“A Theological Journey” — Dr. Pia de Solenni (’93)

Dr. Pia de Solenni (’93)“Thomas Aquinas College sits on the edge of the Los Padres National Forest, just outside Ojai,” begins a story in OC Catholic. The “Roman Catholic college in Santa Paula, named after the famed philosopher, is the gateway to a life of faith for scores of influential religious scholars. Among them is Pia de Solenni.”

A member of the Thomas Aquinas College Class of 1993, Dr. de Solenni is the theological consultant to the Office of the Bishop for the Diocese of Orange, a position created specifically for her by the Most Rev. Bishop Kevin Vann. Her recently published profile in the diocesan newspaper describes her as a “Catholic theologian and noted commentator whose work has taken her from Thomas Aquinas College to a high school classroom in the Midwest, the halls of the United Nations in New York City and the Vatican in Rome.”

The story focuses heavily on Dr. de Solenni’s time at the College, which led directly to her work as a theologian. She enrolled, she admits, reluctantly and at her father’s insistence, but within two weeks, she was grateful that she had. “It was the first time that the Faith had been presented to me in an intellectual and substantial manner,” she told OC Catholic. Today, in addition to her work consulting the Office of the Bishop, she is a professor of moral theology and the associate dean for the Augustine Institute’s satellite campus at Christ Cathedral in Orange County.

“I’ve been given a unique education and role as a woman theologian,” she says, adding that her hope is “to fulfill another way that women can have an active role in the Church.”

Read the full profile, A Theological Journey, on the Diocese of Orange website.