Dominican House of Studies, Washington, D.C.

Special Page: Dedication Events for the New Academic Center and Theological Library

A Century of Service to the Catholic Church

As the Pontifical Theological Faculty of the Immaculate Conception (PFIC) begins a new century of theological education in the heart of the nation's capital, we remain committed to imparting to our graduate students the capacity for serious scholarship in the Thomistic tradition. With a small student enrollment and a low student-to-faculty ratio, we foster personal formation conducive to preaching, teaching, and pastoral effectiveness. Our students value learning in a house of prayer and the Dominican charism which links study and spirituality.

The Dominican House of Studies is an apostolate of the Dominican Friars, Province of St. Joseph. Located in Washington DC, it houses the Priory of the Immaculate Conception and the Pontifical Theological Faculty of the Immaculate Conception.

Scenes from the March 16th Eucharistic Vigil in Honor of the Holy Year of St. Paul, celebrated by Dominican Students of the Pontifical Faculty (more images are here, more information here):

See pictures of previous PFIC events here.

Notice: The current PFIC Academic Catalog is available online here (in PDF format). It is a large file and might take some time to load.

Firm Foundations for a Second Century of Church Leaders

Academic Center & Theological Library (Apr 8th). Learn more about our Building Project and see more pictures here.

Support the Pontifical Faculty today!

Recent updates:

Pictures of the Dedication and Solemn Blessing of the New Academic Center (April 19th):

Learn more about this event here.

6/4: Fr. Dennis McManus, PFIC adjunct Professor, appeared on Vatican Radio.

5/25: Fr. Dennis McManus, PFIC adjunct Professor, appeared on EWTN. Fr. McManus spoke about Catholic-Jewish relations, Pope Benedict XVI and the recent issues regarding the Society of Saint Pius X.

5/22: Fr. Gabriel Pivarnik, O.P., a graduate of the PFIC, completed the STD degree at The Catholic University of America with a dissertation entitled: "Towards a Trinitarian Theology of Liturgical Participation in the Writings of Cipriano Vagaggini, O.S.B. and Edward Kilmartin, S.J." Fr. Pivarnik is currently assigned to Providence College where he teaches theology.

5/05: PFIC president Very Rev. Steven Boguslawski, OP, assistant professor Dr. Gregory LaNave and instructor Fr. Thomas Joseph White, OP were interviewed by Catholic News Service. Fr. White also spoke separately about the strengths of St. Thomas Aquinas' thought today.

4/30 Dr. Jem Sullivan, PFIC adjunct professor, is the coordinator of assessment in the Secretariat for Evangelization and Catechesis in the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. She spoke with Vatican Radio today about the church’s response to teen violence. Listen here.

03/06: Fr. Stephen Ryan, O.P., presented a Biblical meditation on Psalm 25 at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Theologians, Princeton Theological Seminary, February 27-28.

2/24: Br. Peter Martyr Yungwirth, OP, one of our PFIC students, has an article on the Catholic Exchange website (here), discussing what a blessing the family rosary is in our Catholic tradition.

02/16: Fr. Stephen Ryan, O.P. presented a paper at the 2009 annual meeting of the Old Testament Colloquium entitled "The Place of the Septuagint in the Church". The colloquium was held at St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, MN on February 8th (the date of the International Septuagint Day).

02/13: Fr. Giles Dimock, O.P. has published an article in Sacred Architecture 14 (2008): "The Living Heart of our Churches, The Placement of the Tabernacle."

02/09: Br. Bruno Shah, O.P. has published an article in New Blackfriars 90 (2009) 38-49: "The Sin of Ian McEwan's Fictive Atonement: Reading his Later Novels."

1/16: The Catholic Biblical Association will hold its regional meeting at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception on January 29, 2009 from 2:45-7:00.

Thomistic Circles (details)

June 16th: Fr. J. Augustine DiNoia appointed Archbishop and Secretary for the Congregation of Divine Worship

The Holy See has announced that our brother, Very Rev. Augustine DiNoia, OP, has been appointed to be the Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Father DiNoia had served the Holy See as Undersecretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a position he held when the current Holy Father was its Prefect.

Father DiNoia was a member of the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception for 25 years and served as President of the Faculty from 1985-1986. Father DiNoia earned his doctorate in theology from Yale University. In 1998, the Order of Preachers bestowed on him the title of Master of Sacred Theology, a sign from his brother Dominicans of the great esteem in which they hold his theological acumen.

It is customary for the Secretary of the Congregation to be ordained an Archbishop. Father DiNoia will be ordained the titular archbishop of Oregon City on Saturday, July 11, 2009 at 2:00pm at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC.

For a collection of a number of talks given by Fr. DiNoia, please click here.

May 22nd: Commencement

On May 22, 2009, the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception held its commencement ceremonies, presided over by the Very Rev. Fr. Dominic Izzo, O.P., Prior Provincial, and the Very Rev. Steven C. Boguslawski, O.P., President. Of the twenty-five graduates, one received a M. A. in Theology, six a M. Div., ten a S.T.B., and eight a S.T.L. Thirteen of the graduates were Dominican Brothers. The degrees were bestowed after recitation of Solemn Vespers, and an address to the graduates by Dr. Allen Hunt, host of the Allen Hunt Show.

Building updates...

June 19th:

Here is a photo of the removal of the Boiler from the Boiler Room, initiating Phase III of our revonvations to the Priory.

May 20th: Here are pictures of Phase II - Renovations to the Priory for faculty offices.

For all photos, click here.

Slideshows of the building progress:

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