David Lantigua
Theology
Associate Professor of Theology
William W. and Anna Jean Cushwa Co-Director, Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism
- Pope Francis
- Catholicism in the Americas
- Social justice and human rights
Lantigua’s Latest News
Lantigua in the News
National Catholic Reporter
Opinion | For Catholics, mass deportations are immoral
December 04, 2025
By David Lantigua, an associate professor of theology and the co-director of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism at the University of Notre Dame.
Commonweal
Leo’s Ode to Latin American Theology: True worship demands love for the poor.
October 16, 2025
By David Lantigua, an associate professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame and codirector of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism. Lantigua is currently completing a manuscript entitled "Social Revolution after Pope Francis."
The Hill
5 takeaways from Robert Prevost’s election as first American pope
May 08, 2025
“The church in the U.S. has been growing at a smaller but steady rate and this is likely to send that into overdrive,” said David Lantigua, co-director of the University of Notre Dame’s Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism.
The Conversation
Francis, a pope of many firsts: 5 essential reads
April 21, 2025
In 2024, University of Notre Dame professor David Lantigua had a cup of maté tea with some “porteños,” as people from Buenos Aires are known. They shared a surprising take on the Argentine pope: “a theologian of the tango.”
Newsweek
Pope Francis' Relationship With Donald Trump Through the Years
April 21, 2025
David Lantigua, the co-director of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism and an associate theology professor at the University of Notre Dame, told Newsweek that the Catholic Church sees the second Trump administration's immigration crackdown as "even more egregious" than the first.
WVPE
Notre Dame expert says Pope Francis defied easy labels
April 21, 2025
In the Catholic church’s time-honored tension between upholding its traditions and serving a rapidly changing world, David Lantigua says Pope Francis didn’t fit neatly into an ideological box.
The Tablet
A Vision For a Globalized College of Cardinals
April 21, 2025
“It’s been very intentional because he sees the role of the periphery, particularly the Church in the global south, which is growing at a much faster rate than the Church in Europe, the global north,” David Lantigua, co-director of the University of Notre Dame Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism told The Tablet.
The Conversation
At 88, Pope Francis dances the tango with the global Catholic Church amid its culture wars
December 19, 2024
By David M. Lantigua, an associate professor of theology and co-director of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism, University of Notre Dame.
National Catholic Reporter
Scholars praise Fr. Gustavo Gutiérrez's prophetic vision, theological influence
October 29, 2024
In an interview, David Lantigua, an associate professor of theology at Notre Dame and the co-director of Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism, said that one of the "real and lasting contributions of Gutiérrez's work is to really think about that the option for the poor and the perspective of the poor in history. It has universal, global implications."
The Washington Post
JD Vance’s Catholic conversion is part of young conservative movement
July 29, 2024
“The appeal of religious tradition, whether through the [Latin Mass] or popular piety and devotions, is becoming more attractive in a society that appears to be losing a sense of deeper cultural roots in the face of identity politics, overconsumption and the individualistic pursuit of material success,” David M. Lantigua, co-director of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism at Notre Dame, wrote.
Newsweek
Pope Francis' Culture Wars Divide Catholic Church
April 01, 2024
"There's no question that [Francis] is deeply concerned, perhaps even more concerned in some ways, with what's happening in the German ecclesial," David Lantigua, a moral theology professor at the University of Notre Dame, told Newsweek.