Master of Theological Studies (MTS)

Biography

“For me, history, theology, and ministry are inseparable. Whether in the classroom, the pulpit, the office or in the community our work can be an act of worship.”

An Oxford-educated historian, Joe is a widely respected scholar, teacher, and speaker in the history of American Catholicism and the development of Franciscan theology and spirituality. Past president of the American Catholic Historical Association (2007-2008), he authored the seminal work Living Stones: The History and Structure of Catholic Spiritual Life in the United States (1989, 1996). When Values Collide: The Catholic Church, Sexual Abuse, and the Challenges of Leadership (2010) won first prize in pastoral theology from several national organizations. His latest book is entitled American Catholicism Transformed from the Cold War to the Council  (Oxford, 2021). He has been general editor of the Franciscan Heritage Series, which makes available to contemporary audiences the spiritual, theological, and social inheritance of St. Francis of Assisi. Apart from his teaching duties, Joe has served in various administrative posts throughout his career: nine years as Provincial Minister for the Franciscan Friars of the Saint Barbara Province (1988-1997), two stints as Academic Dean at the Franciscan School of Theology, Chairman of the Commission for the Retrieval of the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition (CFIT, 2000-2013), and President of the Franciscan School of Theology (2011-2016).

Degrees

• D.Phil. Oxford University 1976
• MA Graduate Theological Union 1971
• MDiv Franciscan School of Theology 1972
• BA San Luis Rey College 1968

For a complete list of publications. See Curriculum Vitae.

Courses

Themes in Contemporary Catholicism

Using some secondary studies in the history of the Catholic community in the United States, research materials, primary documents, and a seminar method, this course examines selected themes in contemporary Catholicism, 1945-1989: religion and society during the Cold War, the interpretation of the 1960s, challenges of race and ethnicity, family life, women in ministry, pastoral practice, and other issues.

American Catholic Spirituality

Through the use of original documents and case studies, this course examines selected themes in the history of Catholic religious practice in the United States: models of holiness, liturgy, rites of passage, the relationship between prayer and Institutionalization, popular devotions, etc. Special attention is paid to the relationships between faith, religious practice, spiritual experience, and culture.

Interpreting the Church Today

An intellectual and pastoral resource for ministry, this course uses both a historical method and theological analysis to examine key issues in Church renewal from the time of the Second Vatican Council to the present. Its primary goal is to develop an overall understanding of how the Church changes and develops in history and society and how understanding this might help shape the pastoral minister’s reflections, practice, and spirituality. Running throughout the will be an occasional reflection on Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortations and Encyclicals.

History, Theology, Spirituality in the Franciscan Tradition

A basic introduction to the early theological development of the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition, this course examines key thinkers, themes, and texts from 1209-1322: Francis and Clare of Assisi, Robert Grosseteste, Alexander of Hales, Bonaventure, Peter John Olivi, John Duns Scotus, and William of Ockham. Attention will be paid to their social context and meaning.

An exploration of predominant themes in Franciscan spiritual writing with special attention to Bonaventure, Angela of Foligno, Franciscan mystics and contemplatives, and the Eremetical tradition 13th to 17th centuries.

Francis of Assisi: Early Documents

Presents the principal events in the life of Francis of Assisi and discusses the historical context of early Franciscan documents written between 1228 and 1280. The student will be able to offer a critical reading of early Franciscan documents according to the particular emphases of each text.

Writings of Francis and Clare of Assisi

A careful reading of the complete writings of the two saints of Assisi, exploring their “Gospel form of life,” the bases of Francis-Clarian spirituality; their images of God, Christ, Church, and the human person. All texts are available in English translation.

Biography

Shannon McAlister is Associate Professor of Theology and Spirituality, and Director of Field Education. She holds a Ph.D. in Theology from The Catholic University of America, and is also a trained and practicing spiritual director. She taught at Fordham University in New York City for 13 years before joining the Franciscan School of Theology at the University of San Diego, and she currently serves as the President of the Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality.

Dr. McAlister’s research focuses on feminine-gendered language for God—and the portrayal of God as a woman and mother—within the works of the Fathers, saints, and Doctors of the Church in the Latin West. Her work with Latin texts overturns a widely held, scholarly narrative which mistakenly portrays feminine language for God as disappearing after the days of the early Church.

Her publications have shown that God was widely portrayed as a woman and mother all the way through the height of the Middle Ages—a tradition which was carried forward even into the nineteenth century in those places where the works of Augustine of Hippo, Gregory the Great, and Thomas Aquinas were read. Her 2018 article on “Christ as the Woman Seeking Her Lost Coin: Luke 15:8-10 and Divine Sophia in the Latin West” was the most-read article in Theological Studies two-and-a-half years after it was published; and her book on the history of a discussion in the Middle Ages about calling God the Father a “Mother” and God the Son a “Daughter” is under contract with Notre Dame Press.

Degrees

• Ph.D., Systematic Theology, School of Theology and Religious Studies, The Catholic University of America, May 12, 2012
• M.A., Historical and Systematic Theology, The Catholic University of America,  January 31, 2008
• Certificate, Spiritual Direction Institute: Art and Practice of Spiritual Direction, Mercy Center, Burlingame, California, November 9, 2019

Biography

Angela Zautcke, PhD, a San Diego native and Assistant Professor of Sacred Scripture at the Franciscan School of Theology. She received her doctorate in Theology from the University of Notre Dame, where she studied Christianity and Judaism in Antiquity. While at Notre Dame, Dr. Zautcke received the Notebaert Fellowship, the university’s premiere fellowship for doctoral students. She was also awarded the Catholic Biblical Association’s Emerging Scholars Fellowship in 2023. Dr. Zautcke’s research focuses on the study of the New Testament within the context of Judaism and the Greco-Roman world. Dr. Zautcke also earned a Master of Theological Studies (MTS) degree from the Franciscan School of Theology.

