Mother of two is Institut Catholique’s new dean of theology
Anne-Sophie Vivier-Muresan is the first-ever layperson to head the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at the world-famous Institut Catholique of Paris
The Institut Catholique of Paris (ICP), which was founded in 1875 and counts numerous cardinals and bishops among its alumni, has appointed the first-ever layperson to be dean of its Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies.
Anne-Sophie Vivier-Muresan, a 45-year-old theology professor who is married and has two children, was elected by her peers at the end of last month to the three-year post. She took up her post as the dean of the “Theologicum” on September 1st.
She succeed Father Jean-Louis Souletie as head of the world’s largest French-speaking faculty of theology, which numbers some 1,000 students, over 700 auditors and 200 members of the teaching staff.
Following her appointment, Vivier-Muresan said she intends to "pursue and renew the efforts already undertaken to decompartmentalize the teaching of theology, so as to enable it to assume its full role in the service of the ecclesial body and society".
Expertise in religious anthropology and interreligious dialogue
This concern is illustrated by her own career path. It was her studies in social anthropology, as well as her encounter with Islam – "the Muslim world questions the Christian faith a lot on the Trinity" – and then with the Christian East, in Egypt and Iran, where she spent several years, that particularly led her to theology.
"I began to increasingly specialize in matters of religious anthropology, and, at a certain moment, I realized that if I wanted to go all the way in my quest to understand what people are and their search for transcendence, I needed to open up to theology," said Vivier-Muresan, who has a double doctorate in theology and social anthropology.
She has been a professor at the Theologicum since 2009 and has held positions of responsibility as deputy director of the Institut de Sciences et Théologie des Religions (ISTR) from 2011- 2020. Long committed to building bridges between cultures, she directs the university degree on "pastoral care in encounters with Muslims" (Dupram) and, since 2020, the Institut Supérieur d'Études Œcuméniques (ISEO).
A polyglot theologian of religions, Vivier-Muresan has worked on ecumenical and interfaith issues. Convinced that "theology can help the Church out of the crisis", she is aware that "for a lay person, doing theology is neither obvious nor easy". She said that, like her predecessor, she plans to eagerly "encourage the teaching of theology among lay people".