Bruce Morrill
Edward A. Malloy Chair in Roman Catholic Studies and Distinguished Professor of Theology | Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN, UNITED STATES
A Roman Catholic Priest and Jesuit whose scholarship focuses on liturgy and sacraments and political theologies.
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Biography
Dr. Bruce Morrill focuses his theological scholarship in the area of liturgy and sacraments, drawing upon a range of interdisciplinary resources in the fields of systematic and historical theology, ritual studies, cultural anthropology, and biblical studies. His other primary and strongly related interest is in political theologies, as they investigate the problems of suffering in social contexts.
His work has come together most comprehensively in his books, Practical Sacramental Theology: At the Intersection of Liturgy and Ethics (Cascade Books, 2021), Divine Worship and Human Healing: Liturgical Theology at the Margins of Life and Death (Pueblo/Liturgical Press, 2009), and Anamnesis as Dangerous Memory: Political and Liturgical Theology in Dialogue (Pueblo/Liturgical Press, 2000).
Other recent books include Encountering Christ in the Eucharist: The Paschal Mystery in People, Word, and Sacrament (Paulist Press, 2012) and The Essential Writings of Bernard Cooke: A Narrative Theology of Church, Sacrament, and Ministry (Paulist Press, 2016). His current research and writing projects include constructing a mystical-political theology (mystagogy) of the Easter Season.
Dr. Morrill is a past president of the North American Academy of Liturgy and currently serves as vice president (with presidential succession) of the International Jungmann Society for Jesuits and the Liturgy. He has lectured widely in North America, Europe, and Australia and has enjoyed appointments to visiting chairs and fellowships at a number of institutions in the USA, Belgium, and Ireland. Prior to coming to Vanderbilt, Professor Morrill was on the faculty of Boston College for fifteen years, where he served as Graduate Program Director in the Theology Department. Earlier this decade at Vanderbilt he was the founding director of the Doctor of Ministry in Integrative Chaplaincy program.
Bruce Morrill is a Roman Catholic priest and member of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). In Nashville he presides and preaches at area parishes, as needed, provides pastoral-liturgical ministry at state prisons (Riverbend Maximum Security Institute, Tennessee Prison for Women, and the Lois M. DeBerry Special Needs Facility, and the Turney Center Industrial Complex), and serves as Spiritual Liaison for the local community of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.
Areas of Expertise (15)
Easter
Cultural Anthropology
Sacramental Theology
Suffering
Roman Catholicism
Liturgy and Sacraments
Biblical Studies
Historical Theology
Ritual Studies
History of Christian holidays
Pope Francis
Jesuits
Holy Week
Eucharist
Bernard Cooke
Education (3)
Emory University: Ph.D., Theological Studies 1996
Columbia University: M.A., Anthropology 1986
College of Holy Cross: A.B., Religious Studies 1981
Links (3)
Selected Media Appearances (10)
The Mar-A-Lago 'Catholic' Event, March Madness, and an interview with Bruce Morrill
The Francis Effect podcast radio
2024-03-28
Heidi, Fr. Daniel, and David look at the recent ‘prayer’ event held in support of Donald Trump at Mar-A-Lago, and Heidi and Daniel teach David some things about basketball. Also, Heidi interviews Bruce Morrill, Chair of Catholic Studies at Vanderbilt University.
Vatican shift on gay blessings has 'deep pastoral implications,' say theologians
National Catholic Reporter online
2023-12-19
Jesuit Fr. Bruce Morrill, the Edward A. Malloy Chair in Roman Catholic Studies at Vanderbilt University, said that the declaration was consistent with Francis' pastoral focus and his impulse toward accompaniment and inclusion throughout his papacy.
The history of religious traditions
NewsChannel 5 online
2022-06-10
Ben Hall is joined by Dr. Bruce Morrill, a professor from Vanderbilt Divinity School, to discuss the significance of traditions such as Communion in the church and how they have changed over the years on this episode of Issues of Faith.
