ST. PATRICKS SEMINARY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Professor of Philosophy and Dogmatics
Bio
Dr. Walker has taught theology and philosophy at The Catholic University of America's School of Theology and Religious Studies, The Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at The Catholic University of America, and the Pontificio and Istituto Giovanni Paolo II per Studi su Matrimonio e Famiglia.
In addition to his own publications, Dr. Walker translated and edited numerous philosophical and theological texts into English, German, Spanish, and Italian. He is an editor of Communio: International Catholic Review.
He is fluent in English, Italian, German, Spanish, and French.
Job Titles:
- Adjunct Professor of Philosophy
Bio
Originally from Arkansas, Dr. Caitlin Jolly received her B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Following a desire to better understand the grounds of both scientific knowledge and Catholic moral teaching, she went on to receive both her M.T.S. and Ph.D. in theology from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, DC. Her doctoral research on Catholic philosopher Maurice Blondel considered his understanding of truth as the fruitful union of knowing and being. Now, as an adjunct professor of philosophy at St. Patrick's, it is her great privilege to ponder the philosophical tradition with seminarians, working with them to better understand and meet the needs of the Church in our time. Dr. Jolly is blessed to share life with her husband, John, and their three young sons.
Job Titles:
- Academic Dean
- Academic Dean / Associate Professor of Philosophy
Bio
Dr. Brendan Palla did undergrate work in philosophy and history at Gonzaga University. He complete a Ph.D. in philosophy at Fordham University, where he wrote on Thomas Aquinas' theory of action in conversation with contemporary accounts of the philosophy of mind. He previously taught philosophy at the University of Providence, where he had a hand in developing its Lumen de Lumine core curriculum, as well as developing integrated learning courses connecting philosophy with other academic disciplines.
Dr. Palla is currently working on Rage against the Machine, a textbook-length student-led role-playing scenario that explores the philosophical and social issues surrounding the industrialization of Manchester, UK, in the early 1800s. This scenario examines debates about the nature of a market economy, as well as social reactions to industrialization such as the rise of trade unionism, Luddism, the growth of the middle class, and religious responses to the human costs of industrialization.
Job Titles:
- Board Member of the Catholic Medical Association
- Director of Counseling Services / Director of Admissions / Associate Director of Human Formation
Bio
Dr. Cynthia Hunt, a board member of the Catholic Medical Association, is a graduate of Loyola Stritch School of Medicine. Her professional experience has included Board Certification and practice in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics and Psychiatry, which includes a year of fellowship training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She maintains Active Staff privileges at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, where she recently completed a three year term as Chief of Psychiatry. Dr. Hunt has been privileged to work within the CMA for many years and is a frequent speaker for CMA and other organizations in national and local venues. She is Chair of the National CMA Opioid Task Force, meets with US Department of Health and Human Services on a regular basis, and has attended an international meeting on addictions at the Vatican. She received an award in 2019 in Washington DC for "Lifetime Achievement in Catholic Healthcare" for her work with the opioid crisis.
She also serves the Catholic Church in the Exorcism and Deliverance ministry as psychiatric consultant to priests, exorcists and Bishops. She is the Director of the Holy Alliance Support Ministry, Advisory Board Member for the Pope Leo XIII Institute and Board Member of the Foundation of Prayer for Priests. An accomplished pianist and Lay Carmelite, she has been blessed with her husband of over 30 years and their three children.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor / Director of the Student Learning Center / Director of Institutional Effectiveness
- Director of Institutional Effectiveness / Director of the Student Learning Center
Bio
Kristen Kearns has a B.A. from the University of Chicago, an M.A. from Yale University, and a Ph.D. in Theology from the University of Chicago with a dissertation on the use of analogy in the work of Hans Urs von Balthasar, particularly in his understanding of divine love. She also holds an M.A. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from the University of San Francisco, where her thesis work focused on the challenges in identifying ESL students with dyslexia, autism, and AD/HD and effective pedagogical strategies for supporting them. She has taught undergraduate Religious Studies, Philosophy, and Humanities courses at Phoenix College, Arizona State University, and the University of Chicago. Previously, she worked as the Director of the Learning Center at Phoenix College, coordinating tutoring and academic support programs. She served as the director of youth and family ministry at Transfiguration Episcopal Church in San Mateo. She is an active member of CA-TESOL and IWCA (International Writing Center Association).
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Church History and Dogmatics / Master of Arts Program Coordinator
Bio
Matthew Dal Santo is a Church historian. Educated at the Universities of Cambridge and Sydney, he is a former Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and former Danish Research Council Fellow at the University of Copenhagen. He has held visiting fellowships at the Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., and the Catholic University of America. He has also served as a foreign policy officer with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs. Originally trained as a medievalist and patrologist, he has shifted his focus to the problem of secularization in recent years. He is currently working on a theological reading of the Russian Revolution.
