SIDNEY — A Holy Angels priest is now serving the Catholic church in Rome.

The Rev. Peter Langenkamp asked to complete further study in Rome by the Archbishop of Cincinnati. The Archdiocese of Cincinnati has its own seminary, Mount St. Mary’s Seminary of the West, or the Athenaeum of Ohio. People travel from other states to attend seminary here, with students from Ohio, Kansas, North Carolina, and Oklahoma. The seminary provides its own professors by sending priests off for further schooling. Langenkamp will be completing this further schooling to give the Archdioceses the option of assigning him as a professor teaching young men.

Langenkamp will be attending the Biblicum, one of several institutions that train priests internationally. The Biblicum specializes in teaching sacred scripture, training priests in one of the most important parts of the priesthood. The learning program Langenkamp will complete will last five to six years and ultimately grant him a Doctorate in Sacred Scripture. During this time, he will live in the Casa Santa Maria, a house of American priests all attending different schools in Rome. The program at the Biblicum will be held entirely in Italian, meaning he will have to learn Italian through an intensive two-month training program. He will also learn Greek and Hebrew in order to read the older versions of the Bible.

During his time in Rome, he will be invited to Liturgies held at St Peter’s Basilica and might see the Pope in passing. Langenkamp joins a group of a few men that have been chosen for further study in Rome coming from Sidney. Although the program will be intensive, Langenkamp will have opportunities to come home to Sidney and the Holy Angels parish occasionally.

Langenkampn was born in Coldwater, Ohio as the oldest of 11 children. He was raised in a strong Catholic family, attending church his whole life. Faith has always been a priority in his life but didn’t become his profession until he entered the priesthood.

Following his high school graduation, he decided to pursue a degree in engineering through Ohio Northern University. It was during this time in college that he felt that something was missing in his life, something that he couldn’t find in engineering. However, he wouldn’t find that missing element until later.

After graduating from Ohio Northern, he was accepted into the PhD program at the University of Notre Dame and considered a career teaching in engineering. He considered the opportunity and ended up turning it down to instead become a priest. He had always felt drawn to the priesthood through his life, so he decided to act. He said yes to the Lord and the priesthood and felt at peace with his decision.

Langenkamp entered seminary immediately after graduating college and trained for 7 years. Langenkamp was formally ordained in 2017 and was granted his first assignment as a parochial vicar to Holy Angels Catholic Church. Langenkamp also acted as a chaplain and teacher at Lehman Catholic High School for two years. This assignment in Sidney was the first step taken by newly ordained priests, as they complete one or two similar assignments before becoming full-fledged pastors.