Fr. Francis Bitterman
Father Francis Bitterman is the Vice Rector and Dean of Formation at Mundelein Seminary. He was ordained in 2012 by Cardinal Francis George and was assigned as the Associate Pastor of St. Norbert Parish and as the Assistant Vocation Director for Vicariate II. In 2013, Cardinal George appointed Father Bitterman to serve as the Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Chicago. During that time, he became a certified Spiritual Director through the Institute for Priestly Formation and has served as a Spiritual Director for Mundelein Seminary for the past eight years. In 2017, Cardinal Cupich appointed Fr. Bitterman as Pastor of St. Josaphat Parish in Chicago, one of Mundelein Seminary’s Teaching Parishes. Throughout his six years as Pastor of St. Josaphat, Fr. Bitterman mentored several seminarians as they discerned their call to the priesthood. In 2024, Fr. Bitterman completed a Master of Theology degree in Catholic Spirituality at Boston College’s Clough School of Theology and Ministry.