Our people

Rev Dr Stephen Chase Pepper, C.S.C. is a Roman Catholic priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross. Originally from Huntsville, Alabama, in the United States, “Chase” earned his Bachelor of Arts in political science and Catholic studies from Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey (2007), his Master of Divinity from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana (2014), and most recently his Doctor of Philosophy, in theology, from the University of Cambridge and St. John’s College as a Gates Cambridge scholar (2023).

Chase’s research treats broadly on the interdisciplinary intersections of Christian systematic theology and Dante studies, with more concentrated focus on the subjects of participation, beatitude, and intercessory prayer in Dante’s poetry. He has spoken on Dante in a variety of settings, from academic conferences and university lecture halls to parishes and prison reading groups, and he is motivated by questions about how Dante can serve as an imaginative and theological resource for building bridges across human divisions.

Inspired perhaps by his childhood fascination with astronomy and Dante’s own journey among the stars, Chase’s greatest dream is to become the first Catholic priest to say Mass in space.

The Rev Dr Luigi Gioia is the Theologian in Residence at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in New York City and a Visiting Scholar at the Von Hügel Institute at the University of Cambridge (UK).

A scholar of systematic theology, he focuses particularly on the Trinity, ecclesiology, and the relationship between theology and spirituality. Working at the crossroads of academy and church, he speaks and writes for both academic and general audiences, seeking to make rigorous theological reflection accessible and pastorally grounded. He is the author of The Theological Epistemology of Augustine’s De Trinitate (OUP, 2016, with a foreword by Rowan Williams), Say It to God: In Search of Prayer, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent Book 2018 (Bloomsbury, 2017), and Saint Benedict's Wisdom: Monastic Spirituality and the Life of the Church (Liturgical Press, 2020). His award-winning books have been translated into six languages.

Academic Profile

Publications 

• Luigi Gioia, The Theological Epistemology of Augustine’s De Trinitate, 2016, OUP: Oxford. Paperback edition with a foreword by Rowan Williams.
• Luigi Gioia, “The Threat of Death As a Test for Theological Authenticity”, 2017, in The Practice of the Presence of God: Theology As a Way of Life, Ed. Martin Laird and Sheelah Treflé Hidden, Routledge: New York, 120-9.
• Luigi Gioia, St Benedict’s Wisdom. Monastic Spirituality and the Life of the Church, 2020, Liturgical Press: Collegeville (MN, USA), and Canterbury Press (UK)
• Luigi Gioia, “St Benedict’s Rule as the Antidote to Regulatory Inflation”, 2021, Reviews in Religion & Theology, 28:1, 4-9.
• Luigi Gioia, “Prayer in the Secular City”, 2024, Concilium 4, 41-50

Awards and recognitions 

• The book Say It To God. In Search of Prayer (Bloomsbury, 2017) was chosen as the Archbishop of Canterbury Lent Book 2018.
• The book St Benedict’s Wisdom. Monastic Spirituality and the Life of the Church (Liturgical Press, 2020) received the First Place in the category of Spirituality Award by the CMA (Catholic Media Association) in 2021.

My research is on the history and theology of Christian monasticism, mainly how monastic theology is a unique theological methodology. I also research the history of monasticism and spirituality in the Anglican tradition. I actively contribute to academic, professional, and ecclesial communities.

Rev Dr Peters is Professor of Medieval and Spiritual Theology in the Torrey Honors College at Biola University, USA. He is also the Servants of Christ Research Professor of Monastic Studies and Ascetical Theology at Nashotah House Theological Seminary, USA. He is the author of "Reforming the Monastery: Protestant Theologies of the Religious Life," "The Monkhood of All Believers: The Monastic Foundation of Christian Spirituality," and "Peter of Damascus: Byzantine Monk and Spiritual Theologian," among other works. He serves on the Executive Committee of the Society of Anglican Theologians, the Executive Board of the American Benedictine Academy and is a board member of Anglican House Publishers. Professor Peters’ interest in Christian monasticism led him to pursue a Dottorato in Studi Monastici from the Pontificio Ateneo di Sant’Anselmo in Rome, the first non-monastic to earn the degree.

Though an expert on Christian monasticism, Professor Peters has also been involved in researching and writing on Anglicanism, including Edward Pusey’s support of the re-establishment of monasticism in the nineteenth-century Church of England and Anglican spirituality. To that end he has published "Anglican Spirituality: An Introduction" and several articles on Anglican monasticism. His interest in Anglicanism grew out of his appointment as Vicar of the Anglican Church of the Epiphany, La Mirada, USA.

