St. Patrick’s Seminary & University Adds New Faculty for 2017-2018 Academic Year

MENLO PARK, CA. June 20, 2017 – St. Patrick’s Seminary & University today announced the appointment of five distinguished professors as members of its faculty for the upcoming academic year. In addition, St. Patrick’s has added two new formators to direct the spiritual life of the Seminary. They join 10 returning faculty members at the 118-year-old Seminary, based in Menlo Park, California.

“The addition of these outstanding professors and formators brings our faculty to full strength for the fall,” said Rev. George E. Schultze, SJ, President-Rector for the Seminary. “Their academic training from the most respected universities in the world, coupled with extensive pastoral experience will help us provide exceptionally strong formation and education for future priests, building on the proud traditions of St. Patrick’s.”

All of the new professors have broad theological backgrounds, as well as ties to the Bay Area and/or dioceses served by St. Patrick’s and the desire to make a long-term home at St. Patrick’s, according to Fr. George. The three priests joining the faculty have all served as parish priests, and support the Seminary’s strategic goal of fully integrating its programs to ensure that both pastoral and academic needs are well-served.

The new faculty members are: Rev. Michael Carey, OP (Associate Professor of Moral Theology, Chair of Moral Theology Department), Jeffrey Froula, PhD (Assistant Professor of Moral Theology), Rev. Khoa Nguyen, OFM (Assistant Director of Spiritual Life), Rev. Vito Perrone, COSJ (Director of Spiritual Life), Rev. Pius Pietrzyk, OP (Assistant Professor of Pastoral Studies, Chair of Pastoral Studies Department), Matthew Thomas, D.Phil. (Visiting Assistant Professor of Sacred Scripture), Margaret Turek, STD (Professor of Dogmatics, Director of the MA Program). Detailed biographies follow at the end of this release.

“I am deeply committed to this Seminary and its future,” said Fr. George. “As the incoming Rector, I look forward to working closely and collaboratively with sending bishops and vocation directors throughout the Western U.S. and beyond to support the formation of outstanding priests and recruit more men to the vocation of the priesthood.”

In February, Fr. George was named as President-Rector and Vice Chancellor effective June 1, 2017. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, he has been on the faculty and served as a spiritual director at St. Patrick’s for more than a decade, and previously served on the faculty and staff of the University of San Francisco. He holds a degree from Cornell University in Industrial and Labor Relations and a PhD from the University of Southern California in philosophy, theology and ethics. A Jesuit, Fr. Schultze currently serves on the board of Catholic Charities of the East Bay and is an advisor to Catholics for the Common Good. In addition to working as a spiritual director during his entire tenure at St. Patrick’s, Fr. George has directed the field education and pastoral year programs. He has also taught various seminary courses, including Moral Philosophy.

Among those returning faculty members are Rev. Patrick Hartin, a renowned scholar, previously of the Diocese of Johannesburg, South Africa and now of the Diocese of Spokane. Author of 18 books, Fr. Patrick returns as a Visiting Professor of Sacred Scripture. He had been teaching New Testament Studies in the Religious Studies Department at Gonzaga University since 1995 until his retirement in 2016. Fr. Hartin is also a contributor to the Jerome Biblical Commentary.

About St. Patrick’s Seminary & University

St. Patrick’s Seminary & University was established in 1889 by then San Francisco Archbishop Riordan. The Seminary sits on 40-acres in the heart of the Bay Area’s Silicon Valley. Its expansive park-like grounds, historic chapel and classroom space provide an ideal environment for prayer, meditation, and study within close proximity to major urban centers. The Seminary currently has seminarians in formation from throughout California, Nevada, the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii.

The mission of this venerable institution has remained constant over the course of its history; namely, to form priests according to the heart of Jesus Christ and worthy of God's Holy Church. The Seminary is governed by the Archdiocese of San Francisco in association with its other sponsoring western and Pacific Rim dioceses. For more information about St. Patrick’s Seminary & University, please visit our website, https://www.stpsu.edu/. You can also follow St. Patrick’s on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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Faculty Biographies

Rev. Michael Carey, OP – Fr. Carey is a member of the Dominican Friars, Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus (the Western Province) and looks forward to his return to seminary formation. He holds B.A. degrees in Education (Arizona State University) and Philosophy (St. Albert’s College), an M.A. in Theology from the Graduate Theological Union, a J.D. from the Boalt Hall School of Law (UC Berkeley), an STL in Theology from The John Paul II Institute for Studies in Marriage and Family Life, and an STD in Theology from the Angelicum. From 2000-2008, he was an Associate Professor of Theology at Saint John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver, where he served as Chair of the Theology Department, formation advisor, and also taught courses such as Moral Theology: Foundations, Moral Theology: Virtues, Theological Anthropology, Mariology, and Theology of the Body. From 2010-2014, he served as Associate Pastor of St. Dominic’s Church in Los Angeles, CA.

