Msgr. Thomas Powers, a priest of the Bridgeport, Connecticut diocese, has been named the new rector of the North American College (NAC).

The appointment of Msgr. Powers, who will assume his new role on July 1, ends a long stalemate over the selection of a rector for Roman institution that trains America’s most promising seminarians. Father Peter Harman, the current rector, was due to step down in 2021, but his term was extended when the Vatican balked at the appointment of a candidate chosen by the NAC’s governing board—apparently because of differences between the Vatican and the US bishops on the priorities for seminary training.

Msgr. Powers, who has been vicar general of the Bridgeport diocese, is himself a former NAC student. Later, he worked at the Congregation for Bishops for nearly a decade, lodging at the NAC during that term in Rome, and was a spiritual director for students.