Providence College Theology Department

Not a bad start for a newly-ordained priest! 🇻🇦

On a visit to Rome just weeks after his ordination, Rev. Raphael Arteaga, O.P. ’19 had the honor of meeting Pope Leo XIV. “It was an incredible grace,” Father Raphael said. “It was the only time in my life that I felt truly speechless meeting someone, and that’s saying something.”

Following a summer at St. Gertrude Church in Cincinnati, Father Raphael will return to the Dominican House of Studies in D.C. to complete his licentiate in sacred theology. After that, he hopes to be assigned to ministry at a campus or parish.

Get to know Father Raphael and read about his future plans: link in comments.

PC's Theology Department was sorry to say goodbye to Fr. Bruno Shah, OP, but we know he will do great work at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC!

Fr. Bruno Shah, O.P. Named Dean of the Pontifical Faculty - Dominican House of Studies On July 1, 2026, the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception welcomed Fr. Bruno Shah, O.P. as the new Dean. Fr. Shah is a Dominican friar of the Province of St. Joseph.

Congratulations to Fr. Raphael Arteaga, a PC Theology major!

Meet Fr. Raphael Arteaga, O.P., one of our newly ordained priests!

Fr. Raphael Arteaga was born in Providence, Rhode Island and raised in the city of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Fr. Raphael’s parents, both born in Colombia, South America, were committed to providing a Catholic education to him and his sister, which helped to feed the Catholic faith passed on at home. From a young age he found himself growing in wonder at the Holy Mass and by extension, the priesthood.

Yet, it was not until he met the Dominican Friars at Providence College, where he earned his Bachelors of Arts in Theology in 2019, that he began to think about religious life in conjunction with the vocation of the priesthood.

“Not only did I have the Dominican Friars in class and as my chaplains, but I also had the unique experience of being a porter for the priory on campus for all four years of college.

It was the experience of the multi-generations of friars residing and working at Providence College that I saw the true grace that works within the Dominican religious life under the patronage of Saint Dominic and the Blessed Mother.

It was the joyful and fraternal witness of my older brothers in religion that made me desirous of the same joy and fidelity of life in Jesus Christ.”

Ordained to the priesthood of Jesus Christ on May 23, 2026, Fr. Raphael is completing his Licentiate in Sacred Theology at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. Please keep him in your prayers!

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📸 Paula Paiva — Fr. Arteaga with his parents after celebrating his First Mass at Misión San Andrés in Silver Spring, MD.

Former instructor in PC's Theology Department and now Rector of the Angelicum in Rome, Fr. Thomas Joseph White, O.P., met with Pope Leo in a private audience this week—and gave him a full set of recordings of "The Hillbillly Thomists," a bluegrass musical group of Dominican friars. https://angelicum.it/rector-of-the-angelicum-received-in-private-audience-by-pope-leo-xiv/