Fu Jen Academic Conference

Dr. Fang-Chung Chen

Fang-chung Chen is a professor of history at Fu Jen Catholic University. Previously at Fu Jen, he was director of the Institutum Historiae Ecclesiae, director of the History Office and dean of the College of Liberal Arts. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history at National Chengchi University and earned a doctorate in history at National Taiwan Normal University.

Chen’s research focuses on the history of Catholicism in China and Taiwan. He is working on a book about the Catholic history of Taiwan after 1949. He wrote “People of the Heavenly Kingdom in the Collapsing Heavenly Dynasty,” (Taipei: Kuangchi Cultural Group, 2017, first edition), co-authored with Jiang Guoxiong; “The History of Sino-Vatican Diplomatic Relations,” (Taipei: The Commercial Press, 2003); and “Biography of Cardinal Yu Pin,” (Taipei: The Commercial Press, 2001). He also has authored numerous articles.

Dr. Jerome Oetgen, C'69, S'73

Oetgen’s most recent book is “Schools for the Lord’s Service: A History of the American-Cassinese Congregation of Benedictine Monasteries, 1855–2023.” He wrote “An American Abbot: Boniface Wimmer, O.S.B., 1809–1887” and “Mission to America: A History of Saint Vincent Archabbey, the First Benedictine Monastery in the United States.” His work “Always Forward: A History of Saint Vincent Archabbey, 1949–2020” received third place in the history category in the 2021 Catholic Press Association Book Awards.

Educated from an early age by the Benedictines, Oetgen is a graduate of Saint Vincent College and earned a Master of Divinity from Saint Vincent Seminary, a master’s degree from the University of North Carolina and a doctorate from the University of Toronto.

A retired senior foreign service officer, he served at the United States embassies in Italy, Spain, Ecuador, Paraguay, Nicaragua and Haiti. He resides in Arlington, Virginia.

Dr. Lucas Briola, C’13

Briola is an assistant professor of theology at Saint Vincent College. A native of Pittsburgh, he holds bachelor’s degrees in theology and history from Saint Vincent College, an Master of Theological Studies from the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, and a doctorate from The Catholic University of America.

His book, “The Eucharistic Vision of Laudato Si’: Praise, Conversion, and Integral Ecology,” was published by The Catholic University of America Press in 2023. He has a book forthcoming with Liturgical Press tentatively entitled, “Ora et Labora in Our Common Home: A Benedictine Invitation to Care for Our Common Home.”

Theology Fellow for the Saint Vincent Center for Catholic Thought and Culture, Briola serves as co-editor of “Conversatio,” an in-house Saint Vincent journal focused on the College’s Catholic, Benedictine and liberal arts mission. For that work, Briola was co-awarded the Saint Vincent Projechtenmacher Award in 2022. Last year, he was awarded the Quentin Schaut Award, which recognizes the contributions, leadership and achievements of a junior faculty member to the curriculum and life of the College.

Briola’s wife, Dr. Catherine Petrany, is a Psalms scholar who also teaches in the College’s Theology Department. They have one son, Nathan, named after the late Father Nathan Munsch, O.S.B.

Brother Nicholas Koss, O.S.B., P’61, C'66, S 70

The retired Distinguished Professor of Comparative Literature at Peking University. Brother Nicholas is chair professor at Fu Jen Catholic University and a distinguished professor at Saint Vincent College.

Brother Nicholas earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy at Saint Vincent College and studied Chinese at Chabanel Language Institute in Taiwan. He holds a doctorate in Comparative Literature from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.

He was a founding member of the Taiwan Association for Classical, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, and served as its first president from 2006 to 2010. He is an international consultant for the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Zhejiang University.

Among Brother Nick’s research interests are the image of China in the West, Chinese-Western literary relations, comparative fiction, and literature and religion. He is researching the image of China in 16th- and 17th-century England, about which he has published a number of articles, including, “Matteo Ricci on China via Samuel Purchas: Faithful Re-Presentation,” which is in Western Visions of the Far East in a Transpacific Age, 1522-1657, edited by Christina Lee. His other publications include many journal articles and “The Best and Fairest Land: Images of China in Medieval Europe.”

Father James Flint, O.S.B.

Father James serves as subprior, archivist, historian, treasurer and oblate director at St. Procopius Abbey in Lisle, Illinois. His book, “Great Britain and the Holy See: The Diplomatic Relations Question, 1846-1852,” was published by The Catholic University of America Press in 2003. He has published on historical topics in the American Benedictine Review, Catholic Historical Review, Church History, Journal of Ecclesiastical History, and Journal of Military History.

After graduating from Illinois Benedictine College with a degree in history in 1974, entered St. Procopius Abbey. Professing vows as a Benedictine monk in 1975, he taught history and religion at Benet Academy in Lisle.

From 1978 to 1981, Father James studied at the Pontifical Athenaeum of Sant’ Anselmo, the Benedictine school in Rome, and earned a bachelor’s degree in sacred theology. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1983. In 1985, he was sent to The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Father James earned a master’s degree in modern European history in 1987 and a doctorate in 1990.

Dr. Sophia Geng

Geng is the Endowed James and Margaret Tseng Loe Chair for China Studies at Saint Vincent College. Her academic interests lie in oral history, cultural heritage studies, diaspora studies and Chinese literature and culture.

She is a recognized educator for her dedication to teaching excellence and her promotion of the cultural heritage of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI). She has worked with community organizations to capture the voices and stories of AAPI communities and has shared her experiences at national and international conferences and workshops. Since 2020, Geng has served on the board of directors of ASIANetwork, a consortium of over 150 North American colleges, promoting education about Asia within the liberal arts. She serves as a key leader for ASIANetwork’s “AAPI Voices and Stories: Community-Based Digital Storytelling” project. This three-year, $500,000 project is funded by the Mellon Foundation.

Before joining the Loe Center, Geng was a full professor of China Studies at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University. She served as the director of the Asian Studies Program from 2014 to 2017 and was the recipient of the Robert Spaeth Professor of Distinction Award, Glocal Leadership Award and Academic Advising Award. She has published on topics of oral history studies, cultural heritage, memory of WWII and diaspora across the Pacific Ocean. Geng is a creative writer and a published author of short stories.