Faculty – Department of Theology

Dr. Benjamin (‘Jamie’) Blosser has taught at Benedictine College since 2006, and teaches courses in early and modern church history and New Testament.  He received his Ph.D. in Historical Theology from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and wrote his dissertation on the theological anthropology of Origen of Alexandria.  Before teaching at Benedictine College, he worked at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, DC.  His main interest is in the study of patristics or early church studies, in particular Origen of Alexandria and Augustine of Hippo.  His publications include Become Like the Angels: Origen’s Doctrine of the Soul (CUA Press, 2012) and Positively Medieval (OSV Press, 2016). In 2019 he was the recipient of Benedictine College’s Educator of the Year award. He has served as chair of the Department of Theology since 2021. He and his wife, Danielle, have eleven children.

Dr. Mark J. Zia is a Professor of Sacred Theology at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, where he has taught since 2005. He earned his Doctorate in Sacred Theology (S.T.D.) from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, dissertating on the doctrine of biblical inspiration. Dr. Zia regularly teaches classes in biblical theology, including courses on the Pentateuch, Synoptic Gospels, Gospel of John, and Biblical Hermeneutics. He is also actively involved in the academic formation of candidates for the permanent diaconate for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, and beyond.

Before coming to Benedictine, he taught theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville’s Austrian campus and then at Ave Maria College in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Dr. Zia is a Senior Fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology and a perpetual member of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars. He has published several articles and three books, and is currently working on a fourth. Of particular interest is his book on Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, The Enduring Faith and Timeless Truths of Fulton Sheen, given the current preparations in the USA for Sheen’s Beatification.

Dr. John Rziha received his MA in theology from the University of Dallas (1998) and his PHD in theology from the Catholic University of America (2006). He has taught at Benedictine College since 2001. His area of expertise is moral theology and he regularly teaches class in moral theology, Church history, bioethics, and Catholic social thought. He has written two books, Perfecting Human Actions: St. Thomas Aquinas on Participation in Eternal Law (CUA Press, 2009) and a handbook for moral theology called, The Christian Moral Life: Directions for the Journey to Happiness (Notre Dame Press, 2017). He and his wife have nine children and run an orchard.

Dr. Matthew Ramage is Professor of Theology at Benedictine College where he is co-director of its Center for Integral Ecology. His research and writing concentrates especially on the theology of Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI, the wedding of ancient and modern methods of biblical interpretation, the dialogue between faith and science, and stewardship of creation. In addition to his other scholarly and outreach endeavors, Dr. Ramage is author, co-author, or translator of over fifteen books, including Dark Passages of the Bible (CUA Press, 2013), Jesus, Interpreted (CUA Press, 2017), The Experiment of Faith (CUA Press, 2020), and Christ’s Church and World Religions (Sophia Institute Press, 2020). His latest book, From the Dust of the Earth: Benedict XVI, the Bible, and the Theory of Evolution, was published by CUA Press in 2022. When he is not teaching or writing, Dr. Ramage enjoys exploring the great outdoors with his wife and seven children, tending his orchard, leading educational trips abroad, and aspiring to be a barbeque pitmaster.  For more on Dr. Ramage’s work, visit his website www.matthewramage.com.

Dr. Jeremy Sienkiewicz, a native of Kansas City, Missouri, graduated with a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and received an M.A. and Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from The Catholic University of America. He teaches classes in missiology, sacramental theology and spiritual theology. In his own time he enjoys power lifting, reading classic books to his children and baking bread. He, his wife, Catherine, and his five children live in Atchison, Kansas.

Dr. Andrew Benjamin Salzmann is writes on Augustine and the medieval Augustinian tradition, especially the 12-century School of St.-Victor. He pays particular attention to theological anthropology, pneumatology, and sacramental theology. He did his graduate work at Yale Divinity School (MAR, 2007) and Boston College (PhD, 2015). At Benedictine, Dr. Salzmann directs the Center for Classical Studies, which sponsors both the College’s Honors Program and its Master’s degrees in Classical Education. For the Sheridan Center, he teaches Education and the Human Person and the History and Theory of Classical Education, as well as Great Books courses. For the Theology department, Dr. Salzmann teaches Sacraments and Liturgy, Christ and the Trinity, Mary in the Christian Tradition, Christianity & World Religions, and American Catholic History, among other courses. In addition, he assists with deacon formation for the Archdiocese of Kansas City (Anthropology, Christology, Mariology). Originally from Wisconsin, he lives in Atchison with his wife Sabitha and their four children.

John Meinert, Ph.D., received his doctorate from CUA and specializes in Moral Theology/Ethics. At Benedictine, Dr. Meinert teaches Christian Moral Life, Bioethics, Catholic Social Thought, and Spiritual Theology. His latest book is entitled Thomas Aquinas on Peace: Philosophy, Theology, and Ethics and is forthcoming with CUA Press (2024). His research has also appeared in Nova et Vetera, The Angelicum, New Blackfriars, The Journal of Moral Theology, The Thomist, The European Journal for the Study of Thomas Aquinas, and Augustinian Studies. He resides in Atchison with his wife (Katie) and their four children.

Aaron Riches is a Canadian. He holds higher degrees from York University (Canada), the University of Virginia (USA), the University of Nottingham (UK) and the Pontifical University John Paul II (Poland). Before joining the faculty at Benedictine College he taught theology at the archdiocesan seminary in Granada, Spain, where he was also a faculty member of the Instituto De Filosofía Edith Stein. He has published in various academic journals and is the author of the book Ecce Homo: On the Divine Unity of Christ (2016).  He has published in the fields of Christology and contemporary theology. He lives in Atchison with his wife and six children.

