Reginald Foster

Reginald Foster may refer to:

Reginald Foster (Latinist)

Reginald "Reggie" Foster O.C.D. (born November 14, 1939 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American Catholic priest and friar of the Order of Discalced Carmelites. He formerly worked in the "Latin Letters" section of the Secretariat of State in the Vatican. This section is the successor to the historical Briefs to Princes. Father Foster became one of the Pope's Latinists in the late 1960s. After spending more than 40 years in Rome, he returned to Milwaukee in 2009.

Foster is an expert in Latin literature, especially Cicero, and is an internationally recognized authority on the Latin language.

Biography

Foster has stated that since the age of 13 he has desired three things: 1) to be a monk, 2) to be a priest, and 3) to work with Latin. Foster grew up in a family of plumbers (his father, brothers, and uncles are plumbers). He went to junior seminary in Peterborough, New Hampshire, where he fell in love with Latin. He would sit in the library with Lewis and Short's Latin Dictionary, fascinated by the entries.