Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

After a half a century, countless former students, colleagues, parishioners and friends can testify that the gift Father D. Reginald Whitt offered has multiplied beyond measure. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

A Dominican, a lawyer and a priest walk into a classroom …


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Special to the Catholic Review Filed Under: Commentary, Guest Commentary

Fifty years ago, a young Dominican friar from Baltimore stepped forward to place his life into the hands of the Church. In doing so, Father D. Reginald Whitt did what every priest does at ordination: he offered not simply his talents or ambitions, but his very self. Half a century later, countless former students, colleagues, parishioners and friends can testify that the gift he offered has multiplied beyond measure.

Anniversaries of priestly ordination are about more than longevity. They are moments to reflect on vocation itself – on the mysterious and enduring way God calls ordinary men to become signs of his presence in the world. In celebrating the 50th anniversary of Father Whitt’s ordination, we are invited to reflect not only on one priest’s remarkable ministry, but also on the larger vocation of priests as teachers, mentors, and witnesses to truth. 

For many people, the image of a priest centers around the altar: preaching the Gospel, celebrating the Eucharist, hearing confession, baptizing children, burying the dead. These are indeed the sacred heart of priestly ministry. But the Church has also long understood the priest as teacher – one who forms minds as well as souls. 

That vocation to teach is deeply embodied in Father Whitt’s life.

As a law school professor, he did more than lecture about torts or legal theory. He formed consciences. His classroom became a place where intellectual rigor met moral seriousness, where Catholic social teaching was not treated as an abstract appendix to public life but as a living challenge to the structures of society. He taught students not only how to think like lawyers, but how to think like human beings accountable to justice and to one another. 

In an age increasingly tempted to separate professional success from moral responsibility, teachers such as Father Whitt remind us that education is never morally neutral. The best professors do not merely convey information; they awaken wisdom. They call students to see beyond themselves. They reveal that truth matters because people matter.

The Dominican tradition is rooted in preaching truth. Yet truth, in the Christian sense, is never cold or detached. It is incarnational. It touches flesh and blood, history and suffering, hope and reconciliation. Father Whitt’s ministry reflected this reality. His teaching was not merely academic; it was pastoral. His scholarship was not detached from human experience; it emerged from a deep concern for people and communities.

There is something profoundly priestly about that.

Indeed, many people can name a teacher who changed the trajectory of their lives – someone who saw potential where others saw uncertainty, who offered encouragement at the precise moment it was needed, who challenged them to become more than they imagined possible. Often such teachers exercise a kind of quiet sacramental presence in the world. They mediate hope. 

Priests who teach occupy a particularly sacred place in this tradition. They stand at the intersection of faith and intellect, helping students wrestle not only with careers or credentials, but with meaning, ethics and purpose. At their best, they remind students that education is not ultimately about self-advancement but about service. 

The Church today needs such witnesses desperately.

In a noisy age marked by polarization, cynicism and distrust of institutions, the steady fidelity of priests such as Father Whitt becomes all the more striking. Fifty years of priesthood represents thousands of homilies preached, countless conversations offered, untold acts of encouragement given quietly and without recognition. It is a reminder that vocations are not measured primarily by headlines or accolades, but by lives touched over time.

The anniversary of a priestly ordination is therefore not simply a celebration of the past. It is an act of gratitude for the future that faithful priests help make possible. Every student inspired, every conscience formed, every person treated with dignity becomes part of that legacy.

As Catholics, we often pray for vocations. Perhaps anniversaries such as this remind us why. The priesthood is ultimately not about status or power; it is about presence – the patient, enduring presence of Christ working through human lives. 

For 50 years, Father Reginald Whitt, O.P., has offered that presence through preaching, teaching, scholarship and friendship. The Church, his students, and all those who have encountered his ministry are richer because of it.

Jenny Kraska is executive director of the Maryland Catholic Conference. She was privileged to study under Dominican Father D. Reginald Whitt during his time teaching at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis, Minn., and remains deeply grateful for his witness, mentorship and example of priestly and intellectual vocation.

Also see: 

Bringing it all back home to Baltimore, Father Whitt still teaching (2018)

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