Coordinator of Spiritual Directors, Department Chair and Professor of Theology
Faculty, Spiritual Directors, Spiritual Theology
Fr. Jeffrey A. Montz, S.T.L. is a native of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. He grew up in Chalmette where he was involved from a young age in his home parish, Our Lady of Prompt Succor. The faithful witness of his parents helped to lead him to develop a personal relationship with God and to foster within him a sense of vocation to the priesthood. He attended Archbishop Hannan High School, while it was still in St. Bernard Parish. Upon graduation in 2000 he entered into seminary formation at St. Joseph Seminary College.
After graduating from St. Joseph Seminary College in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts, Fr. Jeffrey continued his seminary formation at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans where he received a Masters of Divinity in 2008. That same year Fr. Jeffrey was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Following ordination Fr. Montz served the Archdiocese as parochial vicar of three different parishes over the span of five years (St. Charles Borromeo, St. Francis of Assisi, and Divine Mercy). In 2013 he was asked by Archbishop Aymond to continue his studies in Rome to pursue a licentiate in spiritual theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (The Angelicum). His tessina was written on the theology of the priesthood according to the life and teaching of Venerable Fulton J. Sheen.
Having completed his licentiate in the summer of 2015, Fr. Jeffrey joined the full-time faculty of Notre Dame Seminary where he currently serves as the spiritual director of the seminary and head of the department of spiritual theology. He has also been serving for several years as the chaplain of Dominican High School which is near the campus of the seminary. In 2023 Fr. Jeffrey was diagnosed with brain cancer. This experience has given him a deeper appreciation for the theology of redemptive suffering. In particular, he draws encouragement and understanding from St. John Paul II who wrote on this theme and provided a lived witness which he seeks to follow. He especially hopes to offer encouragement and insight to those enduring the Cross whatever form it may take.