Fr. Steven Kuehn, O.F.M., has been named chaplain at St. Bonaventure University, President Jeff Gingerich announced today. He begins work Monday.

Before professing his final vows, Fr. Steven interned at St. Bonaventure in 2020-21, working with University Ministries, volunteering at the Warming House and serving as chaplain for the men’s lacrosse team.

“I’m so happy and grateful to be back on the St. Bonaventure campus,” Fr. Steven said. “I was here during the year of restrictions on campus due to the pandemic so I’m happy to be able to engage with the campus community in more ways as university chaplain.”

Fr. Steven was ordained April 29 in Silver Spring, Maryland, culminating eight years in priestly formation. He was a member of the last ordination class of Holy Name Province, which will officially merge in October with other provinces to form a national Franciscan province.

He is a 2003 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, where he played Division I lacrosse.

Fr. Steven held several positions in the Navy, from piloting 332 helicopter missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom to serving as a senior officer on the USS Ronald Reagan from 2013-2015.

Fr. Steven left active duty as a Navy pilot to pursue life as a Franciscan friar, joining Holy Name Province in 2015 to begin his postulancy.

He has volunteered at Missionaries of Charity and Little Sisters of the Poor in Washington, D.C., Arlington Food Assistance Center, Greater Chicago Food Depository, Kolbe House Jail Ministry and Marquard Soup Kitchen in Chicago, St. Francis Inn in Philadelphia, and St. Francis churches in Milwaukee and New York City. He was also a volunteer lacrosse coach at Mt. Carmel High School in Chicago for three years.

Fr. Steven holds a Master of Divinity degree from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, an MBA from the University of Maryland, and a Bachelor of Science degree in systems engineering from the Naval Academy.

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. St. Bonaventure was named the #5 regional university value in the North in U.S. News and World Report’s 2022 college rankings edition.