New president-rector named at Saint Meinrad School of Theology

Criterion staff report

Benedictine Father Denis Robinson has been appointed the new president-rector of Saint Meinrad School of Theology in St. Meinrad.

Benedictine Archabbot Justin DuVall announced the appointment on Jan. 31 following the recommendation of the school’s board of trustees. 

Father Denis will take office on June 1. He succeeds Benedictine Father Mark O’Keefe, who announced on Oct. 5, 2007, that he would resign at the end of the school year. Father Mark has been the president-rector since May 1996. Father Denis will become the 14th president-rector of the School of Theology. 

Since 2007, Father Denis, 45, has served as assistant professor of systematic theology and executive assistant to the president-rector at Saint Meinrad School of Theology. In 2007, he was named subprior (third in leadership) of the monastic community. 

“It’s a privilege and an honor to work in this way for Saint Meinrad and the School of Theology,” said Father Denis. “I want to continue to move forward, as we have under Father Mark’s leadership, and continue to be leaders in this work for the life of the Church.”

Charles Gardner, executive director of the archdiocesan secretariat for spiritual life and worship, who is a member of Saint Meinrad School of Theology’s board of trustees, said Father Denis brings plenty of gifts to his new position.

“I think [Father Denis] has a lot of creative ideas. He’s kind of a vision person, I think,” Gardner said. “He’s very intelligent and seems to be really excited and energized by the opportunity.”

Gardner said that Father Denis can help “different groups and ages in the Church understand the language that [each] is speaking.”

In particular, Gardner noted that Father Denis can bring together Catholics who have memories of the Second Vatican Council and those who do not.

“I think he’s got a lot of possibilities of bridging that gap,” said Gardner. “He thinks the Catholic tradition is broader and deeper than any of us realize. … I think he’s the kind of person who can provide that kind of vision.”

Saint Meinrad School of Theology is where most archdiocesan seminarians experience their priestly formation.

Father Randall Summers, associate pastor of St. Barnabas Parish in Indianapolis, graduated from Saint Meinrad School of Theology in May 2006 and took several classes taught by Father Denis.

“He’s such a dynamic speaker,” Father Summers said. “He will have many opportunities to be in front of people, both students and lay people and bishops. And I think his intellect and the dynamic way in which he presents himself will serve him well.”

Father Summers was particularly impressed by the conviction with which Father Denis taught his courses.

“When you listen to him in the classroom, you know that he truly believes and owns what he’s saying,” Father Summers said. “And that goes a long way in the way that you’re able to accept what he’s saying.”

Father Denis was born on Aug. 13, 1962, in Iuka, Miss. He attended the former Saint Meinrad College and Saint Meinrad School of Theology, earning a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 1989 and a Master of Divinity in 1993. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Memphis on June 13, 1993. From 1993-97, he was parochial vicar for the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Memphis, Tenn. 

He joined the monastery on Aug. 6, 1997, and professed solemn vows on Aug. 15, 2000.

From 1997 to 2001, Father Denis was director of continuing education and permanent deacon formation and adjunct instructor in systematic theology for the School of Theology.

He then attended the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium, where he received a master’s degree in theology in 2002, a licentiate in sacred theology in 2003, and doctorates in sacred theology and philosophy in 2007.

Father Denis is the author of numerous articles and has contributed to several theological texts. He is the editor of Sacerdos in Aeternum: Reflections on the Priesthood Today and co-editor of Theology and Religious Pluralism.

Saint Meinrad School of Theology has been preparing leaders for the Roman Catholic Church for more than 145 years, offering graduate-level courses for students seeking master’s degrees and continuing education. Students studying for the priesthood at Saint Meinrad pursue a Master of Divinity degree. 

Lay degree students can earn a Master of Arts (Catholic Thought and Life), a Master of Theological Studies or a Master of Arts degree in Catholic Philosophical Studies in a

two-year program. The School of Theology is operated by the Benedictine monks of Saint Meinrad Archabbey.

 The school has an enrollment of 177 students, 95 of whom are priesthood students from 26 U.S. and foreign dioceses and 11 religious communities.

(Reporter Sean Gallagher contributed to this story.) †