Congratulations to Diocese of Lansing priest, Father Dan Westermann, who has been asked to serve as a spiritual director at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, effective September 1, 2026.
“I am very grateful both to Bishop Boyea for allowing Father Westermann to serve as a member of the formation team at the North American College, and to Father Westermann for his generous ‘yes’,” said Monsignor Thomas Powers, Rector of the Pontifical North American College, August 14.
“Along with his experience in seminary formation and his training in spiritual direction, I am confident that he will also model for the seminarians a prayerful, joyful and priestly example.”
Father Dan Westermann entered the seminary after attending Father Gabriel Richard High School in Ann Arbor. He was ordained to the priesthood in 2014 after attending Saint John Vianney College Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and the Pontifical North American College in Rome.
After ordination, he served two years in East Lansing at Saint Thomas Aquinas parish and Saint John Church and Student Center, which serves the students of Michigan State University. He then returned to Rome to finish a licentiate in Moral Theology at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas (Angelicum).
Upon returning to the Diocese, he served as the associate pastor at Holy Family parish in Grand Blanc, and the following year was moved to serve as administrator of Saint Mary and Saint Joseph in Durand. In the summer of 2019, he was appointed the pastor of Saint John the Baptist Parish in Ypsilanti, which serves Eastern Michigan University.
In 2025, Father Westermann was assigned to the staff at Saint John Vianney Seminary, where he served as a formation advisor and spiritual director. He is currently completing the Spiritual Direction Training Program through the Institute for Priestly Formation.
Good luck and God bless in Rome, Father Westermann!
Saint Peter, pray for him.
Saint Paul, pray for him.
Our Lady, Queen of the Clergy, pray for him.