Mr. Castañeda's journey to BNI

Junior theology teacher Johan Castañeda’s journey from Colombia to Diocese of Gary

Bishop Noll Institute junior theology teacher Mr. Johan Castañeda's religious journey started in Colombia and eventually brought him to the east coast of the United States, Chicago and then Northwest Indiana. 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.

“High School education was not originally my primary aim, yet it has become a true passion of mine.… St. Anselm of Canterbury is alleged to have said: ‘Faith seeks understanding.’ Contemporary young Catholics, unlike some older Catholics, seek to understand their faith, they wish to make sense of it. This challenges me every day to best equip students to understand and contextualize the Church teachings so as to better help them discern and apply the faith.”

Castañeda said Bishop Noll students, while similar to high school students everywhere, can excel in several areas and that the small school atmosphere helps them achieve great things.

“Every year, I meet outstanding young women and young men who are interesting and interested,” he said. "Because Bishop Noll offers all of the major sports and many extra curricular activities, students have great opportunities to grow and expand their horizons."

For BNI juniors, theology with Mr. Castañeda is truly contextual.

Junior Theology is exhilarating as the students are introduced to the subjects of Christian morality and to the Sacraments. From August to December the students gain a broad understanding of the roots and sources of Christian morality. We then apply the core unit ideas to case studies and stories by using concrete methods. Morality is deeply contextual as it is influenced by social and political movements as well as by the change of individual and societal narratives. As the instructor, I am constantly challenged to expand the boundaries of the application of key curriculum-based theological beliefs (conscience, sin, etc.) within the framework of societal and church growth. Constant social issues should challenge the ways Christian morality is perceived as well as how far it extends.

In the spring semester students will learn to apply what they learned about Christian morality to each of the 10 Commandments. They then proceed into the Sacraments. "Living out the Sacraments entails choosing a lifestyle that is fully in sync with the values, ideas and beliefs of the community of the Church. Thus, one must willingly choose them, as opposed to being coerced into them. To be willing to embrace a given sacrament a believer must be fairly persuaded by the Christian Catholic lifestyle. For the reasons aforementioned, the junior theology curriculum is rich and truly exciting to teach as it allows the student and instructor to think critically, to think outside the box so as to meet unit and semester objectives."

Castañeda said outside of school, he has two great hobbies.

One of my favorite hobbies is learning about Astronomy. I've even read Stephen Hawking's: “The Universe in a Nutshell & A Brief History of Time '' among other astronomy-related books. I also regularly listen to podcasts about the subject, including: In Our Times: Science, Mindscape, etc. And, I closely follow some of Nasa’s main Missions.

I have hiked more than half of the 24 Indiana State Parks. To nurture my interests in nature and animal life, I closely follow and watch many of Sir David Attenborough’s educational programs!