Alex Gruber

Alex Gruber, a doctoral student in the modern historical track in the Theology Department at Fordham University

 

Education

B.A. Theology/Religious Studies and History - St. Norbert College, 2018

M.T.S. - Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, 2020

Biography

Alex is a second-year doctoral student specializing in modern historical theology at Fordham University. His research focuses on the history of Roman Catholic religious orders in the United States from the mid-1800s to the present, specifically the Norbertine or Premonstratensian Order of Canons Regular and their interactions with Indigenous communities like the Oneida Nation. The Norbertine Order, its traditions, and its spirituality have interested Alex since his undergraduate education at its college in northeastern Wisconsin, where he worked as a research fellow for the Center for Norbertine Studies. Other areas of fascination and investigation for Alex include the stories of Catholicism and Catholic mysticism in Latin America and Spain, colonialism, and charism in religious orders and religious educational institutions. 

A native Wisconsinite, Alex remains deeply invested in, engaged with, and enamored by quality ice cream, gelato, custard, and other frozen desserts. With his undergraduate, graduate, and professional experience in residential life and undergraduate service, he also has a passion for establishing lasting, fruitful relationships between individuals and their surrounding communities, especially those communities most on the margins. 

Alex’s projects include the following.

Academic 

  • "Catholicism as Cultural History: The Enduring Legacy of John O'Malley, S.J.," co-authored with Gabby Bibeau, The Catholic Historical Review 110, no. 2 (Spring 2024), 381-383. https://doi.org/10.1353/cat.2024.a928000
  • “The Premonstratensians as a Case Study for ‘the Long Nineteenth Century,” The Communicator 37, no. 2 (June 2021).
  • “Norbertine Women through the Millennium,” The Communicator 37, no. 2 (June 2021). 
  • “Vine and Branches: A History of the Norbertine Order in Northeastern Wisconsin,” unpublished work, Killeen Chair of Theology and Philosophy at St. Norbert College, April 2021.

Popular 

  • “Language about LGBTQ people has moral consequences,” U.S. Catholic, December 1, 2022.
  • “A reflection for the thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time,” U.S. Catholic, October 24, 2022. 
  • “Watching the Trial of Derek Chauvin during Holy Week,” America Magazine, April 1, 2021.

Presentations

  • “Laying Down Roots: The Origins of St. Norbert College and the Norbertines in the United States,” 2023 Heritage Lecture, St. Norbert College, October 16, 2023.
  • “The Golden Girls, Friendship, and the Life Well Lived,” SNCTalks lecture, St. Norbert College, March 24, 2023.
  • “I Shall Give You a Living Book: The Sacred Role of Librarians and Libraries in the Secular World,” Lumen et Vita conference, Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, February 15, 2020
  • “Poor in Spirit: Asceticism and Gender in the Life of Saint Macrina,” Archbishop Iakovos Patristics Graduate Student Conference, Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, February 28-March 2, 2019.
  • “Teresa of Ávila on Relationship, Virtue, and the Life Well Lived,” Lumen et Vita conference, Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, February 9, 2019.