A Theology of Migration

A Theology of Migration

The issues of migration and refugees are complex and often controversial in our modern world. In his new book, A Theology of Migration, Fr. Dan Groody, C.S.C. uses the liturgy of the Eucharist to explore a new perspective and deeper understanding of the journey of migrants and refugees, and how the Christian faith intersects with our understanding of justice. In this session we will draw on our understanding of kinship to dive deeper into the topic of migration, and how we might reconsider our preconceived notions of this complex and challenging topic.

Meet Fr. Dan Groody, C.S.C.

Father Dan Groody, associate professor of theology and global affairs, is the Vice President and Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education.

His major responsibilities include advancing undergraduate teaching, research, and outreach as well as overseeing Academic Services for Student-Athletes, the Center for University Advising, the Flatley Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement, the Moreau First Year Experience course, and the work of the Core Curriculum Committee. He also provides leadership for the student accommodations process and chairs the Advisory Committee on the Academic Code and Policy (ACACP), the University Committee on the Honor Code (UCHC), and the Valedictorian and Salutatorian Selection Committee.

In addition to his role in the provost’s office, Father Groody serves as a Fellow and Trustee of the University and is the adviser for discernment and discovery for Notre Dame’s Inspired Leadership Initiative. 

An internationally recognized expert on migration and refugee issues whose papers and books have been translated into seven languages, he is the author of Globalization, Spirituality, and Justice: Navigating the Path to Peace and Border of Death, Valley of Life: An Immigrant Journey of Heart and Spirit. He has edited or co-edited four books on poverty, justice, and migration.

Father Groody’s expertise in and passion for refugee and migration issues has also been applied as executive producer of several acclaimed films and documentaries, including One Border, One Body: Immigration and the Eucharist and Dying to Live: A Migrant’s Journey.

Father Groody has worked with the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the World Council of Churches, the Vatican, and the United Nations on issues of theology, globalization, migration, and refugees. In 2007-08 he was a visiting research fellow at Oxford University’s Refugee Studies Centre. 

A member of the Notre Dame faculty since 2000, Father Groody is a faculty fellow of the University’s Kellogg Institute, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, Institute for Educational Initiatives, Klau Center for Civil and Human Rights, Nanovic Institute for European Studies, and Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion.

Father Groody earned his bachelor’s degree from Notre Dame, a master of divinity degree and a licentiate in sacred theology from the Jesuit School of Theology, and his doctorate in theology from the Graduate Theological Union.

A Theology of Migration

A Theology of Migration is a systematic theology of migration that seeks to reframe the operative political, social and cultural narratives through a Eucharistic narrative. The heart of it revolves around the outer journey of migrants, the inner journey of faith, and the divine journey into our world. Drawing on accounts of migrants and refugees around the globe, the book explores the relationship between faith and justice, theology and migration, and Christian spirituality and the challenges of the modern world. From a theological perspective, it is about the God who first migrated to our world in the Incarnation and the God who calls people to migrate back to our spiritual homeland as citizens of the Kingdom. It explores the body of Christ as encountered inside of a church building in the sacrament of the Eucharist and the body of Christ as encountered outside of it in the least and the last of our world today (Mt. 25:31–46). In the context of the global migration and refugee crisis, it examines ways the divine and human intermingle on our earthly pilgrimage and transform us into the image and likeness of God to become bread for the world through the works of mercy.

A Theology of Migration

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Thursday, April 6, 2023 12:30 pm

The issues of migration and refugees are complex and often controversial in our modern world. In his new book, A Theology of Migration, Fr. Dan Groody, C.S.C. uses the liturgy of the Eucharist to explore a new perspective and deeper understanding of the journey of migrants and refugees, and how the Christian faith intersects with our understanding of justice. In this session we will draw on our understanding of kinship to dive deeper into the topic of migration, and how we might reconsider our preconceived notions of this complex and challenging topic.

This discussion was recorded on April 6, 2023.

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