Fr. Peter (Boutros) El Hachem will serve the Hamilton community this semester as Catholic chaplain. He is the pastor at St. Louis Gonzaga Maronite Church in Utica, where he’s been administrator since 2019, having come to the U.S. from his native Lebanon.
El Hachem received his bachelor’s degree in theology and philosophy from Antoniene University, Baabda, and his master’s degree in pastoral management from Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Lebanon. In 1999, he entered St. Anthony of Padua Seminary in Northern Lebanon. He spent his pastoral year at Saint Maron Jezzine Church in South Lebanon, and in 2008, he was ordained to the priesthood. From 2008 to 2013, El Hachem served two parishes in Mount Lebanon.
In 2016, El Hachem was selected to help in the foundation of the Maronite Church in Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru. He returned to Lebanon the next year and served two parishes. He also taught at various Catholic schools in Beirut and was a spiritual advisor to students from 2008 to 2019.
