Joachim Chukwuebuka Ozonze

Joachim Chukwuebuka Ozonze (peace studies and theology) comes to the Kroc Institute doctoral program stirred by his academic and personal experiences as a Catholic priest in Nigeria pastoring, teaching theology, working with commissions mediating violent conflicts, and accompanying families and persons struggling through the wounds of violence.

He earned a Bachelor’s in Philosophy from Bigard Memorial Seminary, Enugu, and a B.A. in Theology from Blessed Iwene Tansi Seminary Onitsha, Nigeria. He also holds a Master’s in Theological Studies from the University of Notre Dame, with a concentration in Systematic Theology and minors in Gender Studies, Digital Cultures, and Peace Studies.

His research interests live at the intersection of ritual, memory, identity, healing, and reconciliation, especially within contexts of mass violence. Using ethnography and portraiture, ritual studies, and decolonial theologies as theoretical frameworks, he is asking how bodies and communities are socialized in and out of violence, and whether Christian theology and rituals can contribute to unlearning hatred and inscribing a culture of life that reimagines identity and belonging.

Joachim is a Richard and Peggy Notebaert Premier Fellow.