Professor Peters is a Consulting Editor for the Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care, is on the Editorial Board of Magistra: A Journal of Women’s Spirituality in History and is a regular reviewer for the American Benedictine Review. In addition to his appointment at St Edmund’s College, he is a Visiting Scholar at Wycliffe Hall, University of Oxford.

Academic Profile

Publications

• Greg Peters, Anglican Spirituality, 2024, Cascade Books
• Greg Peters, The Monkhood of All Believers: The Monastic Foundation of Christian Spirituality, 2018, Baker Academic
• Greg Peters, Peter of Damascus: Byzantine Monk and Spiritual Theologian, 2011, Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies
• Greg Peters, “The ‘Reanimation Principle’ of Edward Bouverie Pusey: The Re-Establishment of Monasticism in the Church of England,” 2025, Anglican and Episcopal History

My research interests focus on the science-faith interface of natural hazards and disasters and theodicies. I also have research interest in the field of trauma studies, theologies of trauma and pastoral care of trauma.

The Rev. Dr. Abbott has an passionate academic and practical interest in the causation natural hazard related disasters, in the human responses to them, recovery from them and mitigation of them from the perspective of the science-faith intersection. From 2012-2021 he has carried out projects in Haiti following the devastating 2010 earthquake, exploring how survivors’ religious beliefs influenced their response to and recovery from that catastrophic event. From 2015 to 2019 he worked on projects in New Orleans, the Philippines, and in Somerset, exploring the influence of faith beliefs on survivors’ relationships with God, with their communities, and with the natural environment. Since 2020 to date he has been conducting a project around the impacts of fear, anger, trust and hope on Christians during the pandemic. He is also currently researching faith a resilience in a joint project between The Faraday Institute and the National Preparedness Commission. Following over thirty years of church pastoral ministry, Roger gained his Ph.D. in a practical theology of disaster response, from the University of Wales, Trinity & St. David. He has taught Master’s modules on the pastoral response to trauma, has run a consultancy on pastoral care of trauma, and has been an active responder to traumatic incidents in the UK since 1989. He is a member of the British and Irish Association for Practical Theologians, The Society for the Study of Theology, and The Society for the Study of Christian Ethics.

Publications

• Abbott Roger et al What Good is God? Crises, faith, and resilience. 2020 Oxford: Monarch
• Abbott, Roger Philip et al Narratives of Faith from the Haitian Earthquake. 2019 Abingdon: Routledge
• Abbott, Roger Philip “‘I Will Show You My Faith by My Works’ 2019 Religions 10, 213
• Abbott, Roger Philip. Sit On Our Hands, or Stand On Our Feet? 2013 . Eugene: Or.: Wipf & Stock
• Abbott, Roger Philip. 2012. “Trauma, Compassion, and Community.” Practical Theology. 5.1: 31-46

University of Notre Dame President Rev John I Jenkins, C.S.C. is an Honorary Fellow of St Edmund’s College.

He was elected in recognition of his significant contributions to higher education, as well as for his role in developing the partnership between St Edmund’s and Notre Dame.

Fr Jenkins, a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross, was elected the 17th president of the University of Notre Dame in 2005. As president of Notre Dame, Fr Jenkins has contributed significantly to wider debates in higher education and society, especially in civil discourse. His achievements are characterised by a strong commitment to building common ground against increasingly widespread polarisation.

Dr Alexandra Urban studied German philology and Latin at LMU Munich (First State Examination, 2016) and went on to complete a Master’s degree in German Language and Literature with a specialization in medieval studies (2017). From 2016 to 2020, she was a research associate in the DFG research group 1986 “Nature in Political Conceptions of Order: Antiquity – Middle Ages – Early Modern Period”, where she completed her PhD, awarded summa cum laude, in July 2020. The book was published in 2021 by De Gruyter under the title Poetik der Meisterschaft in ›Der meide kranz‹: Heinrich von Mügeln auf den Schultern des Alanus ab Insulis (series Deutsche Literatur. Studien und Quellen). Since 2020, she has been a research associate at the Chair of Professor Kellner (LMU Munich).

Dr Sean Butler is an Emeritus Fellow at St Edmund's College. His main field of research is animal rights law.

Dr Sean Butler studied Law at Oxford (St Edmund Hall) and the LSE, London, as well as Genetics at Cambridge (CPGS) before taking his PhD in social science at Imperial College, London. He supervises Roman Law and lectures Animal Rights Law in the Law Faculty, and is Co-Director of the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law.

