James G Sabak, OFM, is a Franciscan Friar of Holy Name Province, New York, New York. Born in Seattle, Washington, Jim was raised in Niagara Falls, New York, and attended The Catholic University of America, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics in 1985. In 1992 he entered the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans) and was solemnly professed in 1998. In 1999 he received his Master of Divinity degree from Washington Theological Union, Washington, DC, and was ordained to presbyteral ministry in that same year. From 1999 until 2002 he was Chaplain of the College at Siena College, Loudonville, New York, where he also lectured in the Religious Studies Department. In 2002 and in 2012 Jim earned, respectively, his Master’s and Doctoral degrees both in Liturgical Studies from Catholic University. His doctoral dissertation was entitled, “The Theological Significance of ‘Keeping Vigil’ in Rome from the Fourth to the Eighth Centuries.” While attending CUA, Jim was awarded a Teaching Fellowship in the School of Theology and Religious Studies for instructing undergraduates. He served as Senior Teaching Fellow at CUA from 2005 to 2012 charged with assisting the pedagogical development of the Teaching Assistants and Teaching Fellows in the School. In the fall of 2012 he began teaching as an assistant professor of Theology at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island.

Jim is a member of Societas Liturgica, the international society on scholarship in the liturgy, and has delivered papers at the Societas conferences in Sydney, Australia, Reims, France, and Würzburg, Germany. He is a member of the North American Academy of Liturgy, participating in the “Problems in the Early History of the Liturgy” seminar. Jim is a member of the Catholic Theological Society of America, where he co-convenes the seminar in Sacramental Theology. Jim serves as Chair of the American Franciscan Liturgical Commission, charged with editing the texts of the Franciscan Mass propers for the revised Roman Missal. He is also National Chaplain of The Catholic University of America Alumni Association. Jim has given numerous talks on liturgical theology and pastoral application of the sacraments to a variety of groups and associations. He is the author of several book reviews, a chapter in Franciscans and Liturgical Life (2006), published by The Franciscan Institute, Saint Bonaventure University, New York, on “A Franciscan Theology of the Eucharist,” and articles in the journals Worship, Studia Liturgica, and Horizons.

Jim resides on the campus of Providence College as a “Friar-in-Residence” in St. Joseph Hall, a residence hall for freshmen and sophomore men.

 

E=mail Fr. James: jsabak@providence.edu