Faculty and Staff
Timothy P. O'Malley, Ph.D., Director
Timothy O'Malley is the director of the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy, a position he has held since July 2012. Previously, Dr. O'Malley served as acting director of the NDCL from August 2010 to June 2012. Along with his wife, Kara, he was also acting co-director of formation for the Master of Divinity Program at the University of Notre Dame from August 2011 to March 2012. His academic specializations include liturgical and sacramental theology (ancient and modern), patristics, and spirituality. His dissertation, presently being revised for publication, is entitled "Practicing Worshipful Wisdom: An Augustinian Approach to Mystagogical Formation." In addition, he is writing two books, one on liturgy and the new evangelization for popular audiences; and an introduction to sacramental theology for undergraduates and pastoral ministers, tentatively entitled, The Sacramental Life. He has been published in America Magazine, Liturgical Ministry, Studia Liturgica, Assembly: A Journal in Liturgical Theology, and Liguorian Magazine. He is the founding editor of the Institute for Church Life's journal: Church Life: A Journal for the New Evangelization, as well as the NDCL's blog, Oblation: Catechesis, Liturgy, and the New Evangelization. Recently, he wrote and recorded a mystagogical video for high school students on the Eucharist, entitled The Eucharist as Sacrament of Love, a project supported through the Alliance for Catholic Education.
Dr. O'Malley is a popular speaker both on campus and at a national level on topics ranging from liturgy, vocation, evangelization, and catechetics. He is also a Concurrent Professor in the Department of Theology, where he teaches courses on theology and imagination, Christian doctrine, and liturgical-sacramental theology.
Carolyn Pirtle, M.M., M.S.M., Assistant Director
Carolyn Pirtle is the Assistant Director of the Center for Liturgy. She is well familiar with life and liturgy at the University of Notre Dame, having completed her Master of Sacred Music degree in 2008. After spending a year working in Campus Ministry at Notre Dame, Carolyn moved to Wexford, Ireland as the founding House Director of the Teach Bhríde (House of Brigid) community. She served the Church in Ireland for two years, primarily through music ministry and catechesis. Upon returning to America, Carolyn moved to Chicago, working as Director of Music and Elementary Music Instructor at St. John Berchmans Parish, until she returned to Notre Dame in September, 2012. As Assistant Director, Carolyn shares editing responsibilities for Oblation and Church Life, and oversees the planning and facilitation of liturgical music for events and liturgies sponsored by the Center.
In addition, Carolyn is a composer of liturgical and non-liturgical music: several of her works have been featured on recordings of the University of Notre Dame Folk Choir and published by World Library Publications. In 2011, she completed a commissioned cycle of three short musicals for the Notre Dame Vision program.
David W. Fagerberg, Ph.D., Senior Advisor
David Fagerberg has been senior advisor of the NDCL since August 2010. Before this, he served as director of the Center from 2004-2010. In addition to his work in the NDCL, David is associate professor in the Department of Theology. His work over the years has explored how the Church’s lex credendi (law of belief) is grounded on the Church’s lex orandi (law of prayer). In addition to this primary research interest, he continues to explore Eastern Orthodoxy, liturgical asceticism, linguistic and scholastic philosophy, and the writings of G.K. Chesterton.
He has published on liturgy, sacraments, and liturgical theology in various academic journals, and is the author of Theologia Prima (Hillenbrand Books, 2003), What is Liturgical Theology? (Liturgical Press, 1992), and forthcoming is a collection of his essays on liturgical theology from Hillenbrand Books. His monograph On Liturgical Asceticism is in the hands of a publisher for review.
Nathan D. Mitchell, Ph.D., Associate Director for Research and Publications
Nathan Mitchell is the longest tenured member of the NDCL, beginning in 1971. He is an emeritus professor in the Department of Theology. During his time in the Center, he has served as editor of Assembly and author of Liturgy Digest, volumes 1-4. In addition to these publications of the Center, his books include Cult and Controversy (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press / A Pueblo Book, 1982), Eucharist as a Sacrament of Initiation (Chicago; Liturgy Training Publications, 1994), Liturgy and the Social Sciences (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1999), and Real Presence: The Work of Eucharist (new and expanded edition; Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 2001). His most recent book is The Mystery of the Rosary: Marian Devotion and the Reinvention of Catholicism (New York: NYU Press, 2009). Since 1991, his column "The Amen Corner" has appeared in each issue of Worship magazine.
Barbara J. Luter, Program Coordinator
Barbara Luter has been with the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy since July 2000, starting as an administrative assistant and becoming program coordinator in June of 2004. She is a 1981 graduate of Western Michigan University, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science and Communication Arts and Sciences.
Barb is responsible for the administrative and event planning work of the Center, as well as assisting in the design and layout of publicity for programs of the Institute for Church Life.