Denis M. Bradley of Manchester, New Hampshire, the...

 in Goffstown, New Hampshire

Goffstown, New Hampshire

Goffstown is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 17,651 at the 2010 census. The compact center of town, where 3,196 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the Goffstown census-designated place and is located at the...

. Growing up in Bristol, Rhode Island

Bristol, Rhode Island

Bristol is a town in and the historic county seat of Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,954 at the 2010 census. Bristol, a deepwater seaport, is named after Bristol, England....

, he graduated from Portsmouth Abbey School

Portsmouth Abbey School

Portsmouth Abbey School is a private, coeducational boarding and day school for grades 9 through 12, located in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Founded by the Benedictine monks of Portsmouth Abbey in 1926 as Portsmouth Priory School, the school offered a classical education to boys...

 in 1965, and then attended Saint Anselm College, earning a bachelors degree in Philosophy in 1969. Seeking to be a monk, he entered Saint Anselm Abbey

Saint Anselm Abbey

Saint Anselm Abbey, located in Goffstown, New Hampshire, is a Benedictine abbey composed of men living under the Rule of Saint Benedict within the Catholic Church. The abbey was founded in 1889 under the patronage of Saint Anselm of Canterbury, a Benedictine monk of Bec and former archbishop of...

 as a junior, in 1968, professing his solemn vows as a Benedictine

Benedictine

Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...

 monk in 1973. Thereafter, he studied at St. John's Seminary in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, and in 1974 was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

. In 1983, DeFelice received a licentiate in canon law

Canon law

Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...

 from the Pontifical Gregorian University

Pontifical Gregorian University

The Pontifical Gregorian University is a pontifical university located in Rome, Italy.Heir of the Roman College founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola over 460 years ago, the Gregorian University was the first university founded by the Jesuits...

 in Rome. DeFelice co-founded the Association of Benedictine Colleges and Universities and has served as a board member of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities

Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities

The Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, or ACCU, is a voluntary association of delegates from Catholic institutions of higher learning. It was founded in 1899 by fifty-three delegates from Catholic colleges across the United States...

.