Meet the Faculty
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Head of School
Matthew Briel, serves as the founding Head of School for St. Augustine's. His career began with a year as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Theology at the University of Scranton. He then served as an Assistant Professor of Theology at Assumption University in Massachusetts. He has spent the last two years teaching humanities and working in development at the University of Mary.
Before earning a PhD in Theology from Fordham University in 2016, Briel received an MA in Classics from the University of Minnesota in 2010, an MTS in the History of Christianity from the University of Notre Dame in 2007, and a BA in Philosophy, magna cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame in 2003. Briel has studied at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, the Gennadius Library of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, the University of Vienna, and as an accredited scholar at the Vatican Library. He has written on a variety of topics from the history of Christian thought, including the works of St. John Henry Newman and Gennadios Scholarios.
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A Greek Thomist: Providence in Gennadios Scholarios.
In this monograph, Dr. Briel examines the creative reception of St. Thomas Aquinas but Gennadios Scholarios, a fifteenth century Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople. Working from various untranslated, and sometimes unpublished, texts in Greek, Latin and other languages, Briel argues for the relevance of Aquinas in the Orthodox Church today and provides a model for receiving the thought of St. Thomas by the Catholic Church today.
Click here to purchase the book.
Titles, Offices, and Ranks in the Byzantine Empire and Orthodox Church
In this book, Dr. Briel and Rev. Milton Ethimiou investigate the various offices of the Byzantine Empire, tracing, where possible, their roots in the Roman Empire and examining their relevance for the Eastern Orthodox Church today.
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Why The Catholic Intellectual Tradition Failed
In this article, Dr. Briel presents a vision of the relation of the intellectual life to the Church. While aimed at university life, he hopes that his basic point on the danger of trying to think like a Catholic without a living relationship to the Church is applicable to everyone.
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Dean of Girls
Ellie Peters comes from a background of eight years of experience teaching Philosophy, Literature, History, and Scripture to students in grades 6-12. Graduating from Davidson College magna cum laude, Ellie earned a B.A. in Political Science.
She completed a capstone paper on Thucydides' Peloponnesian War, exploring the relationship between justice and self-interest in Athens’ imperial foreign policy. Her writing has appeared in Veritas Journal and Between Cities, with a forthcoming article titled "Undone, Redone, Repeat: Reflections on Motherhood and Homer's Odyssey" set to be published in Between Cities.
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Read Ellie’s published article titled "Undone, Redone, Repeat: Reflections on Motherhood and Homer's Odyssey” .
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Dean of Boys
Steve Hendrickson has 28 years teaching experience teaching Mathematics, Science, and Scripture for grades 7-12. Steve earned a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from Indiana University at South Bend.
In addition to his role as a teacher, Steve also served in several roles in school administration including Dean of Boys, Building Manager, Mathematics Program Coordinator, and Mathematics Master Teacher.
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Teacher
Laura Miller has six years of experience teaching Doctrine, Philosophy, Literature, History, and Scripture to students in grades 7-12. She earned a B.A. in English Literature with a minor in Intellectual History from the University of Colorado - Boulder, graduating magna cum laude.
Laura went on to complete an M.A. in Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, where her Master’s Essay, Education by the Muses: The Poetic Mode and the Restoration of Western Education, explored the role of poetry in revitalizing classical learning. In addition to her work in secondary education, Laura spent three years establishing and leading a homeschool co-op for elementary-aged students.
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Josh Wang has over a decade of experience as a conductor, organist, and pianist. He currently serves as Director of Sacred Music at the Church of Saint Mary in Lowertown, Saint Paul, where he leads the parish’s schola and polyphony choir and curates a growing program of guest musicians, including a recent collaboration with composer Sir James MacMillan. He also serves as an assistant organist at the Cathedral of Saint Paul.
In addition to Saint Augustine School, Josh is the choir director at Holy Spirit Academy in Monticello where he leads the all-school choir, chamber choir and teaches an elective in sacred music. He earned a B.M. in Piano Performance from the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater, an M.M. in Piano Performance from Bowling Green State University, and a Master of Sacred Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Notre Dame.
