Fr. Langenkamp Returns to MTSM as He Resumes His Studies

The story below was originally published in The Athenaeum, MTSM’s bi-annual magazine. The Athenaeum is published twice a year for alumni, patrons and friends of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology. To be added to the mailing list, contact: Heidi Walsh at 513.233.6159 or hwalsh@athenaeum.edu.

Rev. Peter A. Langenkamp, S.S.L. returned to Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology over the summer, having completed six years of further studies in Rome. He will now continue to pursue his Doctorate in Sacred Scripture in Cincinnati while serving as the seminary’s Dean of Men and as an Instructor of Biblical Studies.

“I was generously given six years to study in Rome and now that I am back, I am performing a juggling act between the various tasks that demand my attention,” Fr. Langenkamp said. “That is not always easy, there are times where one thing has to take priority. I am currently teaching Biblical Greek and will have more classes to teach in the Spring. I am also a member of the Formation Team and the Dean of Men. When I am not doing work in one of these roles, I am doing my research and writing my doctorate with the hope that I’ll soon return to Rome, defend my thesis and return home with a doctorate.”

A son of Coldwater in the Northern reaches of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Fr. Langenkamp is the oldest of 11 siblings in his family. After finding an interest in math and science in school, he pursued a mechanical engineering degree at Ohio Northern University. He was set on continuing his engineering studies at the University of Notre Dame before a trip to MTSM changed everything.

“During my final semester of undergraduate studies, I came here for a visit,” Fr. Langenkamp recalled. “I had been going to daily Mass to deepen my faith, and I had begun to wonder if God was calling me to be a priest. My visit to the seminary was a good experience. The encouragement I was given by the guys here was to not be afraid to give the Lord that first chance and not be afraid to be open to His generosity, the Lord is never outdone in generosity.

“By Easter of that year (2010), I decided to go to seminary,” Fr. Langenkamp continued. “I felt that if I did not explore it at the time, I would later regret it. There was some trepidation at first, but I soon felt this was what the Lord was calling me to do.”

Following his ordination in 2017, Fr. Langenkamp received his first assignment as a parochial vicar at Holy Angels and a teacher at Lehman Catholic in Sidney. Though it only lasted two years, he is still thankful for his time there.

“The pastor at Holy Angels, Fr. Frank Amberger, was a great priestly model for me and the people there also helped form me,” Fr. Langenkamp said. “I was very thankful for my time there, and that it was only 40 minutes from Coldwater made my family very happy. At Lehman, I taught senior religion and enjoyed working with students in the classroom. I was really looking forward to my third year of teaching there.”

That third year never happened thanks to a call from MTSM President & Rector the very Rev. Anthony R. Brausch.

“Around Christmas 2018, I got a call from Fr. Brausch on behalf of Archbishop (Dennis) Schnurr saying they would like me to begin further studies in Rome in the Fall of 2019,” Fr. Langenkamp recalled. “At the time I received the call, I was sad to learn I would soon leave my first assignment. I enjoyed being a priest in a parish. The transition to a new life in Rome was hard but filled with blessings. The opportunity to study the Bible for such a prolonged period is a rare gift.”

Fr. Langenkamp’s licentiate program took 3-4 years at the Pontifical Biblical University (Biblicum), more than the 2-3 years of a typical licentiate program. Learning languages was an important and demanding aspect of his program.

“In addition to learning Italian to take the classes at the Biblicum, we had a propaedeutic year that was dedicated entirely to learning Hebrew and Greek,” Fr. Langenkamp said. “In addition, most of my summers were dedicated to language learning. One summer I spent in Munich because German was required. Another summer was spent studying French.”

Italian, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, German, French, Syriac, Aramaic. The list of languages Fr. Langenkamp has encountered in his studies so far have been numerous, but they serve a purpose for the men he is now assisting in their discernment and formation for the priesthood.

“The original biblical texts were written in Hebrew and Greek, but those texts were soon translated into other languages such as Latin and Syriac. These later translations are important for understanding the original texts,” Fr. Langenkamp noted. “Knowing other modern languages is also important for engaging in research outside the English-speaking world. For example, a lot of important biblical insights have come from German scholarship in the 19th and 20th century.”

While Fr. Langenkamp will be busy over the next few years ahead with writing his doctorate and performing his duties at the seminary, he is thankful for those at MTSM who will be with him along the way.

“As a former seminarian of MTSM, it is both a familiar and different experience being here now as a faculty member,” Fr. Langenkamp concluded. “I am now a teacher, but I am also still learning. Thankfully I have the support of an incredible faculty here at MTSM. It is a great blessing to be here.”