In a time when the center of U.S. Catholicism is shifting to the Southeast, Candler offers cutting-edge formation in one of the most diverse and rapidly expanding Catholic contexts in the country.
Exploring the Catholic tradition alongside students and faculty from other Christian denominations uniquely equips Catholic lay ecclesial ministers and scholars for service and research in the ecumenical reality of the 21st century. Whether your vocation lies in parish, school, or hospital ministry or you are seeking world-class preparation for doctoral study, Candler’s Catholic Studies faculty is committed to close mentorship of Catholic students from a range of backgrounds and interests to help you tailor your work inside and outside of the classroom to your vocational goals in service to the church, the academy, and the world.
Catholic resources abound in and around Candler. Immerse yourself in the archives of Flannery O’Connor, housed at Emory’s Rose Library. Explore the largest collection of John August Swanson’s artwork in the world, which adorns the walls of Candler. Delve into the Thomas Merton Collection or the Father Thomas Keating Collection, both at Pitts Theology Library. Pursue contextual education opportunities at neighboring Jesuit parish St. Thomas More, Atlanta’s new Cristo Rey High School, or Our Lady of Lourdes, the Mother Church of African American Roman Catholics in Atlanta.
Take a weekend retreat at Ignatius House or Holy Spirit Monastery. Join in prayer with over 30,000 Catholics for the Archdiocese of Atlanta’s annual Eucharistic Congress. And learn from some the finest Catholic scholars and practitioners in the world as guest lecturers and visiting professors, including M. Shawn Copeland, E.J. Dionne, Nichole Flores, Roberto Goizueta, Diana Hayes, Sr. Elizabeth Johnson, Cardinal Kurt Koch, Timothy Matovina, Sr. Jamie Phelps, Andrew Prevot, and many more.
For more information on the Catholic Studies program, email Dr. Tony Alonso, Director of Catholic Studies, at antonio.alonso@emory.edu.
Candler students enrolled in the Master of Divinity (MDiv), Master of Arts in Religion and Leadership (MARL), Master of Religion and Public Life (MRPL), or Master of Theological Studies (MTS) degree programs may select a Certificate in Catholic Studies.
The Catholic Studies certificate focuses student coursework in a way that will prepare them for lay ecclesial ministry and/or further study in Catholic contexts.
Dr. Tony Alonso, Aquinas Associate Professor of Theology and Culture; Director of Catholic Studies
Dr. Susan Reynolds, Assistant Professor of Catholic Studies
Dr. Anthony A. Briggman, Dr. Andrew J. and Georgia L. Ekonomou Distinguished Associate Professor of Patristic Theology
Dr. Steffen Lösel, Professor in the Practice of Systematic Theology
Dr. Marie Friedmann Marquardt, Scholar-in-Residence
Candler’s affiliation with the Aquinas Center of Theology further enhances the Catholic presence at Emory and provides rich resources for the formation of Catholic leaders and scholars. Partnering with the university to provide a range of programmatic and academic offerings that engage the Catholic community in the Atlanta area, the vision of the Aquinas Center is to transform lives through the search for God’s wisdom.
In recent years, the Aquinas Center has invited some of the most significant Catholic voices in the world to campus for public lectures, including John L. Allen, Jr., Sr. Simone Campbell, Sr. Joan Chittister, Ambassador Miguel Diaz, Fr. Bryan Hehir, Cardinal Walter Kasper, Sr. Helen Prejean, Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, O.P., and many more. Catholic Studies and the Aquinas Center collaborate closely on a wide range of projects and initiatives that enrich Catholic life on campus.
Aquinas Associate Professor of Theology and Culture; Director of Catholic Studies
Dr. Antonio Eduardo Alonso works at the intersection of theology and culture, with a particular focus on worship and ritual practices. In 2019 he was awarded the Catherine Mowry LaCugna Award from the Catholic Theological Society of America for his essay “Listening for the Cry: Certeau Beyond Strategies and Tactics” (Modern Theology, 2017). Alonso’s first book, Commodified Communion: Eucharist, Consumer Culture, and the Practice of Everyday Life (Fordham University Press, 2021) was awarded the 2021 Hispanic Theological Initiative Book Prize. In addition to his scholarly work, Dr. Alonso is a Latin Grammy-nominated composer of sacred music.
Assistant Professor of Catholic Studies
Dr. Susan Reynolds is a Catholic theologian and ethnographer whose research examines the intersection of ecclesiology and lived practice. Her first book, People Get Ready: Ritual, Solidarity, and Lived Ecclesiology in Catholic Roxbury (Fordham University Press, 2023), won the 2024 Best Book Award by the College Theology Society. Her 2023 article, “‘I Will Surely Have You Deported:’ Undocumenting Clergy Sexual Abuse in an Immigrant Community” (Religion and American Culture) was awarded both the Catherine Mowry LaCugna Award for New Scholars by the Catholic Theological Society of America and the New Scholar Essay Prize for Catholic Studies in the Americas by Fordham University’s Curran Center for American Catholic Studies. Prior to theological studies, Reynolds lived and taught in Texas’s Rio Grande Valley, and she continues to work on issues of migration, community, and culture.
