Staff
Monsignor Burns was born on October 7, 1957, in Pittsburgh, PA. The son of Donald P. and Geraldine Little Burns, he received his secondary education at Lincoln High School in Ellwood City, PA.
He obtained a B.A. degree (Philosophy and Sociology) from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA during his four years of priestly formation at St. Paul Seminary. He received a Master of Divinity degree and a Master of Theology degree from Mt. St. Mary Seminary, Emmitsburg, MD. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Pittsburgh by the Most Reverend Vincent M. Leonard on June 25, 1983. He was then assigned as a parochial vicar at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Burgettstown, PA until 1988 when he was assigned as parochial vicar at Immaculate Conception Parish, Washington, PA.
Msgr. Burns was appointed Vocation Director of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, Vice-Rector of St. Paul Seminary and Dean of Studies of St. Paul Seminary in 1991. In 1993, Msgr. Burns was appointed the Director of Spiritual Formation at the St. Paul Seminary. In July 1996, he became the Director of the Department of Pre-Ordination Formation and Rector of St. Paul Seminary, Pittsburgh. In this capacity he was responsible for all aspects of the formation of seminarians prior to priesthood ordination. Msgr. Burns was also the chairman of the diocesan Priestly Formation Board which makes recommendations to the Diocesan Bishop regarding candidacy and ordination to the diaconate and priesthood. That same year, Msgr. Burns was named Director of the Department of Clergy and Ministerial Formation. In this capacity, he was responsible for the diocesan newly ordained program, the pre-pastorate and new pastor programs, the pre-retirement program, priest sabbaticals, and all aspects of the continuing formation/education of priests. Also in 1996, Msgr. Burns was appointed Director of the Office for the Diaconate, overseeing the formation of 36 candidates in preparation for the diaconate. From October 1997 to July 1999, Msgr. Burns served as the Director of the Department of Clergy Personnel and Executive Secretary to the Priest Personnel Board. In that capacity, Msgr. Burns was a member of the Priestly Formation Board, the Priesthood Candidate Admissions Board, the Diaconate Formation Board, the Diaconate Admissions Board and the Priest Benefit Plan Board.
In 1999, Bishop Donald Wuerl released Msgr. Burns from priestly service in the Diocese of Pittsburgh in order to accept the position of Executive Director of the Secretariat for Vocations and Priestly Formation at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, DC. In this capacity, Msgr. Burns serves as staff to the Bishops’ Committee on Vocations and the Bishops’ Committee on Priestly Formation. Msgr. Burns was named a Chaplain to His Holiness by Pope Benedict XVI on June 29,2006.
Msgr. Burns was the co-chair of the Third Continental Congress on Vocations to Ordained Ministry and Consecrated Life in North America called by His Holiness Pope John Paul II and took place in Montreal, Canada; April 18-21, 2002. His most recent projects included: rewriting of the Program of Priestly Formation; serving as staff to the Apostolic Seminary Visitations; and initiating the vocation programs for priesthood entitled, Priestly Life and Vocation Summit: Fishers of Men. Msgr. Burns is currently serving as Interim Director of the Secretariat for Priestly Life & Ministry and serves as a consultant for the Bishops’ Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People.
Msgr. Burns is currently working with the National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors (NCDVD), National Catholic Education Association (NCEA), National Religious Vocation Council (NRVC), National Coalition of Church Vocations (NCCV), the Mid-West Association of Theological Schools (MATS), the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) and a former member of the National Association of Church Personnel Administrators (NACPA), the National Association of Diaconate Directors (NADD) and the National Organization for the Continuing Education of Roman Catholic Clergy (NOCERCC).
Father Toups was born on March 26, 1971 in Seattle, Washington. The son of Leon and Lynn Toups, he spent most of his childhood in south Louisiana before his family relocated to Florida where he graduated from Clearwater Central Catholic High School.
He attended Florida Southern College in Lakeland for two years before entering the seminary. He began studying for the Diocese of St. Petersburg in Florida and was sent to St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami were he obtained a B.A. degree (Philosophy and Theology) in 1993. He then attended the Pontifical North American College in Rome receiving an S.T.B and S.T.L. in Dogmatic Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of St. Petersburg on June 14, 1997. After completing his studies, he was assigned as the parochial vicar of St. Frances Cabrini Parish in Spring Hill, Florida for four years. During this time, he also served as a member of the Diocesan Presbyteral Council, the Regional Seat on National Board of the NFPC (National Federation of Priests’ Councils), and as the observer for Region IV to the USCCB November meetings for the years 2000-2002.
Fr. Toups returned to Rome in 2002 to complete his doctoral studies at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum). In 2004, he successfully defended his thesis in Dogmatic Theology entitled The Sacerdotal Character as the Foundation of the Priestly Life: Including the Contribution of Blessed Columba Marmion. During his time in Rome he gave numerous retreats to the Missionary of Charity Sisters in Rome, Naples, Reggio Calabria, and Nairobi.
Upon his return to the States, he was appointed the Assistant Dean of Students at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida. The following year he was appointed Dean, a position he held for two years. He served on the Administrative Council, the Faculty Council, and the Formation Team of the Seminary. In addition, he taught courses in both Sacramental and Liturgical Theology. Fr. Toups is responsible for a number of articles and has recently completed a book entitled Reclaiming Our Priestly Character, published by the Institute for Priestly Formation (fall 2007).
In 2007, Bishop Robert Lynch released Fr. Toups from his post at the seminary in order to accept the position of Associate Director of the newly formed Committee for Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, D.C. In this capacity, Fr. Toups serves as staff to the Bishop’s Committee for Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations. He will be developing, under the Chair of the CCLV and Msgr. Burns, an International Committee for the Fishers of Men Vocation’s Program – the recipient of the 2007 Gabriel Award. Fr. Toups is currently working with the National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors (NCDVD), National Catholic Education Association (NCEA), the Mid-West Association of Theological Schools (MATS), the National Federation of Priests’ Councils (NFPC), the National Association of Diaconate Directors (NADD), and the National Organization for the Continuing Education of Roman Catholic Clergy (NOCERCC). Fr. Toups is also a Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus (KC) and a member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem (KHS).
Thomas holds a B.A. in Religious Studies from Belmont University in Nashville, TN, an M.Div. from the Reformed Episcopal Seminary in Shreveport, LA, and an M.A. in Theology from the Franciscan University. He is currently completing doctoral work in Systematic Theology at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.
Thomas had been a deacon in the Reformed Episcopal Church before entering the Catholic Church in 2000. He and his wife have two children.
Margaret "Marna" Smith earned an A.B. degree in Psychology from Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia and has worked in various fields since then throughout the US. During her employment at the Catholic Distance University in Hamilton, Virginia, she helped develop/edit course material. She is the mother of two adult children, both of whom are pursuing careers in the medical field.