Theology Department

A message from Theology Department Chair Fr. Brian Taber, S.J.

Fides quaerens intellectum - "faith seeking understanding. This motto of Saint Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109), bishop and Doctor of the Church, expresses the goal of theology. All first-year students receive instruction in the basic doctrine and tenets of the Catholic faith. Once this foundation has been laid, sophomores are invited to study the history of salvation revealed in Scripture and culminating in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Juniors build upon their knowledge of Scripture and Tradition through a year-long morality course that exposes them to the history of ideas in tandem with lessons on how the Church responds to social issues. Seniors analyze how the other world religions approach the great questions of meaning and choose among elective options that apply the Catholic approach to science, the arts, social teaching, and the great religious charisms that animate the Church.

Pope Francis

"Clearly, theology is impossible without faith; it is part of the very process of faith, which seeks an ever deeper understanding of God's self-disclosure culminating in Christ."

Resources

Meet the Theology Department

List of 14 members.

Fr. Brian Taber , S.J.

Theology Department Chair

Bio
The Baccalaureate Mass is the moment where Fr. Brian Taber S.J. feels the deepest connection to the mission of Saint Ignatius College Prep. “At the Baccalaureate Mass I am able to see how much our students have grown since they started,” he shares. “It’s a moment where the faculty and parents can gather to communally give thanks to God and send our grads to commence the next chapter of their lives.”

Students have a long journey from when they begin as Freshman to the Baccalaureate Mass. For a group of student-athletes each year, it is Fr. Taber, Freshman Football Coach, who is the first Jesuit educator they meet. “Coaching Freshmen is a distinct opportunity to introduce our students to the expectations and principles of Jesuit education,” he says, “and to begin to foster the relationships that’ll last years.”

Students will work with Fr. Taber again during their upper-level Theology classes. Fr. Taber teaches Catholic Ethics to Juniors and a Senior elective titled Exploring Faith and Science. “The Jesuits have a rich tradition of scientific inquiry and made an immense impact on scientific understanding,” he explains. “The first person to posit the idea of the big bang was Georges Lemaître, a Jesuit-educated Belgian Priest.” The thesis that guides Fr. Taber’s class is that faith and science are not just compatible with one another, but indeed complementary.
Ms. Katie Davis-Crowder

Theology Teacher
Ms. Rebecca Frett 94

Theology Teacher

Bio
“The only thing my father insisted that all his kids do is attend Saint Ignatius College Prep,” says Ms. Rebecca Frett ‘94. Indeed, Saint Ignatius is a thread that runs through the family history of Ms. Frett: her father graduated in 1950 and her two siblings attended Saint Ignatius alongside her. Ms. Frett returned to her alma mater as a Theology teacher in 2007 and currently teaches Catholic Ethics and World Religions in the department.

“I want my theology classes to remain with students for their whole lives,” she says. Her educational philosophy stresses that students must engage personally with the material to fully benefit from the lifelong privilege of receiving a Jesuit education.

“My goal is not just that my students understand the material. I want them to apply it. I want Catholic ethics and the diverse perspectives of World Religions to inform who they become when they leave Roosevelt Road.” Words like humility, virtue and faith appear frequently in Ms. Frett’s classroom.

Ms. Frett has seen numerous changes throughout her years as a student, teacher and administrator at Saint Ignatius. But one thing has alway remained the same - the teachers. “We have some truly outstanding educators here,” she shares. “To tell the truth, I would put our faculty up against any other school in the country - that is how proud I am of my colleagues.”
Ms. Kaitlin Hasenbeck-Meyer

Theology Teacher
Mrs. Rhian Jeong

Theology Teacher
Mrs. M. Hollis Kennedy

Theology Teacher
Mr. Steven Lord

Theology Teacher

Bio
We all have our ideas about a perfect day.

Steve Lord’s would include soccer and hanging out with his German shepherd, Scout. But it wouldn’t be complete without classroom time. Lord teaches Catholic Ethics and The Catholic Imagination.

“I felt called to be there for the kids and give them a sense of how much God loves them,” says Lord.

