Dr. Elena Procario-Foley of the Religious Studies department was appointed by the Vatican and will join a 10-person committee that will study theological issues between those of the Christian and Jewish faith.

The theology study group is called “The Gifts and Calling of God Are Irrevocable: A Reflection on Theological Questions Pertaining to Catholic-Jewish Relations on the Occasion of the 50th Anniversary of Nostra Aetate.”

“In this appointment, I will be working with four Catholic scholar-priests who have a lot of experience in the Jewish-Catholic dialogue,” Procario-Foley said. “The only two Americans in the group are myself and a Jewish scholar, Professor Dr. Ruth Langer of Boston College.”

Procario-Foley and Langer are the only two women who make up this 10-person committee.

Procario-Foley also serves as the director of Core Curriculum.

“Dr.Procario-Foley is unlike any professor at Iona,” junior Chris Gillen said. “She will give up her free time to talk to students and help them in any way she can.”

Procario-Foley will still remain a full-time professor at Iona College even with her newfound position with the Vatican.

“Iona College is my academic and scholarly home,” Procario-Foley said.

Junior Chris Kash, who was once a student in Procario-Foley’s RST 101 course, Religion in the Contemporary World, believes that Procario-Foley was very impactful as a professor and is the perfect person to fulfill the position that she has recently been appointed to.

“I never dreaded going to class but instead looked forward to it because she made each lesson interesting,” said Kash. “She is very knowledgeable about religions and doesn’t discriminate.”

Kash also believes that she will provide a candid perspective on the issues.

In 1999, Iona College asked Procario-Foley to begin a program in Jewish-Catholic Studies. This program was endowed as a personal gift from the Rudin family. The area of focus was quickly shifted to research and began the teachings of Jewish-Catholic studies.

“Our charge is to explore the Vatican document and analyze the theological issues that it raises,” Procario-Foley said. “We will work those issues and attempt to identify and pursue the topics we now most need to discuss in the Jewish-Catholic dialogue.”

Procario-Foley would also like to extend her gratitude to her students who have encouraged her to continue her work and who thoughtfully work through Jewish-Catholic study related issues.

“Dr. Procario-Foley was always extremely kind, understanding and approachable,” sophomore Nick DeCamillo said. “She always made her lectures as interesting and relatable as possible. I was never hesitant to ask her a question.”

Procario-Foley has also gone on mission-trips with Iona College students. During Spring break, Procario-Foley embarked on study abroad trip with students from Iona College in Poland. Students spent spring break studying the history of the Holocaust.

“My experience with Dr. Procario-Foley on the study abroad trip was life changing,” Gillen said. “She perfectly balanced her ability to educate the class on a topic as horrific as the Holocaust while helping us reflect emotionally on what transpired during the event.”

Procario-Foley has accomplished a number of things from presenting at scholarly conferences, publishing and has been awarded two fellowships to pursue study in Israel.

Procario-Foley believes that it is the culmination of all that she has accomplished, including being the chair/president of the International Council of Christians, and her wonderful colleagues that led her to Father Hofmann and to her appointment by the Vatican.