Job Titles:
- Bishop of Spokane / Most Reverend Clarence ( Larry ) Silva, D.D. Bishop of Honolulu
Job Titles:
- Library Technical Assistant
Job Titles:
- Administrative Staff Member
- Associate Director, Student Learning Center / Website Manager
Job Titles:
- Administrative Staff Member
- Director of Philanthropy
Job Titles:
- Library Technical Assistant
Job Titles:
- Administrative Staff Member
- Office Manager
Job Titles:
- Director of Human Resources
Job Titles:
- Administrative Staff Member
- Advancement Associate
Job Titles:
- Administrative Assistant
- Administrative Staff Member
- Registrar
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Advancement
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Pastoral Studies / Spiritual Director
Bio
Rev. Kevin Joyce, a priest of the Diocese of San Jose, California, was born in 1949 and raised in Alameda, California. He attended the high school and college seminaries of the Archdiocese of San Francisco until 1968-1969 when he participated in a Junior Year Abroad program in Mexico City where he studied psychology and Spanish. He returned to the seminary for two more years and then withdrew in 1972.
In the Fall of 1972 Fr. Kevin pursued studies in Far Eastern Spirituality for six months at Maharishi International University in La Antilla, Spain and completed a teacher-training program in the Transcendental Meditation technique.
In the Fall of 1973 he began full-time studies in music at San Jose State University School of music, specializing in Choral Direction while teaching Transcendental Meditation, part-time. At the same time, he served as Director of Music and Liturgy at Sacred Heart Church in San Jose, CA.
In January of 1977 Fr. Kevin returned to St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park, CA after a long retreat during which he rediscovered his priestly vocation. He completed a Master of Divinity degree and an M.A. degree in Theology and was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of San Francisco on April 12, 1980.
Fr. Kevin's first assignment as a priest was St. Catherine Parish in Morgan Hill, CA where he served as pastoral leader of the Hispanic community and Parochial Vicar of the English-speaking community. He remained in Morgan Hill when the Diocese of San Jose was created in 1981.
From 1985 to 1988 he served on the faculty of St. Joseph College Seminary in Los Altos, CA, serving as Director of Music, Spiritual Director, and Teacher of Carmelite Spirituality.
The Bishop of San Jose sent Fr. Kevin to the Catholic University of America for doctoral studies in the Fall of 1988. He completed his Ph.D. studies in Religion and Religious Education with a specialization in spirituality in 1991 and defended his dissertation in 1992. His dissertation was a critical analysis of the stages of the spiritual journey as presented in the Vedanta tradition compared to the stages described by St. Teresa of Avila.
From 1991 until 2014, Fr. Kevin served at St. Maria Goretti Parish in San Jose, CA, for 11 years as pastor. During that time he oversaw the development of a diocesan Institute for Leadership in Ministry and served as an instructor for the newly-formed institute (ILM).
During a six-month sabbatical in 2000, Fr. Kevin reworked his Ph.D. dissertation into a book titled: The Saint and the Sage: The Spiritual Journey According to St. Teresa of Avila and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. At the same time, he prepared a proposal to establish a spirituality center for the Diocese of San Jose.
In 2004, Fr. Kevin inaugurated the new spirituality center called "SpiritSite" and served as its Executive Director for five years during which time he focused on presenting parish missions and retreats throughout the Diocese of San Jose and beyond in English and Spanish.
In 2009, he was appointed pastor of St. Lucy Parish in Campbell, CA, and proceeded to reorganize the parish with a focus on evangelization. He retired from his pastorate in 2015 (due to heart issues) and began to serve as chaplain of Presentation Retreat Center in Los Gatos and as an adjunct faculty member and spiritual director at St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park.
In the fall of 2017, Fr. Kevin began to serve as parish priest at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in San Jose and as adjunct spiritual director at Saint Patrick's seminary. He now is a full-time spiritual director and associate professor at St. Patrick Seminary. On Sundays, he serves at Saint John Vianney Parish in San José.
Job Titles:
- Dean of Men / Director of Human Formation
Fr. Vito Perrone has served within the Catholic Church in full-time ministry for over 30 years. After spending more than ten years in different ministry roles as a lay person, he entered seminary formation. Fr. Vito was ordained a deacon in 2000 and a priest in 2001 for the Archdiocese of San Francisco. After another 10 years of ordained parish ministry, in 2012, Fr. Vito and a small group of men and women were invited to become a Public Clerical Association of the Faithful within the Archdiocese of San Francisco after forming a new religious community called the Contemplatives of Saint Joseph (COSJ). The goal of the COSJ is simple: pray and work!
Since that time, Fr. Vito has served in various active apostolates within the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Besides having worked in years past as Director of Spiritual Life and involved in the Summer Spirituality Programs at St. Patrick's Seminary, he has also offered the Divine Liturgy at Our Lady of Fatima Parish. In addition, he has assisted at Mater Dolorosa Parish, taught in schools and religious education programs, and has offered expansive retreat ministry at parishes and retreat centers. In addition, he has provided spiritual direction for various men's and women's religious communities and diocesan priests. Fr. Vito also serves as a confessor for the Missionaries of Charity. His experience includes the ministry of deliverance for those suffering from oppression. In addition, Fr. Vito has taken part in Project Rachel workshops and other pro-life work. He has also served as a member of the Priest Personnel Board and has provided spiritual direction for various leaders of pastoral ministry programs.