Dr. Wallenfang, OCDS, Emmanuel Mary of the Cross, is a Secular Discalced Carmelite and Professor of Theology and Philosophy at Sacred Heart Major Seminary. He received his M.T.S. from St Norbert College and his Ph.D. from Loyola University Chicago.
Wallenfang specializes in Catholic theology and philosophy, Carmelite spirituality, phenomenology and metaphysics. His research concentrates on the work of Edith Stein, Emmanuel Levinas, Paul Ricoeur, Jean-Luc Marion, the Carmelite saints, and the New Evangelization. He teaches courses in philosophy, theology, lay ecclesial ministry, evangelization, and Catholic spirituality. His articles have appeared in Philosophy and Theology, Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, The International Journal of Religion in Spirituality and Society, Listening: Journal of Communication Ethics, Religion, and Culture, and Pacifica, as well as in other book compilations.
He is the author of iGod: A Hidden and Fragmentary Autobiography (Cascade, 2021), Emmanuel: Levinas and Variations on God with Us (Cascade, 2021), Shoeless: Carmelite Spirituality in a Disquieted World (Wipf & Stock, 2021), Metaphysics: A Basic Introduction in a Christian Key (Cascade, 2019), Phenomenology: A Basic Introduction in the Light of Jesus Christ (Cascade, 2019), Dialectical Anatomy of the Eucharist: An Étude in Phenomenology (Cascade, 2017), and Human and Divine Being: A Study on the Theological Anthropology of Edith Stein (Cascade, 2017). Wallenfang is co-editor with John C. Cavadini for the book series, Global Perspectives on the New Evangelization (Pickwick), the first three volumes of which are entitled Pope Francis and the Event of Encounter (2018), Evangelization as Interreligious Dialogue (2019), and Gift to the Church and World: Fifty Years of Joseph Ratzinger's Introduction to Christianity (2021). He is a member of Société Internationale de Recherche Emmanuel Levinas and the North American Levinas Society.
Before entering the world of academia, Wallenfang served in full-time Catholic youth ministry for nine years.