Academic Profile

Dr Suzanne Paul is the Keeper of Rare Books and Early Manuscripts at Cambridge University Library. She is a Tutor, Fellow Librarian and Fellow Archivist.

Suzanne obtained an MA in Classics and Medieval History from the University of Edinburgh, followed by an MA and PhD in Medieval Studies from the University of Leeds. A medieval manuscript scholar by training, she is particularly interested in the application of digital and scientific approaches to the study and curation of manuscripts.

She has collaborated on several large-scale manuscript digitisation and conservation projects, including the Polonsky Foundation Greek Manuscripts project. She currently a co-investigator on the Hidden in Plain Sight project, applying methods such as X-ray fluorescence, multispectral imaging and DNA analysis to the study of premodern books.

• Director of Studies: Law 

Matthew is a Fellow of St Edmund’s College and Director of Studies of Undergraduate Law.  He is a member of the Centre for Public Law, Cambridge.  He teaches constitutional law, and the law of trusts and equity, across a number of Cambridge colleges.  His research is in the field of constitutional law and constitutional theory.  His works on topics ranging from contemporary populism, constitutional change, referendums, and constitutional history, have been published in leading UK and Australian journals.

Matthew completed his PhD in law at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, supported by a WM Tapp Scholarship, on the topic of ‘Policy Referendums in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia’.  In addition to his doctorate, Matthew holds a Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor from the University of Melbourne.  In 2015 he matriculated at St Edmund’s College, Cambridge, completing a Master of Laws.

Before Cambridge, Matthew was admitted to legal practice, and worked as an Associate at the Australian firm Allens-Linklaters, practising as a litigator.  He advised clients on a wide range of government investigations, business disputes, class actions, and cross-border disputes.  In a pro bono capacity, he instructed in constitutional proceedings concerning democratic rights, and advised peak human rights bodies on issues concerning offshore refugee detention and the drafting of anti-discrimination legislation.  Taking time out of practice, Matthew spent a year working as the Senior Judicial Assistant to a Judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria (Australia).  Before coming to the law, Matthew trained as an economist and worked, in 2012, as a policy analyst at the Department of Treasury and Finance (Australia).

His Law Faculty page, including a list of publications and research projects, is available here:  https://www.law.cam.ac.uk/people/academic/mj-psycharis/78801

Dr James Whitworth's research and clinical activity focuses on the identification of individuals at increased risk of cancer due to a heritable genetic cause, and methods to mitigate that risk where identified.

James obtained his medical degree from the University of Leicester in 2007. He continued his clinical training in the East Midlands before taking up an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship in Clinical Genetics in Birmingham. He moved to Cambridge to undertake a PhD, which was completed in 2019 and led to his appointment as an NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer prior to his current post.

Dr Anna Gannon is an Emerita Fellow of St Edmund's College.

She specialises in early medieval Insular Art. She is part of an international group working on early Irish reliquaries found in Italy, and co-edits a Medieval studies Festschrift. Current research focuses on the exegesis of evoked sacred landscapes, religious approaches to nature in the Insular world.

Her first degree was in Italy: she studied Modern Languages and specialised in German Philology at the Catholic University of Milan, where she was teaching as an ‘Assistente Ministeriale’ for four years. She subsequently read History of Art at the University of Cambridge, with a PhD on the iconography of Early Anglo-Saxon coinage, published as a monograph by Oxford University Press in 2003. She worked on coin-related projects at the Fitzwilliam Museum and then at the British Museum as a Curator in the Department of Coins and Medals and supporting the Portable Antiquities Scheme, identifying and recording ‘treasure’.

Dr Gannon began attending St Edmund’s Chapel as a student, c. 1995, but her academic connection with the College began in 2001, first as a Director of Studies, then as a Senior Member, and eventually she was elected Fellow in 2006. Her roles at St Edmund’s (as DoS (for 25 years), Tutor, Keeper of Art and serving on several other committees) were combined with and complementary to her other activities for the University. In addition to research and publications on Anglo-Saxon numismatics and art, and an academic role as affiliated lecturer in Early Medieval Art at my Department, she was single-handedly in charge of the professional development of all newly-appointed lecturers on probation across the University – something that could be described as a 'pastoral role’, but which made a huge difference orienteering many new-comers. She retired in 2019.

Her current research interests and publications deal with Insular art and culture, particularly in responses to Christianity. She is part of the international Research Project ‘Insular reliquaries in Italy: in the footsteps of Columbanus’ and is editing a collection of early medieval papers. Her interests have moved towards Theology and ecotheology: she is a regular contributor to the Visual Commentary on Scripture and is exploring the exegesis of imagined sacred landscapes through the sense of smell.

