Faculty in 2025/6
Our President: the Rev. Walter Covens, M. A. Theo.
Father Covens received his M. A., summa cum laude, in Theology from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland in 1982, with his thesis, “La Réforme catholique dans le diocèse de Genèvre sous l’épiscopat de Saint François de Sales: Une enquéte historique sur l’application des décrets disciplinaires du Concile de Trente,” under the direction of Father Guy Bedouelle, O. P.. He earned his B. A. in Applied Linguistics in 1973 from the Hoger Instituut voor Vertalers en Tolken (now part of the University of Antwerp), and studied Thomistic Philosophy with Robert Lahaye at the Institute Notre-Dame de la Sagesse (Poissy). He translated into French the Italian best-seller, “Le Ratzinger code”, by Andrea Cionci (2022).
Father Covens was ordained a Catholic priest on August 28, 1983, and has served as a Fidei Donum priest, as a parish Priest, university chaplain, spiritual director, and hospital chaplain, in the Diocese of Martinique, France. He has accepted his position as President of our institute with the permission of his ordinary, and looks forward to recruiting a top-notch faculty and study body to make The Scholasticum the priemier institute for the study of Scholastic Theology and Philosophy according to the methods of Saints Thomas Aquinas, O. P., and Bonaventure of Bagnoregio, O. Minors.
Dr. Pilar Herráiz Oliva, Ph. D. Philosophy
Dr. Pilar Herráiz Oliva earned her European Doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Murcia (Spain) in 2016, under the supervision of Prof. Alfonso García Marqués, with the thesis: “Averroes en la Revolución Intelectual del Siglo XIII. Bases para una Reinterpretación de la Modernidad”. As part of her Doctoral studies, she spent four months at the Università Pontificia Salesiana (Rome), under the supervision of Prof. Mauro Mantovani. She received her M.A. in philosophy, in 2008, from the University of Murcia, with the thesis: “Dos tratados averroístas sobre la eternidad del mundo: Siger de Brabante y Boecio de Dacia”, which includes a translation with a critical introduction and notes to these two treatises concerning the eternity of the world, dating from the 13th century. In 2007, Dr. Herráiz Oliva obtained her B. A. in Philosophy, from from the same institution, with a specialization in the History of Philosophy and Science.
Her most recent publications include “La filosofía en el marco de las Humanidades Digitales. El caso de la filosofía medieval en Hispanoamérica”, in California State University’s journal, Studia Iberica et Americana. Journal of Iberian and Latin American Literary and Cultural Studies and “Aristóteles en París: averroísmo y condenas a la nueva filosofía”, in De Natura. La naturaleza en la Edad Media, vol. II, pp. 511-518. Textos e estudos de Filosofia Medieval, 8, Húmus, Ribeirão, 2015. She has also presented several papers, from which the most recent one is “Is the Knowledge of God Attainable from Philosophy? Averroes’ Proposal” at the Pontifical University of Salamanca (Spain) during its annual meeting in 2015.
She is a member of the Sociedad Española de Estudios Medievales (SEEM) and a collaborative member of the research group Nóesis at the Univesity of Murcia (Spain), which has, as a main focus, the reception of Aristotle throughout history.
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Our Co-Founder: Br. Alexis Bugnolo
earned his B. A. in Cultural Anthopology, with an emphasis in Classical Studies from the University of Florida, Gainesville, in 1986. Graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He graduated from Our Lady of Grace Seminary, Boston, in 1988, cum laude. He published his English translation of the Opera Omnia S. Bonaventurae, from the Quaracchi edition of 1882, in 2014, with the English title, The Commentaries on the First Book of Sentences by Saint Bonaventure of Bagnoregio, pp. 996, The Franciscan Archive.
He is the translator of the critical edition of Saint Francis’s Opuscula, under the title, A Testament of Peace: the Writings of Saint Francis of Assisi, and of Saint Bonaventure, Journey of the Mind into God — both available from The Franciscan Archive — as well as having written other opuscula of his own in the Scientific Method for interpreting Sacred Scripture and a defense of the Historicity of the Narrative in the Book of Tobias. Both of which are in print from The Franciscan Archive.
