Daniel Patrick Horan (born 1983) is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

American

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

, author and former

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

priest. He is currently the director of the Center for the Study of Spirituality and professor of Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Theology at Saint Mary's College in

Notre Dame, Indiana Notre Dame is a census-designated place and unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend in St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. It includes the campuses of three colleges: the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's Co ...

. He is also affiliated Professor of Spirituality at the Oblate School of Theology in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

. He previously held the Duns Scotus Chair of Spirituality at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and taught at several other academic institutions. He is a columnist for ''

National Catholic Reporter The ''National Catholic Reporter'' (''NCR'') is a national newspaper in the United States that reports on issues related to the Catholic Church. Based in Kansas City, Missouri, ''NCR'' was founded by Robert Hoyt in 1964. Hoyt wanted to bring t ...

''.

Early life and education

Horan was born on November 15, 1983, in

Pensacola Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only city in Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which ha ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. He studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

St. Bonaventure University St. Bonaventure University is a private university, private Franciscan university in St. Bonaventure, New York. It has 2,760 undergraduate and graduate students. The Order of Friars Minor, Franciscans established the university in 1858. In ath ...

from 2001 to 2005. Horan entered the

Order of Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (commonly called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; Post-nominal letters, postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a Mendicant orders, mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis ...

in 2005, taking first vows in 2007. He earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

systematic theology Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topics ...

in 2010 and a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

in 2012 at the Washington Theological Union. He was ordained a priest on May 19, 2012 by Cardinal

Theodore McCarrick Theodore Edgar McCarrick (July 7, 1930 – April 3, 2025) was an American Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal who was Archbishop of Newark from 1986 to 2000 and Archbishop of Washington from 2001 to 2006. In 2019, McCarrick was defrocked by Po ...

. He earned a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

degree in

from

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

in 2016.

Career

Horan taught in the Department of Religious Studies at

Siena College Siena College is a Private college, private Franciscan college in Loudonville, New York, United States. It was founded by the Order of Friars Minor in 1937 and is named after the Franciscan friar Bernardino of Siena. The college enrolls approxi ...

in Loudonville,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, and summer courses in the Department of Theology at

, the School of Theology and Ministry at

, and at Catholic Theological Union. He serves on the Board of Trustees of

and the Board of Regents of Franciscan School of Theology. He previously served several terms on the International Thomas Merton Society Board of Directors and is a former columnist at ''

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

''. Horan has written on Franciscan theology,

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, and

spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...

as well as given lectures and delivered academic papers (around the United States, Canada, and Europe) on the theological and social significance of the work of

Thomas Merton Thomas Merton (January 31, 1915December 10, 1968), religious name M. Louis, was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, Christian mysticism, mystic, poet, social activist and scholar of comparative religion. He was a monk in the Trapp ...

. He has also given workshops and delivered lectures on the intersection of the millennial generation and spirituality. His current work focuses on postmodern thought and the use of medieval Franciscan thinkers like

John Duns Scotus John Duns Scotus ( ; , "Duns the Scot"; – 8 November 1308) was a Scottish Catholic priest and Franciscan friar, university professor, philosopher and theologian. He is considered one of the four most important Christian philosopher-t ...

as well as the authentic retrieval of their thought for contemporary theological inquiry; the life, work and thought of Thomas Merton; and contemporary systematic and constructive theologies. Horan has spoken publicly on theological matters related to justice and inclusion in support of the LGBTQ+ community in the Catholic Church and society, including offering scholarly supported criticism of USCCB statements. Additionally, Horan has advocated for a number of other justice issues in academic and popular venues, including in response to the global

climate crisis ''Climate crisis'' is a term that is used to describe global warming and climate change and their effects. This term and the term ''climate emergency'' have been used to emphasize the threat of global warming to Earth's natural environment an ...

, ecospirituality, and antiracism. On October 3, 2024, Horan announced that he would be leaving the Franciscan order and ministry as a priest, and would be petitioning the Holy See for a dispensation from the rights and obligations of the clerical state (" laicization"). Citing the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

as a catalyst, Horan said that "subtle changes and growth" and a "wrestling with" where his passions were helped determine his decision.

References

External links

*
Los Angeles Religious Education Congress "Fear: The Enemy of Christian Discipleship"

"Franciscan Authors Book on Dating God" ''Catholic News Service''

2016 interview with ''America'' magazine

"Faith Seeking Understanding" column for ''National Catholic Reporter''

The Francis Effect Podcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horan, Daniel 1983 births Living people 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American Roman Catholic priests 21st-century American Roman Catholic theologians American Friars Minor American male non-fiction writers American religious writers American Roman Catholic writers Boston College School of Theology and Ministry alumni Catholics from Florida Catholic Theological Union faculty Franciscan spirituality Franciscan theologians Scotism St. Bonaventure University alumni Washington Theological Union alumni