Patrick Manning, Ph.D.

Professor/Author/Speaker

Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology

Director of Center for Catholic Studies

at Seton Hall University

Hello, and thank you for visiting my website! I created this virtual space to connect with others and share resources in the hopes of helping people to live more graciously and abundantly.

The first thing to know about me is that I am a teacher at heart. I began my teaching career as a high school religion teacher through the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE), a service-through-teaching program run out of the University of Notre Dame.  I loved teaching high school but felt I was being called to utilize my gifts in teaching and research to serve the cause of Catholic education in a different way. After completing doctoral studies, I took up a post at Seton Hall University where I currently serve on the faculty of Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology and direct the Center for Catholic Studies. I have the great privilege of training future priests and lay pastoral leaders at the seminary, offering courses on pastoral Ministry, evangelization, catechesis, and Christianity and happiness, among others. I also enjoying exploring big questions and great books with undergraduate students in Seton Hall’s Core courses.

My current research and praxis focus on religious education, contemplative pedagogy, contemplative spirituality, and the interfacing of faith and culture. I work at the intersection of numerous fields, integrating the insights of modern psychology and neuroscience with the timeless wisdom of the Christian tradition. Most simply put, my work focuses on making sense of human beings and how we can live life more abundantly together. Click on the tiles below to learn more about my work.