Fr. Damian Ference is a priest of the Diocese of Cleveland and is a doctoral student in philosophy at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. Fr. Ference graduated from Borromeo Seminary/John Carroll University in 1998, and after earning his MA and MDiv from Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology he was ordained for the Diocese of Cleveland in 2003. He served as parochial vicar at St. Mary Parish in Hudson, Ohio from 2003-2007. In 2009, he earned his licentiate in philosophy from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. Fr. Ference has been part of the formation faculty at Borromeo Seminary since 2009. In addition to writing for Word on Fire, Fr. Ference has published articles for America, Catholic Universe Bulletin, Commonweal, Dappled Things, Emmanuel, First Things, Homiletic and Pastoral Review, Human Development, Pastoral Life, Seminary Journal, The Plain Dealer, The Priest, U.S. Catholic, and Worship. Fr. Ference also regularly preaches retreats and parish missions. He is the founder and director of the Tolle Lege Summer Institute and is a lifetime member of the Flannery O’Connor Society.