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Nathaniel Sanders, a priest of the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, will become the next Undergraduate Catholic Chaplain at the Harvard Catholic Center beginning Sunday, according to affiliates of the Center.
Sanders’ appointment follows the departure in late May of former Undergraduate Catholic Chaplain Patrick J. Fiorillo, who served in the role since 2018 and will now work at St. Patrick’s Parish in Stoneham, Mass.
Sanders, who steps into his role on Sunday, is a graduate student at the Boston College School of Theology and brings two years of experience as a priest at St. Columbkille’s in Brighton, Mass. He will begin working full time starting in the summer.
After graduating from Boston College in 2013, Sanders joined the Dominicans, a Catholic religious order, for five years. He then taught at a boarding school in France for one year before returning to the United States to train for the priesthood.
William T. Kelly, pastor of St. Paul’s Parish in Cambridge, said Sanders’ interests in academia, music, and religion make him particularly suited to take on the role as Undergraduate Catholic Chaplain.
“He just has a background that matches some of the work that we will be doing here,” Kelly said. “You do need somebody who at least has a passing interest in music, and he has more than that,” he added
Azul M. Rubio ’25, president of the Center, said she was sad to see Fiorillo leave the Center but was hopeful about its future.
“I am very excited also to welcome Father Nate Sanders,” she said. “I know that he comes with his full heart into this, and definitely he’s ready to serve the student community here at Harvard.”
John P. Phillips ’26, the Center’s current fellowship chair, said he has met Sanders twice and pointed to his youth as helping them connect.
“We’ve already bonded over some Boston College sports and some ACC sports,” Phillips said. “I’m a big fan of those.”
Kathryn J. Gagnon ’25, service chair of the Center, expressed her hope that Sanders will help the Center become a place of welcome for Harvard and Cambridge as a whole.
“I think a great goal for the future would be the greater accessibility of the Catholic Center,” she said. “Not everyone is gonna be the most involved here, but it would be nice for people to — at least before they graduate — to be like, ‘Yeah, I’ve been to St. Paul’s. I’ve been there.’”
Rubio said Sanders is poised to further the Center’s mission of providing a space that everyone, Catholic or not, can turn to for support.
“I’m sure he will continue this vision of being able to welcome everyone, everyone — and I will repeat that — everyone, on this campus,” Rubio said.