Dr. Mariele Courtois joined the Theology Department at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas as an Assistant Professor in 2022. Her research interests include biomedical ethics, technology ethics, disability theology, and the sacramentality of the hospital. She earned a Ph.D. with distinction in Moral Theology & Ethics (2022) and a Master of Philosophy in Theology and Religious Studies (2021) from the Catholic University of America. Her dissertation entitled “Biomedical Challenges to Identity and Parenthood: An Investigation into the Ethics of Genetic Technologies at the Beginning of Life” applies Edith Stein’s understanding of individuality to ethical questions concerning genetic therapies and the relationship between disability and identity. She also holds a Master of Theological Studies from the University of Notre Dame (2017) and a B.S. in Biology from Loyola Marymount University (2015). She is a member of the International Association for the Study of the Philosophy of Edith Stein.

Dr. Matt Muller is an assistant professor of theology and associate director for programs for the Gregorian Institute at Benedictine College. He teaches courses in the theology as well as evangelization and catechesis programs. His research interest is in the thought and legacy of Saint John Henry Newman. He has served on the board of directors for the Saint John Henry Newman Association of America and the editorial board for Newman Studies Journal. Through his work with the Gregorian Institute, Dr. Muller directs the annual, Symposium on the Transformation of Culture. He completed his PhD in historical theology from Saint Louis University in May 2017. He has a Masters in Catholic Studies from the University of St Thomas, in Minnesota. After graduating from Benedictine in 2006, he served for three years as a missionary with FOCUS at the University of Illinois.

Richard White holds a Ph.D. in Theology from Marquette University and has taught at Benedictine College since 1996. He has written considerably on the Theology of Justification and Catholic participation in ecumenical dialogue on Justification. He is co-author of two books in the Catholic for a Reason series and is currently working on a manuscript on Cinema and Beauty. Dr. White regularly teaches Christian Marriage, Protestant Tradition, a three semester Faith and Reason sequence, and seminars on Theology and the Arts and C.S. Lewis in Dialogue with Catholicism. He has also offered courses on Theology through Film, Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, and the theological cinema of Terence Malick. He is a convert to Catholicism and is married with three children. He enjoys traveling and fishing and scuba diving in his home of state of Florida.

Dr. Andrew Swafford is Professor of Theology at Benedictine College. He is a national speaker on a variety of topics and co-author of A Catholic Guide to the Old Testament, Gift and Grit: How Heroic Virtue Can Change Your Life and Relationships (with his wife Sarah), and What We Believe: The Beauty of the Catholic Faith (with Marcellino D’Ambrosio) and co-host of Ascension’s video series filmed in Rome under the same title. He is general editor and contributor to Ascension’s Great Adventure Catholic Bible. Among his other publications are Ascension’s Bible studies on Romans and Hebrews, Spiritual Survival in the Modern World, and John Paul II to Aristotle and Back Again. Andrew holds a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the University of St. Mary of the Lake and a master’s degree in Old Testament & Semitic Languages from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is an avid student of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and lives with his wife Sarah and their six children in Atchison, KS. You can connect with Dr. Swafford on Twitter @andrew_swafford or on the website he shares with his wife: theswaffords.com.

Dr. James Merrick is a Lecturer in the Department of Theology at Benedictine College and content creator for St. Benedict’s Abbey. A convert to Catholicism after a decade of ministry in the Anglican tradition, Dr. Merrick completed graduate degrees in theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (M.A. in Biblical and Systematic Theology; Th.M. in Church History) and his Ph.D. in Systematic Theology was attained from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland with a dissertation on the hiddenness of God and the visibility of the Church in Karl Barth’s early thought. Before teaching theology at Benedictine, Dr. Merrick was an Assistant Professor of Theology at Grand Canyon University, Director of Emmaus Academic Press, and a Lecturer at Franciscan University of Steubenville. He was for several years the Reviews Editor of Nova et Vetera and with Bishop Robert Barron and Scott Hahn, he co-edited Engaging Catholic Doctrine (2023). His essays have appeared in the New Dictionary of Theology (IVP 2016), Scottish Journal of Theology, Trinity Journal, Catholic World Report, and the National Catholic Register. He lives in Atchison with his wife and their six children.

Dr. Clare McGrath-Merkle, OCDS studied at the University of Navarra, Spain, and Notre Dame of MD University, with a BA in modern foreign languages. She has an MTS from the Washington Theological Union with a graduate certificate in Carmelite Studies and a certificate in lay ministry, an MA in liberal education from St. John’s College, Annapolis, PhD ABD status in spirituality studies from The Catholic University of America, and a DPhil from the University of Augsburg, Germany. She has taught as an adjunct instructor at Benedictine College since 2022, as moderator with the Great Books Academy since 2019, and as seminar leader with the Symposium Great Books Institute since 2023. Her areas of expertise include the spiritual theology of the priesthood in light of the current crisis, as well as Eriksonian psychosocial theory. She has taught classes in spiritual theology, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, divine union in the Christian tradition, sacramental spirituality, and the Great Books. She has written a book, Berulle’s Spiritual Theology of Priesthood: A Study in Speculative Mysticism and Applied Metaphysics. She is a member of the Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality and The Sacra Doctrina Project, and founder of Our Lady of Holy Protection Society. She has a daughter and a granddaughter and enjoys traveling.

Deacon Dana Nearmyer heads up the Evangelization Division for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.  His role with Archdiocese spans 21 counties in Kansas and serves Catholic evangelization leaders.  Additionally, he and his wife helped found Camp Tekakwitha and Prairie Star Ranch.  His wife Deborah helped found St. James Academy in Lenexa. He is an adjunct instructor at Benedictine College in New Evangelization and Catechesis and oversees internships in that program. Dcn. Dana, Deborah and their five kids have a passion for growing Catholic culture.