Fr. David B. Couturier, O.F.M. Cap., executive director of the Franciscan Institute at St. Bonaventure University, has appointed Dr. Krijn Pansters as the new general editor of the institute’s premier academic journal, Franciscan Studies.

Pansters is an assistant professor of church history, spirituality, and character building at Tilburg University’s School of Catholic Theology and Franciscan Study Center in the Netherlands. He is also a research professor of spirituality in society at Radboud University in Nijmegen, Netherlands. Pansters holds two doctorates: He earned a Ph.D. in medieval history from Radboud University, Nijmegen, in 2007, and a Ph.D. in medieval theology from KU Leuven in 2019. 

Couturier highlighted Pansters’ readiness for this new position at the institute.

“Dr. Pansters is well qualified to be our new general editor. An outstanding teacher, a prolific author and an editor in medieval theology and history, he has also been a guest professor of Franciscan spirituality and ethics, as well as the leader of several conferences and seminars in the Franciscan Institute.” 

Dr. Timothy Johnson, chair of the Franciscan Institute’s Research Advisory Council, offered his congratulations on Pansters’ appointment on behalf of the council. “The appointment of Dr. Krijn Pansters as general editor of Franciscan Studies assures that the Franciscan Institute is well-situated to retain the eminent status of its flagship publication and cultivate the broad engagement of both authors and readers around the world.”

Pansters is grateful for the opportunity to lead such a prestigious publication.

“Franciscan Studies, one of the leading journals in our field, has offered its readers great intellectual joy and spiritual satisfaction for generations, adhering to the highest academic standards,” he said. “Having accepted the position of general editor in humble gratitude, I am very excited and deeply committed to adding many years of excellent Franciscan scholarship.”

Franciscan Studies is a peer-reviewed academic journal that showcases the latest in medieval and contemporary Franciscan studies. It is published on a yearly basis by Franciscan Institute Publications and is operated by the staff of the Franciscan Institute at St. Bonaventure University.

The Franciscan Institute is an educational unit of the university committed to Franciscan research and education. It provides for the publication of books and articles in medieval history, theology, and spirituality.

Part of its portfolio is Franciscan mission-based leadership training in educational, social service, religious and health care Franciscan institutions. Using its vast resources of Franciscan publications and its network of scholars of the Franciscan intellectual tradition from around the world, the Franciscan Institute continues to provide workshops that take the best insights from contemporary Franciscan scholarship and apply them to real-life challenges in the workplace.