Boston College
Candidate for Executive Council (2027-29)
Candidate statement
I’m Steve Molvarec, a Jesuit priest and Assistant Professor of Church History at Boston College’s Clough School of Theology and Ministry. My work focuses especially on medieval religious life and monasticism, with particular attention to the Carthusian tradition, as well as the history of medieval cities. I also sometimes write about early modern sacramental theory. Teaching in a Catholic divinity school/seminary has brought me into conversation with theology in all of its varieties and methods. That has brought perspective to my work on medieval religious history and cultivated in me interdisciplinary perspectives on my research on medieval monastic life.
Over the years I have been fortunate to serve the profession through scholarly organizations, including on the boards of La Société Internationale des Médiévistes in Paris and the New York State Association of European Historians (NYSAEH). Those experiences have made me appreciate how much scholarly associations depend upon the willingness of their members to contribute time and energy to sustaining intellectual communities. They have also shown me the value of organizations that bring scholars into conversation across institutions, disciplines, career stages, and national boundaries.
The ACHA provides a scholarly home in which highly specialized work can become part of a much wider conversation about the history of Catholicism, and it creates opportunities to encounter colleagues whose subjects, periods, and approaches are quite different from one’s own. At a recent ACHA meeting, I had the privilege of speaking on a panel that brought into conversation saints’ lives, medieval, early modern, and modern. I have benefited from those conversations and from the sense of scholarly community that the ACHA fosters. If elected, I would hope to contribute my previous experience of service in scholarly organizations, together with the perspective of someone whose work crosses the boundaries of history and theology and who has worked in both American and European academic settings. I would be glad to help the ACHA continue to support emerging scholars, encourage broad participation in its programs and meetings, and sustain the generous and serious intellectual community that has made my own membership worthwhile.