Josh is a proud member of the Church Music Association of America, the American Choral Directors Association, and the American Guild of Organists.
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Kateri Kuplic has taught Literature, Writing, and Religion to students in 7-8th grade. She earned her B.A. from the University of St. Thomas with a double major in English Literature and Catholic Studies, graduating summa cum laude. She went on to complete an M.A. in Catholic Studies, also from the University of St. Thomas, receiving honors for her Master's Essay, "One Dark Night: A Mother's Journey with St. John of the Cross." Her writing has appeared in Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity, Radiant Magazine, and the Catholic Spirit.
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Andrew Grum Carr is a professional artist who has taught drawing and painting for 18 years. He graduated from the University of St. Thomas cum laude with BAs in Philosophy and English Lit. His artwork has been awarded Best in Show at Red Wing Plein Air, and Best in Class at the MN State Fair. Andrew is a member of Lakewood Cemetery's first cohort of Artists in Residence, and has shown in galleries throughout the Twin Cities.
Andrew’s artwork can be found online at andrewgrumcarr.com or at the Groveland Gallery. In addition to drawing and painting, Andrew is writing an ongoing series of essays on pieces at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, published online through Veritas Journal. You can read his most recent article, Before the Bullfight, here.
Meet the Chaplains
Fr. Hagan (left) and Fr. Evans (right)
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Born and raised in Corcoran, Minnesota, Fr. Evans earned a B.A. in Theology from Marquette University. He then spent three years in the Jesuits at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and the house of studies at Fordham University. After departing the Jesuits he resumed seminary formation at Mundelein Seminary and the St. Paul Seminary, where he earned the M.Div. and the M.A. in Theology, publishing a thesis “Objective and Subjective Elements of Faith in John Henry Newman and Joseph Ratzinger”. He was ordained to the priesthood in 2017 and has served in several parishes, as chaplain and co-director of the Habiger Institute for Leadership at the Center for Catholic Studies and Adjunct Instructor of Theology and Catholic Studies at the Univ. of St. Thomas, and Staff Spiritual Director at St. John Vianney college seminary. Fr. Evans is Priest in solidum (co-pastor) at St. Mary’s Lowertown St. Paul since 2021. He is studying for the Doctorate in Sacred Theology at the University of St. Mary-by-the-Lake in Mundelein and has presented papers at the FOTA XIII conference 2022 in Cork, Ireland (“The Role of the Sacred Liturgy in Joseph Ratzinger’s Fundamental Theology”) and the Sacra Doctrina conference 2025 at Catholic University of America (“Is Christocentrism Scientific?”).
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Born and raised in Upstate New York, Fr. Hagan was trained in classical and jazz piano and attended the Univ. of Rochester (NY) Eastman School of Music Preparatory Division. He was a studio musician and composer based in Nashville and Los Angeles prior to his reception into full communion with the Catholic Church in 2006. He began formal preparation for the priesthood in 2007, obtaining a B.A. from the Univ. St. Thomas (St. Paul) in Philosophy, Latin and Greek Classics, and Catholic Studies, and the M.Div. and M.A. Theology from the Univ. St. Thomas St. Paul Seminary/School of Divinity, where he published the thesis “Creation and Participation: the World-God Relation in Aquinas.” Ordained to the priesthood in 2015 he served in several parishes before his appointment in 2021 as Priest in solidum (co-pastor) at St. Mary’s Lowertown St. Paul. Fr. Hagan has also served as Guest Lecturer in Catholic Studies at Univ. St Thomas (“Benedict Ashley on Feminist Theology and Holy Orders”), Adjunct Instructor of Theology at the St. Paul Seminary, and Tutor in the Anselm House Fellows Program at the Univ. of Minnesota since 2021, co-leading courses in Biblical Narrative Theology and Moral Theology.