theology “With Noll’s increased enrollment and high Catholicity, we have seen demand for the sacrament of reconciliation increase here. So now we will have 10 priests to come in during Advent and Lent to assist with our student penance opportunity. We’ve actually had a number of the priests afterward comment that they want to be invited back because our students give them hope for the future.” —Father Jeff Burton, BNI Chaplain
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Sophomore theology work
As part of their education on the life, mission, and work of the Catholic Church, more than 130 BNI sophomores spent a day this spring interacting with the Most Rev. Robert McClory, bishop of the Diocese of Gary. Together, they explored ways to become better missionary disciples.
Junior theology teacher Johan Castañeda’s journey from Colombia to Diocese of Gary
All Noll juniors have something in common. They have Mr. Johan Castañeda as their theology teacher. Castañeda was born and raised in a small town in Colombia and is a native Spanish speaker. He completed his high school education in a minor seminary, and then proceeded to pursue religious life. However, he later discerned out of religious life and decided for diocesan life instead. About halfway through his studies, he was invited to join a North American Diocese by a Colombian-American priest who himself was from Castañeda’s hometown. “His diocese had been recruiting Spanish-speaking seminarians to assist with their growing Spanish-speaking parishioners,” Castañeda said. “In late August of 2008, I moved to the East Coast to engage in diocesan formation as I resumed my studies. First, I studied ESL, and then, I continued my undergraduate studies of philosophy and religion. I graduated in New Haven, Connecticut, in 2012.” During this time, he began to wrestle for the first time with whether he felt called to a priestly ministry or to be an educator. After four years of diocesan life in the East Coast, he moved to Chicago to continue discerning at Catholic Theological Union, a religious/lay graduate school of theology. “Halfway through my self-funded MDiv program, I finally discerned out of the priesthood and decided for academia instead. My interest in academia was always there,” he said. He graduated with his MDiv in the spring of 2015. It was Castaneda’s CTU classmate, Father Kevin Scalf, C.PP.S, BNI’s chaplain at the time, who encouraged him to apply for a teaching position at Bishop Noll.