Atlanta is one of the most diverse and rapidly expanding Catholic contexts in the country. More than half of the Archdiocese of Atlanta’s 1.2 million Catholics are Black or Latino/a. Catholics in the Southeast practice their faith within a richly textured ecumenical landscape. The Catholic Studies program at Candler offers students robust pastoral, intellectual, and spiritual formation in the Catholic tradition in a way that is deeply responsive to the complex lived reality of the Church in the Southeast and throughout the country.
Yes. Candler has a long tradition of preparing students for ministry in the Church. Our Catholic Studies faculty are deeply involved in the ministerial life of the Church. They bring a wide range of expertise and experience in pastoral work, including liturgical music ministry, campus and parish ministry, Hispanic ministry, and Catholic education. MDiv students participate in Candler’s unique Contextual Education program, which offers them two years of hands-on formation in pastoral contexts relevant to their vocations. Recent Candler graduates now minister in Catholic parishes, schools, and other institutions across the country.
Yes. Candler is one of the finest theological schools in the country. Candler students are served by an unparalleled faculty as well as by Pitts Theology Library, one of the premier theological libraries in North America. Additionally, studying in a richly ecumenical context makes Catholic students especially compelling candidates for doctoral work. Recent placements of Catholic students in doctoral programs have included Boston College, Fordham University, and Emory University.
Because we are committed to making a world-class theological education affordable, Candler’s scholarship program is exceptionally generous. In 2023-24, we awarded $6.3 million in financial aid, with 92% of all students and 100% of Master of Divinity students receiving scholarship assistance. In fact, students tell us that the financial support they receive from Candler is one of the top five reasons they decided to enroll.
In light of the robust and increasing Catholic population in the region, there are several organizations, programs, and schools serving Catholics at Emory. Catholic Studies at Candler serves Catholic leaders and scholars seeking graduate theological degrees: MDiv, MARL, MRPL, MTS, ThM, or a dual degree in theology and public health, bioethics, law, development practice, or business.
Catholic Studies at Candler collaborates with all of these groups. Because the Aquinas Center is housed within Candler School of Theology, we collaborate especially closely to host speakers and create compelling Catholic programming of interest to a broad public audience at Candler and beyond.
Candler has a rich worship and spiritual life. In addition to school-wide worship services multiple times each week, Catholic students participate in regular retreats, liturgies, and other gatherings that nurture Catholic identity and create community among students, faculty, and staff. The Director of Catholic Studies, Tony Alonso, is an internationally renowned composer of liturgical music deeply committed to the liturgical life of the community in general and of Catholic students in particular. And Candler’s Office of Worship and Spiritual Formation offers rich opportunities for diverse spiritual practices, individual retreats, spiritual direction, and vocational discernment.
Beyond our distinguished faculty and diverse course offerings, there are countless opportunities to engage your faith and study beyond the classroom at Candler. The archives of Catholic novelist Flannery O’Connor are housed at Emory’s Rose Library. Candler’s walls are adorned with the largest collection of artwork by Catholic artist John August Swanson in the world. Pitts Theology Library is home to two special collections of particular relevance to Catholic scholars: the Thomas Merton Collection and the Father Thomas Keating Collection.
Diverse sites for prayer abound in the region: the University Catholic Center at Emory University; neighboring Jesuit parish St. Thomas More; Our Lady of Lourdes, the Mother Church of African American Roman Catholics in Atlanta; Ignatius House; Holy Spirit Monastery; and many others.
Candler regularly hosts world-renowned Catholic scholars and public intellectuals as lecturers and professors. In recent years, we will welcome M. Shawn Copeland, E.J. Dionne, Nichole Flores, Roberto Goizueta, Diana Hayes, Sr. Elizabeth Johnson, Cardinal Kurt Koch, Timothy Matovina, Sr. Jamie Phelps, Andrew Prevot, and many others.
Atlanta-area Catholic parishes, schools, and social service organizations are eager to welcome Candler students seeking to pursue Contextual Education in the region. Candler’s Contextual Education and Catholic Studies faculty will work closely with you to identify a site that will help you to develop your ministerial skills and expand your experience of the life of the Church. Nearby possibilities include neighboring Jesuit parish St. Thomas More or diocesan parish Immaculate Heart of Mary; Atlanta’s new Cristo Rey High School; Our Lady of Lourdes, the Mother Church of African American Roman Catholics in Atlanta; Ignatius House retreat center; Saint Joseph’s Hospital; Catholic Charities; and many more.
Hear what these recent alums say about Catholic Studies at Candler.
Sarah Kothe
MTS '18
LaRyssa Herrington
MDiv '20
Sarah Kothe
MTS '18
