Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York has appointed Reverend George W. Rutler as Delegate of the Cardinal for The Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums – New York Chapter. Father Rutler is succeeding Monsignor Thomas Modugno who has served as Cardinal Dolan’s representative in the New York Chapter for the past three years.

The New York Chapter is the founding branch of the interfaith organization The Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums. It was established in 1983 to support, preserve, and perpetuate the vast collections of the Vatican Museums. The New York Chapter is dedicated to increasing the artistic patrimony of the Vatican collections by providing its members with art historical lectures, meetings, events, and visits to the Vatican Museums. Today, the Patrons are an internationally recognized group with chapters in North America and Europe. Fr. Rutler professes, “From various perspectives the Vatican collections are the most significant treasury of artistic achievement. It is a privilege and challenge to preserve and protect them.”

Father Rutler is the Pastor at The Church of St. Michael on West 34th Street, NYC and is himself an artist. He has made documentary films in the United States and England, and is known internationally for his programs on EWTN. Father Rutler received his degree from Dartmouth College as well as advanced degrees from Johns Hopkins University, The General Theological Seminary, and Oxford University. Fr. Rutler contributes to numerous scholarly and popular journals and is a published author. His most recent publication is a collection of essays entitled He Spoke To Us: Discerning God in People and Events. Fr. Rutler is a knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, Chaplain of the New York Guild of Catholic Lawyers, and Regional Spiritual Director of the Legion of Mary (New York and northern New Jersey). He has long been associated with the Missionaries of Charity, and other religious orders, as a retreat master.