He has written a Scholastic position paper on Saint Bonaventure’s Solution to the Debate on the Ratio Formalis of the Human Person, and A Résumé of Bernardus de Rubeis’ 13th Critical Dissertation On St. Thomas Aquinas, and has published a scholarly paper in De Medio Aevo, on the Beatific Vistion of Christ in Saint Bonaventure, handed down in his Commentaria in Quatuor Libros Sententiarum. All of which can be found at Academia.edu.
In 2019, Br. Bugnolo published is Quaestio Disputata on the Renunciation of Pope Benedict XVI, which remains an authoritative compilation of the arguments pro and contra regarding this Canonical Debate, along with a discursus on the State of the Question.
Br. Bugnolo is one of the co-founders of The Scholasticum, and currently resides at Rome, Italy. This in the Fall of 2020 he led the Studium on the The First Book of Sentences ad Mentem S. Bonaventurae.
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Faculty in 2016
This is for historical record only. That an Academic is listed here does not indicate or presuppose any current affiliation with the institute.
The members of the Faculty are listed here below, in order of their academic precedence:*
Dr. Enrico Moro
Dr. Enrico Moro earned his Doctorate in Philosophy from the Università degli Studi di Padova (2015) with the thesis: “Il concetto di materia nei commentari alla Genesi di Agostino”, under the direction of Dr. Giovanni Catapano. He obtained his M.A. in Philosophical Sciences (2011) from the same institution, with the thesis “Eternità e tempo: studio della dottrina agostiniana delle ragioni causali nel De Genesi ad litteram” and his a B.A. in Philosophy in 2008.
He is currently a Research Fellow at University of Padua (FISPPA – Dipartimento di Filosofia, Sociologia, Pedagogia e Psicologia Applicata) and, in collaboration with Prof. Giovanni Catapano, he is preparing a new Italian translation of Augustine’s exegetical Commentaries on Genesis and the edition of the volume 41 (2016) of Medioevo. Rivista di Storia della Filosofia medievale. As of Nov, 2015, he has been appointed “Cultore della materia” in Medieval Philosophy (s.s.d. M-FIL/08).
Author of some articles on Augustine’s thought, such as Miracolo, natura e rationes causales. Il libro III del De trinitate e i libri VI e IX del De Genesi ad litteram, “Medioevo” 37 (2012); Materia informe e/o chaos originario? A proposito di un paragone agostiniano, “Bollettino della Società Filosofica Italiana”, 215 (maggio-agosto 2015), he is currently working on a monograph entitled: Il concetto di materia in Agostino.
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Dr. Rosa Marulo
Dr. Rosa Marulo received her Ph.D. in Latin Paleography in 2013 from the University of Florence. Her dissertation, written under the supervision of Prof. Stefano Zamponi, was entitled, “La produzione dei libri nella Congregazione di Vallombrosa. Un’indagine sui manoscritti più antichi (XI-XII sec.)”. She received both her M.A and B.A. in Latin Paleography from the University of Pisa where she focused on Pisan and Luccan late medieval documents under the supervision of Prof. Antonino Mastruzzo. In 2014, she was the curator of a documentary exhibition held at the State Archive of Lucca about the letters addressed to the lord Paolo Guinigi.
She has worked for several international projects. In 2012 she described the medieval manuscripts of the University of Pennsylvania for the American project “Digital scriptorium”. In 2013 she worked as a Research Assistant at the Friedrich-Alexander Universität in Erlangen-Nürnberg where she made inquiries about the writing centre where the 12th century giant Bible known as Gumbertusbibel came from.
She is currently Research Assistant at Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa. She works on the «Corpus dei Serventesi Caudati» project conducting a census and describing the manuscripts that include this specific form of Italian poetry.
She is a member of Manoscritti Datati d’Italia (MDI), Association Paléographique internationale culture écriture société (Apices) and Società dei Filologi della Letteratura Italiana (SFLI) associations.
