Higgins, Michael W.

Vice-President for Mission and Catholic Identity, Professor of Religious Studies
Sacred Heart University
Fairfield, Connecticut, USA

higginsmw@sacredheart.edu
+1 203 371-7902

Blog: http://sacredheartuniversity.typepad.com/pontifexminimus/

Link to CV

Michael W. Higgins, a native Torontonian, is an author, Vatican affairs specialist for the Globe and Mail and CTV Network, Catholic educator, CBC radio documentarian, scholar and administrator. He was professor of English and Religious Studies at St. Jerome's University in the University of Waterloo. He also served as Chair, Associate Dean, Vice-President and President. He assumed responsibilities as President and Vice-Chancellor of St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick in 2006. Dr. Higgins is currently a Professor of Religious Studies and Vice-President for Mission and Catholic Identity at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. He has edited and co-edited, authored and co-authored sixteen books including: The Jesuit Mystique, Power and Peril: The Catholic Church at the Crossroads, Heretic Blood: The Spiritual Geography of Thomas Merton, The Muted Voice: Religion and the Media, Stalking the Holy: The Pursuit of Saint-Making, Suffer the Children Unto Me: An Open Inquiry into the Clerical Sex Abuse Scandal, Genius Born of Anguish: the Life and Legacy of Henri Nouwen, Thomas Merton: Faithful Visionary and The Unquiet Monk: Thomas Merton's Questing Faith. Heretic Blood, Suffer the Children and Genius Born on Anguish are award-winning and Stalking the Holy, Genius Born of Anguish and Power and Peril are national bestsellers. He is a regular contributor to Commonweal and the Literary Review of Canada and a columnist for The Irish Catholic. He is the recipient of many awards, including two honorary doctorates, and won the 2013 Gold Medal for International Radio Documentaries awarded by the New York Festivals. He is a Senior Fellow at Massey College, University of Toronto. He is married with four adult children.

Areas of Interest

Christians and Christianity
Interfaith and Intra-cultural Dialogue
Religion and the Arts
Religion and Media
Religion and Society
Religious Tradition and Modernity

Related materials

Pontifex Minimus
The Opening of the Canadian Mind? (Commonweal; October 26, 2015)
Pope Francis's Act One in the U.S. - an invitation, not reproach (Globe and Mail; September 28, 2015)
Francis and Obama: A meeting of kindred spirits (Globe and Mail; September 22, 2015)
What To Expect On Pope Francis' First Visit To U.S. (NPR Boston, Here & Now; September 21, 2015)
Life in the Public Square (CBC Ideas; May 5, 2015)
Literary Review of Canada