That calling has roots in his own childhood. Lord’s father was a minister. He says theology conversations were central to his relationship with his dad.

Later on, theology helped him make sense of what he calls “some of the big questions in life that were unavoidable.”

Lord is a Marine who served during the Gulf War. Battlefield experiences caused him to lean into what he knew could help.

“Theology allowed me to think through it in a rich, intellectual way,” says Lord. He even explored the relationship between trauma and how ministry can be helpful, in his Master’s thesis.

The wide range of experience has informed Lord’s work at Saint Ignatius College Prep, where he converted to Catholicism, a decision influenced, he says, by the Jesuits, Pope John Paul II and the richness of Catholic tradition.

When he’s teaching, Lord says, “I try to share generously with my students without overdoing it…It gives them permission to ask questions…In my field of theology, every single year, I learn new things from the questions they ask. They help me to learn, ‘How do I need to hear this?’”

From teacher to learner and back again, Lord hopes the theological conversations contribute to his students’ growth as well.

“I guess I’d want them to know we all struggle. We’re all imperfect, but we’re all good by God’s grace.”
Mrs. Kristen Maxwell

Theology Teacher
Ms. Christine Mayeaux

Theology Teacher
Mr. Michael McKeon Jr.

Theology Teacher

Bio
Pilgrimage is a word that comes up frequently when speaking with Mr. Michael McKeon. He’s been a pilgrim on guided expeditions to Paris, Rome and the Holy Land, and it is the framework of the guided pilgrimage that Mr. McKeon hopes to recreate in his classes at Saint Ignatius.

“A guide on a pilgrimage can show you the sites, but it is up to you to find personal meaning in them,” he shares. “I see myself as the guide on a pilgrimage. I can lead the way and show my students where to find meaning. But it is ultimately their learning and their spiritual journey we’re here to find.” His classes, as a result, are taught differently each year.

In his Catholic Imagination class, an elective for Seniors, Mr. McKeon helps his students understand how goodness, beauty, art and catholicism are all intertwined. They look frequently at religious art and cathedrals across the world. “Every church tells us a story, including the one right next door,” he explains. “I want to help my students be able to decipher the story and beauty in a building and find what that means.”

Mr. McKeon has a long fascination with theology and the Catholic faith that bloomed when he studied in Loyola University’s Pastoral Studies program. “Theology is a field with many right answers, but no final answers,” he shares. “That is why I love teaching it so much. The more we study God, the more questions we have about God.”
Ms. Renee Reyes 14

Theology Teacher

Bio
Her faith has always been important to her.

That’s why, when it came time to pick a high school, Renee Reyes ‘14 was certain that attending a reputable Catholic one was the right choice for her.

“When I toured Saint Ignatius College Prep, everyone was so welcoming. It was such a beautiful place to be, and the classes were interesting. The teachers cared so much and they still do, which is really cool to see,” says Reyes.

That care is what made her want to go into education. Reyes says one of her theology teachers, Mr. Steven Lord, drove her passion for theology.

“I can almost remember everything that was said in his class because he made it so interesting,” says Reyes.

She hopes her students think her classes are just as compelling.

“I try to make it as exciting as possible because I want them to remember it,” says Reyes, “I don’t want them to take a test on it, and then forget it.”

To hit that high bar, she shows her students how God is present in their lives.

She explains, “We study the lives of the people in the Bible. If God is present in their lives, He’s so present in our lives. If God answers their prayers, He’s going to answer our prayers, too.”

Outside of the classroom, you can find Reyes with a front-row seat at her students’ events.

She says, “I want to know what they’re passionate about, not just what they got on a test. I go to everything for them, and it’s fun to see them in their element.”

Her message to students: You’re important. You’ve been given certain gifts, graces and abilities that make you special. God has something special for you.
Deacon Chuck Thompson

Theology Teacher
Fr. Jean-Audrey Touloulou SJ
Mr. Tom Weiler

Theology Teacher

Saint Ignatius College Prep

Saint Ignatius College Prep, a Jesuit Catholic school in the heart of Chicago, is a diverse community dedicated to educating young men and women for lives of faith, love, service and leadership.