Catherine Vincie, R.S.H.M.

Ph.D., The Catholic University of America
Associate Professor of Sacramental and Liturgical Theology, 1995-present
vinciecl@slu.edu

Interests include
I am especially interested in communities and change, in particular, how local Church communities have changed their patterns of worship over the centuries. To study these liturgies is to study what was important to a given community, their theological concerns, their self-understanding and how they related to God and to the world. Having lived my whole adult life under the shadow (and light) of Vatican II and its call to ecclesial renewal, exploring what contemporary communities are about in their liturgical celebrations has been central to my work. A liturgical celebration is like a living laboratory, and during these last 40 years, we can experience the changes the Church has undergone as it grappled with the challenges of the Council. We can see local communities learning what it means to be a worshiping assembly, how to initiate new members, and how they are making the liturgy their own.

Being a musician myself, I am also fascinated by the use of the musical, architectural and graphic arts in the liturgy and how communities use these arts to express themselves and shape their own history. Studying how the Church has done so in the past sheds much light on our contemporary experience and gives us the opportunity to place current struggles in broader perspective.

My research interests have been in the liturgical assembly and initiation, but they also include work on the eucharist and the liturgical year.

I especially enjoy doing workshops with religious communities with their renewed commitment to ongoing theology education.

Recently published

"Living from a Eucharistic Vision: Solidarity in the Body of Christ." Questions Liturgiques
Power, OMI David N. and Catherine Vincie, RSHM. General Instruction of the Roman Missal 2002: Theological and Pastoral Reflections.
"A History of Holy Week," Liturgical Ministry 13 (Summer 2004).
"How Can We Sing Our Own Songs In Our Own Land?" Hovda Lecture at the 26th NPM Annual Convention, Cincinnati, Ohio - July 16, 2003.
"After Blessing the Advent Wreath." Preach: Enlivening the Pastoral Art - Nov/Dec (2003): 14-18.
"Eucharist: Satisfying Desires or Feeding Hungers?" Keynote of Notre Dame Pastoral Liturgy Conference Eucharist Without Walls, June 2000.

Other Interests
Wilderness canoeing and camping, building houses of Habitat for Humanity, and woodworking.