Fr. Christopher Staab, S.J., a member of the Midwest Province, joined JST-SCU as Professor of the Practice in Ignatian Spirituality in 2024. He previously taught at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
One of the key terms that describes Chris’s spiritual and theological inquiry is the word “sources”. Given his field, the “sources” refer to those early documents of Ignatius of Loyola and the first companions of the Society of Jesus that continue to inspire pastoral, theological, and spiritual reflection. They include diaries, letters, as well as the more well-known texts such as the Spiritual Exercises and the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus. But the sources for the Ignatian charism are only one part of the larger reflection and experience of God in the world. For that reason, Chris’s interest brings him to study the sources of the Ignatian tradition, namely, texts by female medieval mystics, popular religious writings of the late Middle Ages, and devotional practices such as pilgrimage.
As a new professor in the practice of Christian spirituality, Chris seeks to create with his students a dialogue and reflection in which students and teacher alike enter more deeply into an experiential, critical, and reflective practice of the faith that is informed by the sources, the Ignatian sources and the sources of those sources that continue to give life to the Church.
- Spiritual diaries of Ignatius and the first companions
- Late Medieval Female mystics and the Spirituality of Ignatius of Loyola
- From Frustration to Freedom: A Spiritual Diary as Inspiration for Diary Research”, in The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in Spirituality and Contemplative Studies (2025)
- Studies in the Spirituality of Jesuits 56/1 Spring (2024) “’Always Growing in Devotion’: The Grace of Devotion in the Life of Ignatius of Loyola and the
Society of Jesus” - “Meditating with Paul Simon’s Seven Psalms” (March 2024)
- “Journey of Devotion." A podcast for the Society of Jesus Formation website (July 2023)
In English
In Spanish - Manresa vol 95/375 (2023): 123-136. “Un modo de proceder en las cosas espirituales. Las cartas de Ignacio de Loyola a Francisco de Borja
como fuente para elaborar una doctrina espiritual ignaciana” - Theologica Xaveriana vol 72 (2022): 1-27. “The desire for Jerusalem – Historical considerations of Ignatius of Loyola’s desire to journey to the
Holy Land”