She is a committed Benedictine Oblate and attends Mass at St Edmund’s Chapel regularly. She is happy to report that she was the one behind the project of the new entrance to the Chapel, with the access ramp and the bench for St Edmund’s.

Selected publications:

• The Iconography of Early Anglo-Saxon Coinage (6th-8th centuries), Oxford University Press 2003.
• Sylloge of Coins of the British Isles, 63. British Museum.  Anglo-Saxon Coins. Part i. Early Anglo-Saxon Coins and Continental Silver Coins of the North Sea, c.600-760, British Museum Publications, 2013.
• ‘The Coins of the Irish Free State, 1928: are animals good to think with?’ in Le Molte Facce di una Moneta: Saggi in Onore di Lucia Travaini, M. Baldasssari, B. Cook and S. Locatelli eds, Milano University Press, 2025, 109-26.
• ‘Insular numismatics: the relationship between ancient British and early Anglo-Saxon coins ‘, in Barbaric Splendor: the use of image in Europe before and after Rome, T.F. Martin and W.A. Morrison eds. Archeopress Publishing 2020, 121-139.
• ‘Guarding the Sacred: early Anglo-Saxon cylindrical containers’ Atti del convegno ’Custodire il Sacro’, Vercelli, 11-12 Gennaio 2021, "Temporis Signa. Archeologia della tarda antichità e del medioevo", Fondazione Centro italiano di Studi sull'Alto Medioevo di Spoleto, number XVI 2021, 213-233.
• ‘Art in the round: tradition and creativity in early Anglo-Saxon coinage’, in Money and Coinage in the Middle Ages, R. Naismith ed., Brill, 2019, 289-321

Contributions to the Visual Commentary on Scripture (VCS), Ben Quash ed., King’s College, London:

• ‘Benedictus’ – Luke 1:67–80
• ‘The Prophet Anna’ – Luke 2:36-38
• ‘Salt and Light’ – Matthew 5:13–16
• ‘A Song of Thanksgiving: Psalm 147’
• 'Blessed is the Mother’ – Luke11:27-8’
• ‘The Altar of Incense’ – Exodus 30’

In his long and successful career as an entrepreneur and venture capitalist, Hermann has founded or co-founded companies in a wide range of technology sectors. These include Acorn Computers (where he helped spin our ARM), Active Book Company, Virata, Net Products, NetChannel and Cambridge Network Limited.

• Director of Studies: Human, Social and Political Sciences

Dr Sara Silvestri is interested in the contested meaning and multifaceted roles of religion in international relations, with particular attention to Islam and the Euro-Mediterranean region. Located at the intersection between IR, Politics, and Sociology, her research, publications and teaching are concerned with how religious identities, symbols and political theologies impact global governance; the way faith-based networks, social movements, and secular international institutions relate to each other; and the evolution of public policies responding to the challenges of migration, multiculturalism, Islamism, and terrorism.

Sara is based between London, where she is Senior lecturer in International Politics at City University, and Cambridge, where she undertook her PhD (at St John’s College) and ESRC Post-Doc. In Cambridge she is currently Bye Fellow and Director of Studies in HSPS (Politics) at St Edmund’s College and collaborates with the POLIS department and the Divinity faculty. Sara also held visiting positions at the Cambridge Muslim College, the University of Bristol, the Univ. of Padua, and was a Marie Curie Fellow in Paris.

After her first degree in Arts (La Sapienza University, Rome) and qualifying as a journalist, Sara went to the University of Cambridge to undertake and MPhil in EU affairs and PhD and Post-Doc on the Politics of and about Islam in Europe. She also specialised in EU migration policies at the ULB (Belgium). She then became interested in role of Christians (especially but not only the Catholic Church) in the governance of migration and refugee flows when she was a Research Associate of the Von Hügel Institute and a member of the Cambridge Centre for the Study of Global Human movement .

Dr Silvestri has collaborated extensively with the policy and media world in her areas of expertise. She has worked in the Cabinet of the EU Commission President, has been a Research Associate at Chatham House (London); she has served as an advisor to the Brussels think tank European Policy Centre and the Annal Lindh Foundation for Intercultural Dialogue (Alexandria, Egypt) and as a 'global expert' for the UN Alliance of Civilisations. Sara currently serves as a Trustee of the Centre for Catholic Social Thought and Practice and of the Council on Christian Approaches to Defence and Disarmament.

Her research has been funded inter alia by the ESRC, British Academy, British Council, Luce Foundation, FCDO, European Commission, Caritas Internationalis, the European Science Foundation.