Meet Our Team
Patrick Manning, Ph.D.
Center Director
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Patrick R. Manning, Ph.D., is Director of the Center for Catholic Studies at Seton Hall University and Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology. He holds advanced degrees from the University of Notre Dame (M.Ed., M.T.S.) and Boston College (Ph.D. in Theology and Education). With a background in parish catechesis and Catholic schools, Prof. Manning specializes in the area of practical theology with a particular interest in religious education, catechesis, and contemplative pedagogy. His work frequently integrates research in theology, spirituality, education, psychology, sociology, and neuroscience. He is the author of numerous scholarly and popular articles in addition to two books, Converting the Imagination: Teaching to Recover Jesus' Vision for Fullness of Life (2020) and Be Still and Know: Contemplative Practices for Christian Schools and Educators (2025).
Samuel McDonald
Programs Manager
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Samuel McDonald is the Programs Manager for the Center for Catholic Studies at Seton Hall University. He brings extensive experience in education, nonprofit leadership and parish ministry. A liturgical music leader for more than twenty years, he has served in parish communities across New Jersey, including the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark and St. Rose of Lima in East Hanover, and he also served as a general music teacher at Our Lady of Sorrows in South Orange, NJ. His work in arts and education is shaped by his research on race, gender and classical music in America from Reconstruction through the Civil Rights era, as well as his contributions to collaborative writing and national studies focused on equity, access and expanding pathways to higher education. His teaching experience includes serving on the adjunct faculty of Montclair State University, serving as adjunct faculty at Bucknell University and developing a course in Black American music history at Essex County College. Samuel attended Montclair State University and Miami University of Ohio.
Gloria Garafulich-Grabois, DHS
Director, G.K. Chesterton Institute for Faith & Culture
Managing Editor, The Chesterton Review and The Lonergan Review
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Gloria Garafulich-Grabois was appointed Director of the G. K. Chesterton Institute for Faith & Culture in 2017, and since 2004, she has been the Managing Editor of The Chesterton Review and The Lonergan Review, a publication of the Bernard J. Lonergan Institute. A native of Santiago, Chile, and a citizen of the United States, she comes from a distinguished family who have their roots in Croatia. She joined our Chesterton project eighteen years ago. Among her many achievements, she is responsible for the recent launching of conferences around the world and the foreign language editions of the Review. She works closely with the Center for Catholic Studies to continue to promote the Catholic Intellectual Tradition of Seton Hall University.
Jonathan Heaps, Ph.D.
Director, Bernard J. Lonergan Institute
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Jonathan Heaps, Ph.D., is Director of the Bernard J. Lonergan Institute and Editor of The Lonergan Review, the Lonergan Institute's peer-reviewed journal. He teaches in both the University Core Department and the University Honors Program. Jonathan also organizes the philosophy area of the International Institute for Method in Theology at Marquette University.
Wally Kennedy
Director, Micah Institute
Wally Kennedy is the Director of Business and Economics at the Micah Center.
He is the liaison with the Ignatian Business Conference, a group dedicated to bringing leaders together for discussion about faith, work and values. The Center for Catholic Studies has joined with the IBC to conduct a leadership conference at Seton Hall, and each month publishes articles about ethical issues encountered in the workplace. Previously, the Center has taught a leadership program for undergraduate and graduate students in the Stillman School of Business. Wally holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Georgetown University and an MBA from Columbia University.
Msgr. Richard Liddy, Ph.D.
Founding Director
Rev. Msgr. Richard M. Liddy is a retired professor emeritus at Seton Hall University.
Originally from West Orange, New Jersey, he attended Our Lady of the Valley School in Orange, New Jersey, and then Seton Hall prep and Seton Hall University. In 1958 he entered Immaculate Conception Seminary in Darlington, New Jersey and in 1960 he was sent to Rome to study. He was ordained to the priesthood in Rome on December 18, 1963. He received his doctorate in philosophy from the Gregorian University, having worked on the philosophy of art. Msgr. Liddy served the Church and the university in numerous capacities, including spiritual director at the North American College in Rome, rector of Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall, professor of Catholic Thought and Culture in the Religious Studies Department, Chaplain to the men’s basketball team, and University Chancellor. Following the model of Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, Monsignor founded the Center for Catholic Studies at Seton Hall in 1997 and helped develop the Catholic Studies program, the Lonergan Institute and Review, as well as the current University Core structure. He also facilitated the creation of several faculty programs with the Center for Vocation and Servant Leadership, including the University Seminars on Mission and Praxis Program.
His books include Transforming Light: Intellectual Conversion in the Early Lonergan and Startling Strangeness: Reading Lonergan’s Insight, and a book of poetry, In God’s Gentle Arms. He is presently working on a book on St. John Henry Newman tentatively called Newman: Method and Conversion. Msgr. Liddy retired in 2020, but still remains present and active on campus.