The Rev. Martin O. Moran III will join Mount St. Mary’s University on August 1 as university chaplain and director of campus ministry. Rev. Moran brings considerable experience in campus ministry to the Mount with prior service for 10 years at Bucknell University and Wilson College and six years as executive director of the Catholic Campus Ministry Association (CCMA).
“I am thrilled that Father Marty has accepted our offer to lead our Campus Ministry and look forward to the implementation of new programs and services, particularly for our increasingly rich and diverse student community,” said President Timothy E. Trainor, Ph.D. Trainor thanked the Rev. Diego Ruiz, IVE, for his outstanding service in providing the Mount community with opportunities to cultivate a mature spiritual life. Ruiz is joining the staff at Mount St. Mary's Seminary as formation advisor and spiritual director.
“I am excited to join the Mount community and build on the great vision that Father DuBois brought to the establishment of this amazing university. I was drawn to the position because of the Mount’s rich history in forming future leaders for our parishes and faith communities along with the strong connections between religious life and the student body. I'm so proud to help carry on this legacy,” Moran said. “I want to thank Father Diego and the staff of the Center for Campus Ministry for their dedicated work among our students. I'm looking forward to continuing the great ministry.”
Moran will report directly to Vice President for Student Life Bernard Franklin, Ph.D. The Center for Campus Ministry is one of the largest student life groups on campus with more than 20 clubs and organizations and 60-plus student leaders. Father Moran will also serve on the university cabinet as the primary advisor on Catholic identity issues.
While leading CCMA, the umbrella organization overseeing Catholic campus ministers serving on 4,000 colleges throughout the United States, Moran designed a program to provide formation, resources and support for campus ministers, ensuring that college-aged students receive guidance from lifelong mentors.
More recently, Moran founded the Mother Maria Kaupas Center, in collaboration with Bucknell and Divine Redeemer Church in Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania, to promote lay volunteer service within the coal region that challenges laity, clergy and religious to work together in the mission of the Church. Projects undertaken have focused on environmental issues and sustainability in the coal region, spatial analysis and blight.
Moran has served as pastor at several churches in Pennsylvania, including Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church and School in Carlisle and Divine Redeemer Catholic Church in Mt. Carmel, as well as Holy Cross Immaculata Catholic Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. He also served as chaplain at Lebanon Catholic High School and York Catholic High School in the 1990s. Moran was ordained as a priest in the Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in May 1988.
Moran earned a Bachelor of Science in philosophy from Saint Pius X Seminary and Master of Arts and Master of Divinity degrees from Philadelphia Theological Seminary of Saint Charles Borromeo. He also pursued graduate studies in pastoral counseling and family therapy at LaSalle University.