Rev. Fr. Pius Pietrzyk, OP, a Dominican priest, spiritual director and practicing civil (inactive status) and canon lawyer, will lead a day of reflection using a series of conferences integrating the Catholic faith and the spiritual life and the practice of law. In addition to the talks presented by Fr. Pius, there will be a continental breakfast, lunch, time for personal reflection, fellowship, reconciliation and a Lord’s Day Mass at 5 pm Saturday evening. All attorneys (including non-Catholics) are welcome and encouraged to attend.
Father Pius is a priest of the Order of Preachers (the “Dominicans”). He graduated with a degree (BA) in English and Philosophy from the University of Arizona. Afterwards, he obtained his juris doctor (JD) from The Law School at the University of Chicago. Upon graduation, he worked as an attorney for the international law firm of Sidley & Austin LLP, serving in its Corporate and Securities practice.
In 2002, Father Pius entered the novitiate of the Dominicans. He completed his theological studies at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC. There he also completed a licentiate in theology (STL), writing on the Trinity in St. Thomas Aquinas. He was ordained a priest in 2008 by Most Rev. Christopher Cardone, OP, then Bishop of Auki, Solomon Islands. Following his ordination, he was assigned to serve as parochial vicar at the parish of St. Thomas Aquinas in Zanesville, OH.
In 2010, Father Pius was nominated by President Barak Obama and unanimously confirmed by the US Senate to serve as a member of the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), the largest provider of civil legal services in the country. In 2011, Father Pius began studies in Canon Law at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. There he earned both a licentiate (JCL) and doctorate (JCD) in canon law. His doctoral dissertation focused on juridical persons in the Code of Canon Law and in American law. In 2016, Father Pius was appointed a missionary of mercy by His Holiness, Pope Francis.
Father Pius served for four years as Chairman of Pastoral Studies and Professor of Canon Law at St. Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park, CA. Father Pius is currently an adjunct professor of canon law at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC.