Peter Vaghi

Peter Vaghi is an American Roman Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Washington and former lawyer associated with several noted American jurists. He is pastor of the Little Flower Parish in Bethesda, Maryland. He was previously pastor of the historic St. Patrick's Church in Washington, D.C.

Msgr. Vaghi was born in Washington, D.C., in 1948. After attending the College of the Holy Cross, he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to attend the University of Salzburg in Austria. Back in America, he attended the University of Virginia Law School and worked as an attorney and staffer to Senator Pete Domenici in Washington, D.C., before being assigned as a seminarian to the North American College, Vatican City, and attending the Gregorian University in Rome, Italy in preparation for the priesthood. He was ordained in 1985, and designated a "Prelate of Honor" (entitling him to be addressed and referred to as "monsignor") by Pope John Paul II in 1995.

Described as "thoughtful, worldly and cultured" by Newsweek editor Evan Thomas, Msgr. Vaghi has drawn attention because of his association with a number of highly influential American jurists. He participated in the baptism and conversion to Catholicism of both Robert Bork, the unsuccessful conservative Supreme Court nominee, and columnist Robert Novak. He is also said to have a close relationship with Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, his college classmate, with Associate Justice Antonin Scalia and U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts, whose family belongs to his parish.

In March 2003, Msgr. Vaghi presided over the funeral of legendary Democratic New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. "Pat Moynihan was a man of quiet faith," Msgr. Peter J. Vaghi told the mourners. "For him, this found expression in his long commitment to the body politic, the pursuit of the common good and his special care for the poor, the family structure and the most needy in our midst."

Msgr. Vaghi is also active in the John Carroll Society, "an old-time Catholic service organization favored by Washington's large Catholic legal and political establishment," as whose chaplain he serves as of 1987.

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