Jamie Phelps, director emerita of the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana, passed away on November 22. She was 84 years old.
Born in Mobile, Alabama, Dr. Phelps received her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Sienna Heights College (now University) in Adrian, Michigan, a master’s degree in social work from the University of Illinois Chicago, a master’s degree in theology from St. John’s University in Minnesota, and a doctorate in systematic theology from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
Throughout her career, Dr. Phelps taught and researched theology at colleges in Illinois, Indiana, and Louisiana. She spent over a decade as a theology instructor at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, where she founded the Augustus Tolton Pastoral Ministry Program. She also had stints as a visiting professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame and Loyola University of Chicago.
In addition to serving as director of the Institute for Black Catholic Studies, Dr. Phelps taught as the Katherine Drexel Professor of Systematic Theology at Xavier University. During her tenure, she leveraged her scholarship, mentorship, and advocacy to challenge the Catholic Church to better understand itself through the voices and experiences of Black Catholics and those on the margins.
Dr. Phelps had been a member of the Adrian Dominican Sisters since 1959. In 2022, the congregation endowed a scholarship in her honor to support full-time students enrolled in the Institute for Black Catholic Studies.