Andrew J. Christiansen, S.J.

(1945-2022)

The Catholic Studies Program mourns the loss of a distinguished scholar, an encouraging colleague, a meticulous editor, a devoted teacher, an inspiring priest, and a dear friend. Fr. Andrew J. “Drew” Christiansen, S.J., died the morning of April 6, 2022, while in recuperation for treatment for long term illness. Among his many noteworthy responsibilities, he was a “distinguished professor” in the School of Foreign Service and a senior fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, an international correspondent for La Civilta Cattolica, and the senior mentor of the Figge Family Fellowship Program. He was 77 years old.

A funeral mass takes place on Wednesday, April 20, 2022, at 10:30

at Holy Trinity Catholic Church (35th and N Sts NW).

Burial follows in the Jesuit cemetery on the university campus.

May the angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs receive you at your arrival and lead you to the holy city Jerusalem. May choirs of angels receive you and with Lazarus, once poor, may you have eternal rest.

Drew Christiansen, S.J., Ph.D., was the Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Human Development at Georgetown University, a senior fellow with the University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, and the senior mentor to the Figge Fellows in the Catholic Studies Program.

His most recent areas of research included nuclear disarmament, nonviolence and just peacemaking, Catholic social teaching, and ecumenical public advocacy.  He was frequently a consultant to the Holy See and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He was recently a consultant to the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, its Dicastery for Integral Human Development, and the Holy See Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations (New York).

He served as director of the U.S. bishops’ Office of International Justice and Peace, under whose auspices he worked on humanitarian protection in the Balkans, the Middle East, and Central America. He was the chief staff consultant on the U.S. bishops’ 1991 pastoral statement on the environment, “Renewing the Earth,” and their 1993 peace statement, “The Harvest of Justice is Sown in Peace.” With the bishops’ conference he has also participated in ecumenical and inter-faith dialogues, including the Jewish-Catholic Dialogue, the Mennonite-Catholic Dialogue, and the United Methodist Church-USCCB Dialogue.

In addition to authoring or editing six volumes, Fr. Christiansen published over 200 articles in five languages in both popular and scholarly outlets. Fr. Christiansen contributed frequently to major Catholic journals of influence such as La Civiltà Cattolica, L’Osservatore Romano, and America magazine. He served as editor of the last of these from 2005 to 2012.

As senior mentor to the Figge fellows, Fr. Christian introduced the students to methods of theological reflection on matters of global importance.