Meet our Bursar: Faithfully Ensuring we Have the Resources to Form Leaders in the Church

When Dean Penafiel first walked through the doors at St. Augustine’s Seminary in February 2006 it was to attend his first of two “Come and See” weekends to explore whether he felt called to the priesthood. He attended a second one in 2007. Little did he know he would return 14 years later – as the new Bursar at St. Augustine’s.

“I have always been fond of the Seminary since discerning a call to the priesthood,” says Penafiel. “I attended two Come and See weekends while at university. Although not called to the priesthood personally, I am overjoyed with the opportunity to come back to the Seminary to serve in a different role.”

As Bursar, he explains that role “is to provide leadership on the financial management and reporting of the Seminary. This includes creating operational and capital budgets, preparing financial statements, and ensuring compliance with all regulations and contractual obligations.”

It’s a role that on the surface would seem to focus on the ‘business’ side of the Seminary, but as he explains it touches on the ‘mission’ of the Seminary as well.

“As Bursar, I must ensure that we have the resources needed to properly form leaders in the Church, namely our priests, permanent deacons and laity. This can range from financial resources to retain excellent faculty and staff, to the physical structures in order to provide a suitable environment to foster academic, spiritual and human formation. In recent years due to the pandemic, this also included investing in our technological resources so that we could communicate and learn in a virtual setting.”

With a background in accounting and a zeal for serving the Church, Penafiel is an ideal fit for Bursar. 

“As the youngest son of two accountants, my parents instilled a desire to serve God and others. I volunteered in my parish, school, and worked in ministry at the Office of Catholic Youth while completing my undergraduate degree at St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto.”

After obtaining his CPA, CMA accounting designations in 2014, he transferred to the Accounting and Finance department at the Archdiocese of Toronto. He was there for seven years before returning to the Seminary as Bursar.