Among the many new faces on campus this fall semester is Bruce Morrill, S.J., who will join the University community for this academic year as the University’s new Donald I. MacLean, S.J., Chair.

Fr. Morrill comes to Saint Joseph’s from Boston College, where he has taught since 1996, after completing his Ph.D. at Emory University. Among his areas of research are systematic theology, with specialties in the sacraments and liturgical theology, and political theology, which he describes as the way Christian faith is practiced in contemporary society. He has published numerous articles and six books in his areas of research.

As a member of the theology and religious studies department’s faculty, he will teach the 300-level course “Sacramental Rites in Contemporary Catholicism.”

“It’s a seminar where we’ll explore the place and function of sacraments, symbols and rituals in the lives of Christians,” Fr. Morrill says.

As part of the class, Fr. Morrill will assign his students a field-based project for their term papers, pairing them with churches, both Catholic and non-Catholic, where they will be participant observers in the churches’ liturgies.

“I want the students to be able to describe and analyze some of the rites themselves, especially the Eucharist,” he says.

In addition to his teaching duties, Fr. Morrill will also deliver the MacLean Chair lecture, on November 10. The lecture is titled “Public Catholicism or Private Faith: What’s on the Line in the Communion Procession?”

In the lecture, he plans to discuss changes in how contemporary Americans view and participate in receiving Holy Communion. Among the issues he will address are the differences in perception between lay and hierarchy over who should appropriately receive the sacrament. He will touch on the question of participation of politicians whose political views vary from those of the Church, and also address the concerns of Christians whose spouses are not of the same religion.

During his time in Philadelphia, Fr. Morrill hopes to take advantage of the city’s libraries as he writes a new book on the Eucharist. He also plans to visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Barnes Foundation, as well as indulge his taste for classical music at some of the city’s many music venues.

The Donald I. MacLean, S.J., Chair is held by members of the Society of Jesus who are accomplished teachers and scholars in the arts and sciences. Established to emphasize that the University's Jesuit identity is inseparable from the finest teaching, scholarship and collegiate discourse, the Chair is named in honor of the University's 24th president.