Sister Katarina Schuth, O.S.F., professor emerita at the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota, will be the commencement speaker and honorary degree recipient at the May 11, 2018 commencement of Saint Vincent Seminary. The vespers and commencement will be held at 5 p.m. in the Archabbey Basilica. Sister Katarina served as the holder of the University’s Endowed Chair for Social Scientific Study of Religion from 1991 to 2017. Her areas of teaching and research include pastoral theology, the sociology of religion and cross-cultural perspectives on religion and society.
Sister Katarina’s bachelor of arts degree is in history from the College of St. Teresa. In 1969, she earned a master of arts degree in cultural geography, and in 1973, a doctorate in cultural geography, both from Syracuse University. She earned the M.T.S. degree in moral theology from Weston Jesuit School of Theology in 1984, and the S.T.L. degree there in 1988.
Prior to her work at St. Thomas, she was director of planning and registrar at the Weston School of Theology as well as associate director and acting director of development. She served in a variety of roles at the College of St. Teresa, including as professor of social and behavioral sciences.
Sister Katarina has served on many boards of directors and trustees through the years. Her appointments include serving on the executive committee of the National Catholic Educational Association’s Seminary Department; the Association of Theological Schools, Pittsburgh, and several of its committees; and the advisory board for the Bernardin Center for Theology and Ministry at Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, 1997-present. She is a mission committee member of the Board of Catholic Extension, 2015-present and is a charter member, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin’s Catholic Common Ground Initiative, 1996-present.
Sister Katarina is a widely-known author and speaker. She most recently authored a chapter in the forthcoming Hartford Seminary Series, Religion in America: Catholicism, entitled “Who Pastors: The Priest, the Context and the Ministry.”
Her books include: Seminary Formation: Recent History—Current Circumstances—New Directions, Liturgical Press, 2016; The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests in the United States, 1950-2010, with Karen Terry and Margaret Smith of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, USCCB, 2011; Priestly Ministry in Multiple Parishes, Liturgical Press, 2006; Educating Leaders for Ministry: Issues and Responses, with Victor Klimoski and Kevin O’Neil, Liturgical Press, 2005 and Seminaries, Theologates, and the Future of Church Ministry: An Analysis of Trends and Transitions, Liturgical Press, 1999.
