Former Professor & Chair of Christian Studies University of Madras (Chennai, India)
Fr. Gnana's research project was titled "Jesuit Pandarasamis of the Old Madura Mission and Their Missionary Collaborators from the Tamil Region: The Making of a Catholic Tradition in South India." From 2011-15, he served as chief editor of the Indian Journal of Christian Studies (ISSN 2231-0835), and his more recent published books are Pothuveli Iraiyiyal (Public Theology [Tamil], 2022); Public Theology: Indian Concerns, Perspectives, and Issues (Fortress, 2020); and the edited volume, Indian Christianity and Its Public Role: Socio-Theological Explorations (New Delhi: Christian World Imprint, 2019).
Fr. Guy Lambert Demeni
Diocese of Nkongsamba (Nkongsamba, Cameroon)
Fr. Demeni's research project was an extension of his doctoral dissertation, titled "Eucharistic Counter-Politics in Response to the Privatization of the Church: Towards a Renewal of Political Theology with William T. Cavanaugh." He holds a BA in theology from the Catholic University of Lille (2018) and an MA in religious studies and societies from the University of Artois (2020). Returning to the Catholic University of Lille (Lille, France), he pursued a PhD in theology, defending his dissertation in May 2024. While working on these degrees, he also served as vicar at the Bonne Nouvelle (Good News) Parish in Hem, administrator at Ste. Marie des Brouck Parish in Bourbourg, and vicar at Notre-Dame-de-Réconciliation in Lille.
Academic Year 2023-24
Caroline Mbonu, HHCJ
Professor of New Testament & Gender Studies University of Port Harcourt (Port Harcourt, Nigeria)
Sr. Mbonu's research project was titled “Dialoguing with the Feminine Face of Scripture: Quest for an Ecclesial Integral Development in Nigeria,” and it sought to recall history and analyze culture, so as to use them to foreground women’s experiences in Church life, for a transformative result. A columnist for the Global Sisters Report (a branch of the National Catholic Reporter), she has also published several articles and books, including Under the Palaver Tree: Doing African Ecclesiology in the Spirit of Vatican II (co-edited with Stan Chu Ilo; Pickwick, 2023) and Handmaid: The Power of Names in Theology and Society (Wipf and Stock, 2010).
Gesila Uzukwu, DMMM
Faculty member, Department of Philosophy & Religious Studies Nasarawa State University (Keffi, Nigeria)
Sr. Uzukwu's research project was titled “African Catholic Spirituality, Mami-Wata, and Theodicy: Interrogating the Faith Crises of African Catholics on the Problem of Evil.” It considers the impact of traditional African spirituality—especially West Africa’s Mami-Wata tradition—on the Catholic faith in Africa. Sr. Uzukwu's publications include The Unity of Male and Female in Jesus Christ: An Exegetical Study of Galatians 3:28c in Light of Paul’s Theology of Promise (Bloomsbury T & T Clark, 2015).
Academic Year 2022-23
Spring/Summer 2023
Léonard Katchekpele
Assistant Pastor, Holy Trinity Parish (Frankenthal, Germany) Visiting Professor, Catholic University of West Africa (Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire)
Fr. Katchekpele's research project was titled "Masking and Un-Masking Original Violence: William Cavanaugh and the Possibilities of Ecclesiology after René Girard." His publications, in French, include
Director, Center for Studies & Training for Development (N'Djamena, Chad)
Fr. Ludovic Lado's research project was titled “Towards an Anthropology of African Catholicism," and it furthered his ongoing research on the relationship between social sciences and African Catholicism. His publications include several journal articles as well as Catholic Pentecostalism and the Paradoxes of Africanization (Brill, 2009), The Politics of Gender Reform in West Africa: Family, Religion, and the State (April 2023, Notre Dame University Press), and, in French, Le pluralisme religieux en Afrique (Yaoundé: Catholic University of Central Africa Press, 2013). He is currently working on Towards an Anthropology of African Catholicism (forthcoming with Brill).
Summer 2022
Petrus Lakonawa
PhD candidate, St. Vincent School of Theology (Manila, Philippines) Lecturer, Bina Nusantara University (Jakarta, Indonesia)
Research while at CWCIT Petrus Lakonawa's CWCIT research focuses on the metaphor of rechem (womb), the root metaphor of Mother (Shekinah, Lady Wisdom, Hokmah, Sophia), and the concept of rachamim (mercy and compassion) in talking about the relational with God. His exploration revolves around the issues of feminist symbols, analogies, and metaphors in theological discourses to promote more inclusive and emancipatory God-talks, positive regard for woman, body, and ecology as well as to inspire a more compassionate and egalitarian world.
