Thomas J. Neal, Ph.D.

Since 2012, Dr. Tom Neal has served as a professor of spiritual theology, director of the Institute for Lay Ecclesial Ministry, academic dean, and director of intellectual formation at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. He is also a faculty member of the Institute for Priestly Formation at Creighton University in Omaha. Tom has spent two plus decades serving in adult faith formation in Florida, as well as in Des Moines, Iowa, where he was director of the St. Joseph Educational Center. He has led hundreds of retreats, workshops, and catechetical events throughout the U.S. and is an active blogger. Tom has also been involved in seminarian and deacon formation programs in Florida, Iowa, and Louisiana.

Tom received a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and a Master of Arts in systematic theology from Mt. St. Mary’s University. He pursued a doctorate at Florida State University, specializing in spiritual theology, and successfully defended his dissertation on the writings of St. John of the Cross.

Tom has been married to his wife, Patti, for 23 years. They have four children, two boys and two girls. He is an amateur meteorologist and ornithologist, and loves to read and write poetry in his free time. Tom and his family are members of St. Clement of Rome parish.