Andrew Belfield. assistant professor of theology & Franciscan studies at St. Bonaventure University.
I was born in Rochester, New York, & graduated from Churchville-Chili Senior High School. I swam for the varsity team & was on student council. I also participated in Boy Scouts, worked as a swim lesson instructor & lifeguard, & was active in youth ministry at St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church in Churchville, New York (now part of the St. Martin de Porres parish cluster).
At the urging of my AP US History teacher, Mrs. Hoelperl, I went to St. Bonaventure University for a Bachelor of Arts. There I received departmental awards in theology & philosophy & was named (together with a classmate of mine from high school!) an Ideal Bonaventure Student for the class of 2015. I was also involved in Residential Life, University Ministries, & the Running Club.
After graduating from St. Bonaventure I moved to Baltimore to pursue a Master of Theological Studies at Loyola University Maryland. During my studies I worked as a graduate assistant in Campus Ministry, & cat-sat for Angela Russell Christman. My thesis on the motive for the incarnation according to Franciscan scholastic theologian John Duns Scotus, written under the direction of Frederick Christian Bauerschmidt, won me the Award for Research in Theology.
From Baltimore I moved to Boston & matriculated in Boston Collegeʼs graduate program in theology. While in Boston I lived in the Barton House, an interfaith community of students & young professionals interested in religion, spirituality, & justice; I also married my wife, Jacqueline.
At Boston College I was trained in historical & systematic theology & developed specialties in medieval theology, Franciscan theology, & christology. In addition to my study of theology, I also earned the Apprenticeship in College Teaching & served the theology graduate program during the academic year 2020–2021 as its graduate assistant. I defended my dissertation, titled “Foundations of Scholastic Christology in the Summa halensis,” in October 2021. My dissertation director, Boyd Taylor Coolman, hooded me with the Doctor of Philosophyʼs blue velvet in May 2022.
I now live in upstate New York in the Upper Allegheny watershed, where I teach at St. Bonaventure University and worship at St. Bonaventureʼs Parish. When Iʼm not teaching or researching, Jacqueline & I are watching movies (weʼre making our way through the AFIʼs 100 Greatest American Films), exploring the natural beauty of upstate New Yorkʼs wilderness, & traveling to visit friends and family around the United States.