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Dr. Christopher Cleveland
Dr. Christopher Cleveland is an expert on the influence of medieval theology upon Reformed protestant theology. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Aberdeen in 2011, where he studied under Dr. John Webster. His dissertation topic was Thomism in John Owen, the first scholarly analysis of the influence of the thought of the Angelic Doctor on this post-Reformational thinker. This was published in book format, by Ashgate (now Routledge) in 2013.
Dr. Cleveland earned his M.A.R. at Westminster Theological Seminary and his B.A. at Boyce College. Dr. Cleveland has taught at the University of Aberdeen and in seminaries in the United States. His research interests currently center upon the Biblical and exegetical foundations of Thomistic thought.
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Dr. Gianluca Pilara
Dr. Gianluca Pilara is a professor of Patrology at l’Istituto Patristico Augustinianum di Roma and an instructor in Church History at the Pontificia Università S. Tommaso d’Aquino. He earned his Doctorate in Patristic Sciences at the Augustinianum in 2009, with the thesis, “La Chiesa tra Ostrogoti e Bizantini: amministrazione e gestione del potere nell’alto-medioevo cristiano”, under the direction of Dr. Angelo Di Berardino. He obtained his Licentiate in Theology and Patristic Sciences, at the same, in 2004, with a thesis entitle, “I rapporti tra Chiesa e potere civile nel tardo regno gotico”, under the direction of Dr. Bruno Luiselli. He obtained his laurea in Letters from L’Università degli studi “La Sapienza”, Rome, in 1990-2000, with a thesis entitled, “Il Pontificato di Damaso I (366-384)”, in the Department of Studi e le Culture del Medioevo.
In the field of the history of Biblical exegesis, he has edited various volumes of the collection, “La Bibbia commentata dai Padri”, published by Città Nuova Editrice, among which are Marco (2003), Sapienza, Cantico dei Cantici, Proverbi (2007), Ebrei (2008), Atti degli Apostoli (2009), Salmi 1-50 (2012).
In addition to numerous articles on the culture of Late Antiquity, he is the author of the book, La città di Roma fra Chiesa e Impero durante il conflitto gotico-bizantino, Roma 2006, and together with Dr. Massimiliano Ghilardi, of the monographs, Il tempo di Natale nella Roma di Gregorio Magno, Roma 2010; La città di Roma nel pontificato di Damaso (366-384); Vicende storiche e aspetti archeologici, Roma 2010; I Barbari che presero Roma; Il sacco del 410 e le sue conseguenze, Roma 2010; La città di Roma nel disegno di riordinamento politico e amministrativo di Giustiniano, Roma 2012.
In 2010, he co-authored, together with Dr. Angelo Di Berardino, the Atlante del cristianesimo antico, Bologna, EDB, subsequently republished in 2013, in an English edition, entitled the Historical Atlas of Ancient Christianity, ST. Davids, Pennsylvania. His most recent publication is the book, Iordanes. Origine e storia dei Goti, Roma 2015.
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Dr. Francisco Romero Carrasquillo
Dr. Francisco Romero was born and raised in Puerto Rico. He holds a Ph.D. in Medieval Philosophy from Marquette University and an M.A. in Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville. He is currently a faculty member at Universidad Panamericana, where he has served as Dean of Humanities and is currently Associate Research Professor of Philosophy. He has also taught philosophy, Latin, and religious studies at institutions such as Marquette University, St. Francis de Sales Seminary, Portland State University, and Oregon State University.
As a scholar, he specializes in the philosophy of religion, philosophical ethics, and in Thomas Aquinas’ Arabic philosophical sources. His academic research has appeared in numerous scholarly journals and international publications including The Thomist, American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly, Latin Mass Magazine, and The New Catholic Encyclopedia. He is the author of the Ite ad Thomam blog, and the founder and president of Ite ad Thomam Books and Media.