Academic Year 2021-22
Spring 2022
Jodi Mikalachki
Associate Professor of English University of Burundi
(Bujumbura, Burundi)
Dr. Mikalachki's research project while at CWCIT is titled "Fragile, Handicapped, Young: Martyrdom and Peace in Burundi," and her publications include "Fraternity, Martyrdom and Peace in Burundi: The Forty Servants of God of Buta," Journal of Global Catholicism, 6.1 (2021), and "Narrating Violence in Burundian Genocide and Civil War Literature: Pacifique Irankunda's 'Playing at Violence,'" in Emerging East African Literatures and Cultures(Galda Verlag, 2020).
Dr. Thorsen's research project while at CWCIT is titled “Maya Religious Practices and Catholic Theology of Inculturation: An Ethnographic Analysis of Maya Catholicism in Guatemala and a Constructive Theological Proposal," and his recent publications in English and Danish include
Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul
(Porto Alegre, Brazil)
Dr. Hammes' research project while at CWCIT is titled “A Spirit Christology of Peace and Nonviolence in the Discipleship of Jesus," and his publications in Portuguese include
We were unable to host any research fellows due to COVID-19.
Academic Year 2019-20
2019-20 Research Fellows
Ruben Mendoza (Winter/Spring 2020) Professor of Theology, Ateneo de Manila University (Manila, Philippines)
Research project: "Navigating Religious Identity in the Currents of Mission: The Case of the Apostolic Vicariate of Jolo"
Jeane Peracullo (Fall 2019)
Chair and Associate Professor of Philosophy, De La Salle University (Manila, Philippines)
Research project: "The Virgin of the Vulnerable Lake: Religious Engagements with Climate Change in the Philippines"
Summer 2019
Junior Research Fellow
Sr. Teresa Wacera Kiragu PhD candidate, Catholic University of Eastern Africa (Nairobi, Kenya)
Dissertation topic: "Promoting Holistic Healthcare and a Culture of Life in the Catholic Hospitals in Africa: A Bioethical Analysis of the Healthcare Ministry of the Catholic Archdiocese of Nyeri, Kenya"
Academic Year 2018-19
2018-19 Research Fellows
Emilce Cuda (Winter/Spring 2019)
Research Professor of Theology, Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina Research Professor of Philosophy, University of Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
Research project: Titled "Populism in Today's Theology and Politics"
Rev. Patrick C. Chibuko (Fall 2018)
Chair and Professor of Sacred Liturgy, Catholic Insititue of West Africa (CIWA) (Port Harcourt, Nigeria)
Dissertation topic: "Faith and Environmental Adaptation in Kenya: The Case of Christian Impact Mission in Yatta Constituency"
Rev. Anthony Atansi
PhD candidate, Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium)
Dissertation topic: "Transforming Christology: Towards a Socially Transformative Christopraxis from the Grassroots Christological (Re)Imagination in the African Context"
Academic Year 2017-18
2017-18 Research Fellows
Nathanaël Yaovi Soede (Winter & Spring 2018)
Lecturer and researcher, Institut Catholique Missionnaire d'Abidjan (Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire)
Research project: Exploring a theology of wealth and security which we can promote In today's global context of violence and insecurity, in order to guarantee the peaceful coexistence of societies
Paul Kollman, CSC (Fall 2017)
Associate Professor of Theology; Leo & Arlene Hawk Executive Director of the Center for Social Concerns University of Notre Dame
Research project: Drawing connections between Africa's past role in the early Church and its present and future importance, and exploring what its growing role means for the Church on a global level
Academic Year 2016-17
2016-17 Research Fellows
Virginia Azcuy (Winter 2017)
Professor of Theology & Chair of Spiritual Theology, Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina (Buenos Aires)
Research project: Using fieldwork and qualitative research (i.e., personal interviews and real-life conversations) in the study of theology
Emmanuel S. de Guzman (Fall 2016)
Professor of Theology, St. Vincent School of Theology (Manila) Chair of Board of Trustees, Catholic Theological Society of the Philippines
Research project: Exploring the Church as "one" in Southeast Asia from an intercultural perspective
Rev. Simon C. Kim (Fall 2016)
Assistant Professor in Theology, University of Holy Cross (New Orleans)
Research project: An intercultural theological reflection on racism and the Catholic Church
Academic Year 2015-16
Rev. Simon C. Kim (Fall 2015)
Thomas E. Chambers Assistant Professor of Theology, University of Holy Cross (New Orleans)
Research project: Tracing the historical developments of Christological images as the source of evangelization of new cultures, with a focus on the global South
Rev. Laurenti Magesa (Spring 2016)
Professor of Moral & African Theology, Hekima Jesuit School of Theology and Tangaza University College (Nairobi)
Research project: Jesus as "healer" for the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa and the embodiment of the African worldview of ongoing healing and life's flourishing
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