Jeffrey Froula, PhD – Dr. Froula looks forward to his return to California from Ave Maria, FL with his young family. Originally from Yuba City, CA (Diocese of Sacramento), Dr. Froula received his B.A. in Liberal Arts from Thomas Aquinas College, an M.A. in Theology with an Emphasis on Marriage and the Family from the International Theological Institute in Gaming, Austria, and his Ph.D. (major in Systematic Theology, minor in Moral Theology) from Ave Maria University. His scholarly interests range from St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, the Theology of Christian Perfection, and the relationship between moral and systematic theology. Further his interests in Catholic Social Ethics are influenced by his experiences with the farming communities near Yuba City.

Rev. Khoa Nguyen, OFM – Before joining the Franciscan Friars of the Holy Name Province, Fr. Nguyen left Vietnam at the age of 25 to come to the United States. He holds a D.Min from the Catholic University of America, where he studied Systematic Theology and Spirituality, and also earned a Certificate in Spiritual Direction from Creighton University. He brings to St. Patrick’s a wealth of experience, including: Spiritual Director at St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston, TX and Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, CT; Parochial Vicar at St. Anthony Shrine in Boston, MA; Administrator/Chaplain of numerous Vietnamese Catholic communities; coordinator of various social ministry programs (such as ministries to AIDS patients, the homeless, orphans, leprosy patients); and Coordinator to establish the Pontifical Theological College in Vietnam. He has also translated numerous theological works into Vietnamese, including Karl Rahner’s Foundations of Christian Faith and various works by Joseph Ratzinger. One of thirteen children (five of whom entered religious life), Fr. Khoa looks forward to moving to the Bay Area, where his father and various other members of his family currently reside.

Rev. Vito Perrone, COSJ – Fr. Perrone received his M.Div. from St. John XXIII National Seminary. He has served within the Archdiocese of San Francisco since 2000 when he was ordained as a deacon. The greatest day of his life was the day of his ordination to the priesthood on June 23, 2001. He currently is a member of the Contemplatives of Saint Joseph which he helped found in 2009. Fr. Vito has also been a part of the St. Patrick Seminary Spirituality Summer program. He looks forward to sharing in the spiritual life of the seminarians and helping them discover the great grace of the priesthood.

Rev. Pius Pietrzyk, OP – Originally from Arizona, Fr. Pietrzyk practiced corporate law at Sidley & Austin in Chicago before entering the Dominican Province of St. Joseph. He holds a BA in English and Philosophy from the University of Arizona, a JD from the University of Chicago, an STL in Dogmatic Theology from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC, and a JCL and JCD from the Angelicum. Before pursuing his Canon Law studies, he served as a Parochial Vicar in Ohio in a parish of 2,500 families for three years; while here, he oversaw the youth group, assisted with RCIA and taught theology at the local high school. In addition to his duties at SPSU, he will continue to serve as the editor of the Angelicum journal and as a member of the Board of Directors for the Legal Services Corporation (Washington, D.C.), the largest federal funder of civil legal services in the U.S.

Matthew Thomas, D.Phil. – Dr. Thomas recently returned home with his young family to Castro Valley after the completion of his doctoral studies in New Testament and Patristics at the University of Oxford. He also holds a Masters in Christian Studies with a concentration in Biblical Languages from Regent College and a B.A. in International Studies with emphasis in Political Studies from Pepperdine University. In addition to his academic credentials, Dr. Thomas comes with years of experience working with inner-city youth in Oakland.

Margaret Turek, STD – Dr. Turek received her MA in Systematic Theology from the Dominican School of Philosophy & Theology and her STD in Systematic Theology from the University of Fribourg. Before she first joined the SPSU faculty in 2001, she taught at the University of Dallas. From Fall 2001 until Spring 2014, Dr. Turek was a beloved and effective Assistant Professor of Dogmatics and formator who was well-known particularly for her Trinity and Christology courses. She returns to St. Patrick’s this fall with a broad liberal arts foundation, a solid philosophical and theological education, and vast experience in seminary formation, all of which have been enriched by her recent ministry in the Diocese of Oakland as Director of Catechesis.

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