We are delighted to announce that the Rev. Dr. Luigi Gioia, currently Associate Priest and Director of Formation at St Paul’s Knightsbridge, in the Diocese of London, UK, and a Research Associate at the Von Hügel Institute at the University of Cambridge, has accepted the call to take up the post of Associate for Adult Education and Formation. Fr. Gioia will begin his ministry with us at Saint Thomas on Advent Sunday, November 27.
The Revd Dr. Luigi Gioia is Associate Priest and Director of Formation at St Paul’s Knightsbridge, London, and a Research Associate at the Von Hügel Institute at the University of Cambridge (UK). He was a Benedictine monk for 25 years and did his doctoral studies at the University of Oxford. He taught theology for almost 20 years in France and at the Pontifical University of St Anselm in Rome. He discovered the beauty of the liturgical and theological traditions of the Anglican Church during his time in Oxford and eventually became an Anglican a few years later.
Luigi is a writer in theology and spirituality. He gives talks, preaches retreats, leads workshops, and teaches courses as an invited lecturer in universities, theological colleges, and parishes all over the world. He is fluent in English, French and Italian. His books have been translated in five languages. His spiritual meditations have been published by The Tablet, Crux, The America Magazine, The Church Times and broadcast by the BBC.
Besides his academic work on St Augustine, Luigi has written several wide-audience books on spirituality. His book Say It To God. In Search Of Prayer was chosen as the Archbishop of Canterbury Lent Book for 2018.
His latest book, The Wisdom of St Benedict. Monastic Spirituality and the Life of the Church received the First Place in the category of Spirituality Award by the CMA (Catholic Media Association, USA) in 2021.
Luigi is from Matera, in the South of Italy, and has worked in Italy, France, England, and the United States. He is soon to be married to Claudio, also Italian from Naples, who works in Digital Marketing. In recent years Luigi has discovered a love for gardening and Claudio, who lived for years in Spain between the Canary Islands and Madrid, loves beach volleyball and goes crazy for sushi (both eating it and making it). Luigi and Claudio share a passion for the Amalfi coast, movies and, of course, ice creams.
The Reverend Canon Alan Gyle, Vicar of St Paul’s Knightsbridge said,
It has been a huge privilege to support Luigi in his transition into the Anglican Communion, and we have enjoyed both his priestly ministry over the past couple of years, and the challenge his teaching and preaching has brought to us here in Knightsbridge as an Assistant priest and Director of our Quest Programme. We will miss him, but that he should be moving to such a well-provisioned and dynamic parish as Saint Thomas Fifth Avenue is great news, and we assure him of our prayers as he and they embark on a new phase in the church’s life there.
The Reverend Canon Carl F. Turner, Rector of Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, said,
Saint Thomas Church takes theology seriously – Theology properly begins as ‘faith seeking understanding.’ Starting with the faith we have been given, particularly in the Anglican tradition, we seek to go deeper into the things of God. We are, therefore, delighted to welcome Dr. Gioia among us to help us explore our faith still further, and take us deeper into the treasure store of our tradition. Fr. Luigi has an international reputation as a theologian, and one that is rooted in prayer; his many years living in community, and his recent years in a vibrant parish of the Diocese of London, will bring unique gifts and skills to the Episcopal Diocese of New York, and we are excited about this new ministry.
Fr. Luigi said,
My ministry at Paul’s Knightsbridge has been one of the most formative experiences of my life. Among other things, it has taught me that nothing beats the harmonious association of beautiful liturgy, thoughtful preaching, intellectual challenge, and genuine friendship. I am humbled and truly excited to be called to keep learning this important lesson in Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, a church renown for its intellectual, liturgical, and spiritual life and the invaluable contribution it makes not only to its parishioners but to the wider Church and society. I am honoured to be working with a team of such committed people wholeheartedly dedicated to the Gospel.