You will never regret going to the funeral
America Magazine online
2022-01-14
“Ritual is what humans do to help each other navigate through life’s ambiguities,” Bruce Morrill, S.J., the Edward A. Malloy Chair of Roman Catholic Studies at Vanderbilt University, tells me. And for Catholics the funeral Mass helps point us to the promise of everlasting life. It uses the sad occasion of the death of a loved one to remind us that the Eucharist is always “a foretaste of the heavenly banquet,” Father Morrill says. The funeral Mass, he says, is “a kind of counterpoint to the grief. It doesn’t erase the grief, but it is a hopeful, forward-looking ritual.”
In Germany, Vatican ban on blessing same-sex couples catches church 'in process'
Religion News Service online
2021-03-19
The doctrinal correctness of the statement aside, some Catholic leaders have reacted to both the emphasis and the timing of the statement. “If their genuine concern is to teach, they blew it,” said the Rev. Bruce Morrill, a Jesuit and a professor of Roman Catholic studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Tennessee, noting that doctrine “means teaching.”
4 reasons why the rush to reopen churches goes beyond politics
CNN online
2020-05-24
“For Christianity in general, assembling on Sunday is a most ancient tradition,” said Bruce Morrill, a Roman Catholic priest and a professor of theological studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School. “It’s at the very origins of Christianity, and it remains important for this day.”
Why Joe Biden was denied communion at a church
The Conversation online
2019-11-05
Former Vice President Joseph Biden, who is a Roman Catholic, recently stopped on the campaign trail to attend Sunday Mass at a church in Florence, South Carolina. But the pastor, Robert Morey, refused to give him Communion.
What Is Urbi et Orbi? Here's the Meaning Behind the Pope's Easter Message
Good Housekeeping online
2019-04-21
Literally speaking, "Urbi et Orbi" is Latin for "to the City and to the World." This message, which is delivered by the Pope, is directly addressed to the city of Rome and the worldwide or universal church. "In the history of this papal tradition, the worldwide church is the Roman Catholic Church, as catholicos means 'universal.' More recently, the notion has broadened to all Christians and people of goodwill open to receiving the message," explains Bruce Morrill, PhD, the Edward A. Malloy Chair of Catholic Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School.
What Is Good Friday and Why Do We Celebrate It?
Country Living online
2019-02-22
As Lent, a period of reflection in preparation for Easter, comes to a close, many Christians observe Good Friday. “Good Friday is the day Christians commemorate the suffering and execution of Jesus by the Roman-occupying empire in Jerusalem,” says professor and Jesuit priest Bruce Morrill, PhD, Edward A. Malloy Chair of Catholic Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville. “The day focuses on the passion and death of Jesus.”
Before the digital age, how religious groups increased the numbers in their order
The Conversation online
2017-06-12
A monastery of 10 nuns on the Italian island of Sardinia is using social media to share their community’s work and ensure its very survival. This might appear surprising considering these nuns chose a life of quiet work and prayer separated from the world. But as a Catholic theologian focusing on liturgical and religious life, my research shows the nuns’ turn to cyberspace is only the latest chapter in a long history of religious orders’ using the best means of communication. The story of how the Jesuits grew their order back in the 16th century provides an interesting case study.
Selected Articles (3)
Confessing Sin, Proclaiming Reconciliation in Contemporary US Catholic Liturgy
LiturgyBruce T Morrill
2019 "While to this day in American culture the predominant image of sacramental reconciliation in Roman Catholicism is the individual penitent kneeling in a dark booth, recounting one's sins through a screen to the priest sitting in profile on the opposite side, in actual practice the ritual words and symbols for the forgiveness of sin are quite something else.
Book Review: The Oxford Handbook of Sacramental Theology By Hans Boersma and Matthew Levering (eds.)
Theological StudiesBruce T Morrill
2019