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Dr. Edmund J. Mazza
Dr. Edmund J. Mazza earned his Doctorate in Medieval History from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (2004) with the thesis: “Preaching to the Unconverted: The Theology of Sin and Repentance and the Origins of Dominican Mission,” under the direction of Dr. Howard L. Adelson and Dr. Frederick J. Purnell. He also achieved a Certificate in Medieval Studies. Dr. Mazza is Full Professor of History at Azusa Pacific University in Southern California, where he teaches Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance and Reformation History.
Dr. Mazza has organized several conferences on medieval history including Conversing Conversion, honoring the 1,000th Anniversary of the martyrdoms of SS. Boris & Gleb, the 750th Anniversary of the birth of Dante, and the 500th Anniversary of the birth of St. Philip Neri, held at the Catholic Center at New York University, New York City, July 25-26, 2015; Christ Among the Medieval Mendicants, commemorating the 750th Anniversary of the Feast of Corpus Christi and the Barcelona Confrontation, held at the CUNY Graduate Center, New York, NY, August 23, 2013; and Mary, Sign of Faith, An International Symposium, held at Centro Russica Ecumenica, in Rome, October 4-5th 2012.
Dr. Mazza is the author of the forthcoming books: Coexistence & Conversion: Reason and Evangelization from Lactantius to Llull, 300-1300, available from Angelico Press and A History of the Premodern World, by Cognella Press. Dr. Mazza’s articles have appeared in the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars Quarterly and the online journal Catholic World Report. His DVDs and CDs on Church History are available from St. Joseph Communications.
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Dr. Stephanie Delmas
Dr. Sophie Delmas earned her Doctorate in History at l’Université Lumière Lyon 2 , in 2006, with the thesis, “Eustache d’Arras (o.f.m.) dans les débats universitaires de la seconde moitié du XIIIe siècle”, under the direction of Dr. Nicole Bériou, which she prepared for with a Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies en histoire et archéologie médiévales, entitled an « Introduction à l’étude d’Eustache d’Arras (o.f.m.) ». She obtained her Masters in Medieval History, at the University of Paris IV, with a thesis on « Etude de quelques sermons d’Eustache d’Arras », under Drs. Paulette L’Hermite-Leclercq and Nicole Bériou. In 1996-7 she earned a Licence d’histoire (Université de Toulouse II Le Mirail) and a Licence de lettres modernes (Université Paris IV).
She is currently an instructor and member of the Centre national de la recherche scientifique. She specializes in the study of the medieval mendicant orders, in particular, the Friars Minor. Her ground breaking book, Un franciscain à Paris. Le maître en théologie Eustache d’Arras (o.f.m.) au milieu du XIIIe siècle, was published by éditions du Cerf, in their collection « Histoire », Paris, 2010.
She is a member of the editor’s committee for the Etudes franciscaines, where her research and published articles regard the political, religious and intellectual history of the 12th-15th Centuries. Her recent publications include: « Les recueils de distinctions sont-ils des florilèges? », On Good Authority. Tradition, Compilation and the Construction of Authority in Literature from Antiquity to the Renaissance, R. Ceulemans & P. De Leemans edd., Turnhout, Brepols, 2015, p. 227-243; « Du modèle fraternel à la perfection mendiante. Les commentaires médiévaux sur les Actes 2, 44-47, VIe-XIVe siècle », in Actes 2, 44-47. La communauté des biens, a work published under the direction of Matthieu Arnold, Gilbert Dahan, Annie Noblesse-Rocher, Paris, Cerf, 2015, p. 99-122, « L’enseignement de la Bible chez les franciscains » in François et ses frères lecteurs de la Bible au XIIIe siècle, Suppléments Cahiers Evangiles, n°169, 2014. She is currently preparing a edition of the Sermons and Quodlibetals of ‘Eustache d’Arras as well as a book on Alexander of Hales.
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Dr. Matteo Scozia
Dr. Matteo Scozia, one of the founders of The Scholasticum, is currently a Teaching Assistant in the Dept. of Philosophy at the University of Calabria, Italy. He holds a M.A. in the Philosophy of Language (Università della Calabria, 2013), and a B. A. in History & Philosophy (Università della Calabria, 2011). He is currently in the Doctoral program in Medieval Philosophy at the Pontifical University of St. Anthony, Rome.
