Dear Friends of the School of Theology and Ministry:

After a yearlong series of meetings with faculty and staff, the STM is about to launch a strategic plan that will move the institution to the forefront of ministerial and theological studies within the American Catholic Church. I am also pleased to report that two of our faculty members, Khaled Anatolios and Hosffman Ospino, have won prestigious grants that are detailed below. As we celebrate commencement, we are quite impressed by the positions our graduates have secured in ministry and teaching, and by the number who will pursue further graduate study beyond the gates of 9 Lake Street. In this issue of Amici in Domino, we highlight some of the great work that has gone on at the school over the course of the last semester.

As I near the end of my first year as dean, I want to express my gratitude to the faculty, staff, and students of the STM for making my tenure thus far such a rewarding one. If it’s been a while since you visited, or if you haven’t had the opportunity to tour our home on the Brighton Campus of Boston College, I encourage you to do so.

All good things to you as we head into the summer.

Mark Massa, S.J., Dean

Khaled Anatolios, professor of historical theology, was recently named a Henry Luce III Fellow in Theology for 2011–12. The Luce Fellows program supports the research of scholars whose projects offer significant and innovative contributions to theological studies. Anatolios is one of seven scholars chosen from institutions that include the School of Theology and Ministry, Harvard University Divinity School, the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University, and Yale University Divinity School.
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In September, Assistant Professor Hosffman Ospino will launch a groundbreaking study on the experience of Hispanic Catholics in the United States, funded in part by an anonymous foundation that has made a leadership commitment to this initiative. This two-year research project comes at a time in the Church when Latino Catholics are about to comprise the majority of parishioners in our country. The National Study of Catholic Parishes with Hispanic Ministry will provide valuable data at the national, regional, and local levels about U.S. Hispanic Catholics that will aid Church leadership in understanding, advancing, and responding to the immediate needs of today’s American Church. Ospino directs the Hispanic Ministry Programs at the STM.

Dean Mark Massa introduced James Martin, S.J., as "the official chaplain of The Colbert Report" when the author, America magazine's culture editor and sought-after commentator (for the New York Times, NPR, and Comedy Central, among others), came to campus in March to talk about his 2010 bestseller, The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life. Martin drew a standing-room-only crowd to Robsham Theater, where he focused on the importance of joy, humor, and laughter to Ignatian spirituality and Christian tradition. Martin’s lecture inaugurated the Dowmel Lecture Series, named in honor of J. Leo and Catherine Mellon Dowd, and sponsored by Provincial Myles N. Sheehan, S.J., and the New England Province of Jesuits, in partnership with the Church in the 21st Century Center and the STM.
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Thomas Smolich, S.J., president of the U.S. Jesuit Conference, Agbonkhianmeghe Orobator, S.J., provincial of the Eastern Africa Province of the Society of Jesus, and Drew Christiansen, S.J., editor-in-chief of America magazine, were among distinguished visitors to the STM this year. Christiansen (left in photo with Thomas Massaro, S.J., professor of moral theology), encouraged STM students to become active leaders in the Catholic community as writers for the Catholic press and as public intellectuals who bring Christian moral values to deliberations on social issues.