Adjunct Professor, Dogmatic Theology
Fr. Michael Champagne, CJC graduated from Leonville High School and attended Louisiana State University where he received a BS in mechanical engineering. He worked for Louisiana Power and Light until 1988 when he joined the Community of Jesus Crucified. In 1993 he received a STB in Theology from the Gregorian University in Rome and was ordained a priest in 1994. In 1995 he received an STL in theology from the Angelicum University, where he wrote on the Sacramental Characteristics of Religious Consecration. In 2006 he earned a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas in Rome, writing on The Relation between St. Thérèse de Lisieux and Mother Teresa of Calcutta. His publications include topics on consecrated life, the Holy Spirit, Mother Teresa and St. Thérèse de Lisieux.
In 2006 he began the Aquinas Institute in Lafayette and continues to serve as director and faculty members. Fr. Champagne joined the NDS faculty in 2008 as an adjunct professor of theology and spiritual director. In 2015 he began Fȇte-Dieu du Teche, LLC, an organization to promote new evangelization initiatives in the Acadiana region including the annual Assumption Boat Procession, the public Bible Marathon, and the operation of the Spiritual Care Unit (mobile confessional). Father is also the director of St. Teresa Center for the Works of Mercy which operates a soup kitchen and food pantry for the poor, Guadalupe Sober Living House for men, and Oratory Don Bosco, a youth center for at-risk youth. Father Champagne presently serves as the religious superior of his community.