He is an Honorary Fellow in the History of Medieval Philosophy and Late-Ancient & Early-Medieval Philosophy at the University of Calabria, Italy.
He has recently presented a paper on, “Several Medieval Considerations about Aristotle’s Distinction Between Composite Sense and Divided Sense” at FIDEM’s Annual Meeting Varieties of Readings of Medieval Sources”, held at the University Babes-Bolyai, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, in Sept. 2015; and another, entitled, “Sacramental Confession and Social Network: A Non-Classic Relationship between Man and God” at the 18th Biennial Meeting of the International Society for the Study of Human Ideas on Ultimate Reality and Meaning, held at University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in May, 2015. He was a visiting student at the Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies (Toronto) from March to August 2015. (matteo.scozia@this_domain).
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Dr. Wm. Christopher Hoag
Dr. Hoag received his Doctor of Ministry degree from St. Mary Seminary in 2013 where his doctoral dissertation examined the implementation of Summorum Pontificum in the Cleveland Diocese. Dr. Hoag holds additional graduate degrees in Theology from John Carroll University and Church History from the Catholic University of America. His areas of theological interest include catechesis, liturgy, and ecclesiology.
He was certified as a lay ecclesial minister for the Diocese of Cleveland in 2009. Dr. Hoag holds membership in the National Catholic Education Association, the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership, the Society for Catholic Liturgy, and the American Catholic Historical Association. He is also a member of the Knights of Columbus, the Confraternity of St. Peter, and the Marian Catechist Apostolate.
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Professor Alvaro Berrocal Sarnelli
Prof. Berrocal Sarnelli is a Doctoral Researcher in the University of Murcia under the supervision of Prof. Alfonso García Marqués and José Antonio García Lorente. His dissertation will comprise an edition and translation of St. Thomas Aquinas’ Commentary on Aristotle’s Metaphysics with specific regard to the conceptualization of potency and act. The main interest of his research is the Medieval reception of the ancient thought. He received both his M.A. and B.A. in Philosophy in the University of Murcia. His M.A. dissertation was entitled, “Libero Arbitrio y Determinación en Severino Boecio”.
He is member of the Faculty of the Catholic University of Murcia and an Associate Member of the Reseach Group “Noesis” at the Univesity of Murcia, which focuses it attention on the reception of Aristotle throughout history. He is also a Member of the Research Group “Studia Humanitatis” at the Catholic Univesity of Murcia, which is devoted to the study of the historical and philosophical developement of the concept of Humanitas.
He presented on a paper on “Freedom and Severinus Boethius” during the X Jornadas de Dialogo Filosófico at the University of Salamanca, 2015, during its annual meeting in September.
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Prof. Brett W. Smith
Prof. Brett Smith is a Doctoral Candidate in Historical Theology and a Teaching Fellow at the Catholic University of America. His research has focused on Medieval Theology and Philosophy, as well as the thought of St. Augustine. He is writing his dissertation on Robert Grosseteste (c.1168-1253), an early master at Oxford who also influenced St. Bonaventure in Paris. He received his M.Div. with a concentration in Biblical Languages in 2011 and his B.A. in 2008 with a major in Philosophy.
His recent publications include “Augustine’s Natural Law Theory in De Libero Arbitrio,” published in the Irish Theological Quarterly and “Complex Authorial Intention in Augustine’s Hermeneutics,” published in Augustinian Studies, the journal of the Augustinian Institute at Villanova University.
He presented the paper “Luther and Aquinas on Merit” at Martin Luther and Catholic Theology: An International Conference, held in Maynooth, Ireland. He also made a presentation on “Hugh of St. Victor’s Natural Law Reading of Genesis” at the Graduate Conference on Medieval Studies held at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.
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* That is, according to the chronological order of the date of the foundation of the University from which the principle degree has been obtained, and then according to the precedence of the Degree. The University of Padua being the oldest, founded in 1222 A.D., it takes precedence.