Degrees

• Ph.D. in Theology – University of Notre Dame
• MTS – University of Notre Dame
• MTS – Franciscan School of Theology
• MA in Marriage and Family Therapy – University of San Diego
• BA in English Literature – University of Southern California

Courses

Introduction to Old Testament

After a brief introduction to the Bible as a whole and various approaches to it, this course seeks to present an overview of the Old Testament by studying its main literary works, theological traditions, and the historical contexts in which they grew. The primary focus is on theology and spirituality.

Old Testament Wisdom Literature

This course is a survey of the wisdom material of the Bible, focusing on the Old Testament. We will explore themes of Wisdom theology in the wisdom books and in other types of literature in the OT. With these themes in mind, the course also discusses how Wisdom theology appears in some works in the New Testament.

Luke-Acts

This course is a study of the Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles. The course explores these documents from a literary and historical perspective. To this end, the course examines the historical, cultural, and geographical setting of the gospel and Acts as well as its authorship, audience, literary techniques and characteristics, theology and important themes. The course also compares the purpose, themes and orientation of Luke’s Gospel with the other synoptic gospels and compare Acts with other contemporaneous Greco-Roman literature.

Letters of St. Paul

This class introduces students to the Pauline epistles. Students will study the letters within the context of the Greco-Roman world and first-century Judaism to gain a better understanding of their theological message both for their original audience and today.

Psalms

This class introduces students to the language and literary form of the psalms. Students study the psalms in light of Old Testament theology, the canon of Scripture, communal worship and prayer.

Publications

• Book review of Literary Theory and the New Testament, by Mical Beth Dinkler, Ancient Jew Review, 6 December 2022.
• Co-Editor with Mark Elliott and Raleigh C. Heth, Studies in the History of Exegesis (Tubingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2022).
• “Erasing the Gospels: Sinaiticus Syriacus and Patterns among Syriac Gospel Palimpsests,”Early Christianity 12 (2021): 85-102.
• Contributing author to Christopher Baron, ed. The Herodotus Encyclopedia, (Hoboken: Wiley, 2021).

Academic Awards

• Notebaert Fellowship – University of Notre Dame
• Dean’s Fellowship – University of Notre Dame
• Mary Stuart Rogers Scholarship – Franciscan School of Theology
• Dean’s Scholarship – University of Southern California

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Biography

Christopher M. O’Brien, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Sacramental and Liturgical Theology at the Franciscan School of Theology. He received his doctorate from The Catholic University of America in 2025 in Liturgical Studies/ Sacramental Theology. Prior to his time at CUA, he received a B.S. in Physics and an M.A. in Education from Stanford University, and an M. Div. from the University of Notre Dame. He also spent five years teaching physics and mathematics, mostly at Catholic high schools. His research, writing, and teaching aims to put liturgical-sacramental history and theology into conversation with lived experience of Christian worship. His articles on topics such as Christian initiation, Eucharist, children and liturgy, liturgical sacramental theology, ecclesiology, and ecumenism have been published in liturgical, theological, and ecumenical journals. His forthcoming book explores the history and theology of the practice of infant communion in Roman Catholicism.

Degrees

• Ph.D. in Liturgical Studies/ Sacramental Theology – The Catholic University of America
• M. Phil. in Liturgical Studies/ Sacramental Theology – The Catholic University of America
• M. Div. – University of Notre Dame
• M.A. in Education – Stanford University
• B.S. in Physics – Stanford University

Select Publications

Infant Communion in Roman Catholicism (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press Academic). [forthcoming, 2026]

“Eucharistic Prayers for Masses with Children, Another Look: Context, Text, Reception, and Evaluation.” Ecclesia Orans 40, no. 2 (2023): 279-305.

“Ecology and the Eucharist: Pope Francis’ Liturgical Theology of Caring for Our Common Home.” Studia Liturgica 53, no. 2 (2023): 279-305.

“Children and the Eucharist at the Council of Trent.” Theological Studies 83, no. 3 (2022): 379-399. https://doi.org/10.1177/00405639221113461.

“‘Urbi et Orbi’ and Digitally Mediated Liturgy: Embodied Participation and Ecclesial Formation.” Anaphora 15, nos. 1-2 (2021): 59-70.

A full list of Dr. O’Brien’s publications can be found here. https://fst-us.academia.edu/ChristopherOBrien

Biography

Keith Douglass Warner OFM is a practical social ethicist in the Franciscan tradition, researching the role of ethics and spirituality in the transformation of people and social structures. He teaches moral theology, Catholic social thought, and Franciscan philosophy. He has written, taught, and presented internationally on Franciscan eco-spirituality in the encyclical Laudato si’. With Ilia Delio OSF and Pamela Wood, is co-author of “Care for Creation: A Franciscan Spirituality of the Earth Expanded Edition” (Franciscan Media, 2024, translated into Spanish and Korean).

During his two decades at Santa Clara University, he designed and led a global action research fellowship in social entrepreneurship, and designed leadership formation programs for ACWECA, a network of 30,000 East African Catholic Sisters, to transform subsistence farms into social enterprises. He designed and led the Franciscan Journey Institute, a program of Franciscan philosophy as a way of life, structured by Bonaventure’s Itinerarium Mentis in Deum. He is a long-time member of the Commission on the Franciscan Intellectual-Spiritual Tradition, and is currently researching the globalization of the Franciscan charism since Vatican II. He is an affiliated scholar with Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at USC.

Degrees

• PhD in Environmental Studies from the University of California/Santa Cruz
• MA in Spirituality from the Franciscan School of Theology