Msgr. Robert J. Dempsey, a native Chicagoan, holds an M.A. in philosophy from Loyola University (Chicago), an S.T.B. from the Pontifical Gregorian University, an S.T.L. from the University of St. Mary of the Lake, and an S.T.D. from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (Rome). Ordained a priest by St. John Paul II in 1980, he worked as an associate pastor in three parishes. From 1991 to 2001 he was editor of the English edition of L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican’s newspaper. He was pastor of St. Philip the Apostle Parish in Northfield, IL from 2003 to 2017, and pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Lake Forest, IL from 2017 until his retirement in 2024. He continues to serve as a visiting lecturer at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, IL.