Mount Mercy University is excited to announce Rev. Anthony Adawu (lovingly known as Father Tony) has arrived on campus and is prepared to begin full-time chaplain duties immediately.
Father Tony will be the first full-time chaplain for the university in almost six years.
As residential chaplain, Father Tony will create and maintain a pastoral presence to persons of all faiths throughout the campus community. He will also serve as liaison to local Catholic parishes and schools and serve as an adjunct professor at the request of Mount Mercy’s provost.
“We are pleased and grateful to have Father Tony joining the Mount Mercy University Ministry Team,” said Sister Shari Sutherland, vice president for Mission & Ministry. “It has been a while since we have had a full-time priest, and we look forward to his daily interaction with students, faculty and staff. Having Father Tony as part of the Ministry Team will allow Mount Mercy to offer daily Mass and more sacramental and liturgical services, as well as provide the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and availability for pastor counseling for students, faculty and staff.”
Father Tony was born and raised in Ghana, where he studied and completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees and was ordinated on Nov. 22, 2003. While in Ghana, Father Tony acted as seminary formator for St. Teresa’s Minor Seminary and associate pastor and pastor for St. Teresa’s Catholic Church.
Since his arrival to the States in August 2007, Father Tony has served in the parishes of Glen Burnie, Maryland. He earned his Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction with a specialization in second language education and culture from the University of Maryland, College Park. His teaching experience includes graduate and undergraduate courses in reading and writing in the elementary and secondary content areas, focusing primarily on preparing teachers to work with students who learn and use English as a second language. Father Tony is currently working on his Ph.D. in practical theology from St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Florida and is expected to complete his studies by 2016.
The community is invited to attend a welcome Mass for Father Tony on Monday, Aug. 17 at 11:45 a.m. at the Chapel of Mercy, located on Mount Mercy’s main campus. Subsequent Mass times are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 11:45 a.m. and, beginning Sept. 9, Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. Sunday Mass will first begin on Aug. 23 and take place at 8:30 p.m.