Joseph Capizzi, dean of the School of Theology and Religious Studies at the Catholic University of America, has been appointed director of the McGrath Institute for Church Life. He will succeed John Cavadini, who has led the McGrath Institute for the past 25 years and will return to research and teaching in Notre Dame’s theology department.
The McGrath Institute connects the University’s prestigious theology department and Catholic academics with the pastoral life of the Church. It provides free online courses in theology for catechists, teachers, deacons and lay ministers. The institute also houses the ECHO program, which funds students to serve as lay leaders in parishes and Catholic schools as they earn a master’s in theology.
Capizzi has been a faculty member of CUA since 1997 and has served as dean of its School of Theology and Religious Studies since 2023. He had previously served as the executive director of the Institute for Human Ecology since its founding at CUA in 2016. He earned his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Notre Dame in 1996 and 1999.
According to the press release announcing his appointment, Capizzi will focus on “supporting existing programs while working with partners across campus to envision new initiatives that anticipate the evolving needs of the Global Church — particularly in light of shifting demographics and emerging challenges.”
“We were impressed with his energy, leadership experience, deep understanding of and commitment to the University’s Catholic mission, passion for the life and future of the Church and ambition to help us realize the possibilities of this great University,” University provost John McGreevy said in the press release.
McGreevy also praised Cavadini in the press release. “His cultivation of the institute’s signature programs, his capacity to attract external support from foundations and his passion for connecting the worlds of the University and the Church have elevated not only the McGrath Institute but Notre Dame,” he said.
A spokesperson for the University declined to comment on whether Cavadini had requested to conclude his time as director or whether University administration directed him to step down.
Cavadini wrote to The Observer that he is unable to comment at this time.
In an interview with The Observer, Capizzi said, “After 30 years away, I will be returning to Our Lady’s University and assuming a position that was held by one of my former professors, John Cavadini, so, of course, I am thrilled to be able to get back to Notre Dame and to take over from John, an institute that he was instrumental in growing into such an instrument that serves the University and the American Church.”
“McGrath has a well-earned reputation for helping the Church address pastoral challenges by drawing on a wide and talented pool of leading academics. I am grateful to John Cavadini for his role in shaping McGrath’s vision and guiding it for so many years. I cannot wait to be a part of its unique mission and dedicated community of scholars, friends and students,” he added in the press release.
Faculty from both CUA and Notre Dame were complimentary of both professors and characterized them as well-respected theologians with similar core commitments.
Chris Baglow, a theology professor and academic director of the science and religion initiative within the McGrath Institute, wrote in a statement to The Observer, “John Cavadini is the reason I came to the University of Notre Dame after an 18 year career in Catholic higher education at the age of 50, the greatest opportunity of my entire career. I am sad to see him move out of his position, but thrilled to see that he will have such a worthy, accomplished successor.”
Ann Astell, a theology professor, wrote in a statement, “John Cavadini has been a visionary director and an extraordinary administrator of the McGrath Institute for Church Life. Over the years, he has enabled the McGrath Institute to meet the needs of the Church in a timely way and to serve the University’s Catholic mission. He has inspired others and worked with them both to develop new initiatives and programs and to grow and develop existing ones. One senses a strong, united, team spirit at the McGrath.”
“Thanks to his leadership, the McGrath Institute has become more than a force for good; it has become a powerhouse for the Church. Bishop Robert Barron has rightly praised Cavadini as ‘one of the great churchmen’ of our time,” Astell wrote. She also highlighted that he has supported the Institute in bringing in “generous benefactors and competitive grants.”
“Joseph Capizzi is a proven administrator and a fine moral theologian who has written about some of the great issues of our time. I especially appreciate his work on the moral and ethical questions facing soldiers today,” Astell wrote, while noting that she does not know him personally. “The University has made a good choice in choosing Joseph Capizzi to succeed John [Cavadini] as director.”
Charles Camosy, a theology and bioethics professor at CUA, said in a written statement to The Observer, “This is a huge loss for CUA and a tremendous gain for Notre Dame and the Institute for Church Life. Joe is a product of Notre Dame in many ways, and he gets the local scene as well as anyone, but he has cut his teeth out east for decades and has numerous connections and ideas that he will bring to South Bend. This will make an already strong institute that even stronger. I love John Cavadini, and for those who want to see his basic trajectory continued the news of this hire is as good as it gets. Like John, Joe puts service to the fullness of the Church’s vision and teaching above political ideologies and secular academic orthodoxies.”
Khaled Anatolios, department chair of theology at Notre Dame, wrote in a statement, “John Cavadini’s visionary administrative leadership of the McGrath Institute for Church Life was matched by his moral and intellectual leadership in the theology department. Joseph Capizzi’s prodigious intellectual and administrative gifts, which have borne great fruit in his previous positions, will enable him to similarly combine his leadership at MICL with a consequential and invaluable contribution to the Department of Theology.”
