About

Kenneth Onyema Amadi is a Ph.D. candidate in theology majoring in liturgical studies. With previous degrees in philosophy (B.Phil., 2009) and theology (B.S.T., 2014) from the Pontifical Urban University, Rome, and following priestly ordination in 2015, Father Amadi came to Notre Dame in 2017 earning a Master of Theological Studies degree (M.T.S., 2019).

Ken’s areas of interest include liturgical and sacramental theology, ritual studies, sociology of religion, African Christian imagination, global Catholicism, and lay theological mission. His dissertation, “Ritualizing Thanksgiving: The Place of Local Rituals in Global Catholicism” explores the changing dynamics in local expressions of worship amidst an enduring liturgical tradition. How do local rituals, particularly in the African context, participate in and contribute to the richness of the Church’s lex orandi?

Inspired by Notre Dame’s vision of Catholic education, Ken co-founded and directs Church Life Africa (CLA), an initiative whose goal is to close education and human development gaps in Africa by investing in the training and deployment of lay Africans as theologians, catechists, and service leaders for the global church and society.

He is co-convener of the annual Church Life Africa Summer Conference in Nigeria. For his outstanding leadership and service as a scholar-practitioner, Fr. Amadi received the 2025 Notre Dame Black Excellence Award. 

Current Research

My research interest include liturgical and sacramental theology, sociology of religion and ritual development. How does the sociological impact of religion affect ritual development and how these rituals reflect wider social experiences in Nigeria.

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Church Life Africa Conference 2023
Feature

Kellogg PhD Affiliates Develop Program of Catholic Leadership and Service in Africa

Nov 3, 2023

“We have heard the long-expressed hope – spoken with great passion by popes, bishops, and other Church leaders, especially in the West – that the future of the Catholic Church is in Africa,” said Rev. Kenneth Amadi, a Kellogg doctoral student affiliate. “And so we started thinking about what we could do today to secure that future.” Brainstorming with fellow Kellogg doctoral student affiliates Revs. William Orbih and Joachim Ozonze, who, like Amadi, are Nigerian priests and PhD students in theology at the University of Notre Dame, the trio came to found Church Life Africa (CLA), a strategic initiative that takes this hope seriously and calls for an intentional investment in its promise.