Rev. Kenneth Onyema Amadi

Rev Ken Amadi is Director of Church Life Africa and concurrent Assistant Professor of Theology at the Augustine Institute. Before joining the Augustine Institute, he served as Director of Religious Education and Adult Faith Formation at St Joseph Parish, Mishawaka, Indiana.

A priest of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, Nigeria, Fr. Amadi is completing his Ph.D. at the University of Notre Dame specializing in liturgical and sacramental theology. His scholarly interests include ritual studies, African Christian imagination, lay theological mission, and global Catholicism. His dissertation, “Ritualizing Thanksgiving: The Place of Local Rituals in Global Catholicism” explores the changing dynamics in local expressions of worship amidst an enduring liturgical tradition. How do local rituals, particularly in the African context, participate in and contribute to the richness of the Church’s lex orandi?

As a scholar-practitioner, Fr. Amadi co-founded Church Life Africa (CLA), an initiative that calls for intentional investment in Africa’s lay theological promise as a beacon of hope for the future of the global Church. Leveraging the resources at the Augustine Institute, CLA is driving the institute’s global outreach for the New Evangelization in Africa. Fr. Amadi and other colleagues are currently developing the Theology for Service Leadership (TSL) program, an integrated post-graduate diploma for lay African Christians who will “give theology walking shoes” – serving as mission leaders for promoting integral human development and the New Evangelization.

For his outstanding leadership and service to the mission of the Church and academy, Fr. Amadi received the 2025 Notre Dame Black Excellence Award.