I am Leonard J. DeLorenzo. I am named after my father, but I’m not “Jr.” because my dad had an “Uncle Junior” and my dad didn’t know that his uncle’s name wasn’t actually “Junior” until he was an adult. So my dad didn’t want me to be “junior.” Instead, I’m “II” (as in “The Second”). My friends just call me “Lenny”––unless you are Fr. Pete McCormick, who calls me “DeLo.” My kids calls me “Dad,” or they just call me to pick them up from their friends’ houses.

I met my wife Lisa in college while we were both serving as undergraduate mentors in the very first year of the Notre Dame Vision program. She was the pianist. For some reason, I just went over and started talking to her at the piano during one of our breaks. That turned out to be a really good decision. We started dating in fall of my senior year (her junior year); after nine months, I proposed and she said “yes”; after nine months of engagement we were married at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart; after nine months of marriage, we were pregnant with our first child; and after nine months of pregnancy, birth. We have lived in South Bend, Indiana, for our entire marriage, and after that first child, five others joined him over the next dozen years. With three boys and three girls, some folks have joked that we are “like the Brady Bunch.” But we’re not. The Brady’s had a maid. We have a puppy, which is the opposite of a maid.

I came to the University of Notre Dame from Southern California, where I lived with my dad and my younger brother, Stefan, since I was just about 9. People say that “Notre Dame is a 40-year decision.” I guess I took that literally, because I never left. I studied theology and philosophy as an undergrad, when some of my most formative experiences were studying abroad in Italy my sophomore year and miraculously spending 30 minutes alone in the Sistine Chapel, as well being formed through the Notre Dame Vision program before and during my senior year. I started working in the McGrath Institute for Church Life right after graduation, and completed both my master’s and doctoral degrees in theology while working full-time.

For 20 years now, I have focused on building and developing programs that foster holistic faith formation. I am really interested in re-integrating theology and spirituality, study and life. Sometimes I pursue those goals in the courses I design and teach, like “The Character Project,” “The Catholic Imagination,” and “Discernment: Theology & Practice.” Other times, this is the aim of my work with parishes, dioceses, and schools, as well as of my speaking and writing.

Maybe you’d like to know some of my favorite things. Here is a random list:

• My favorite meal is my dad’s chicken parmigiana, with my dad’s broccli rabe.

• My favorite late night snack is a steamed artichoke. Like, a whole one. Isn’t that weird?

• My favorite sports teams are all the teams other people hate: The Lakers (raised in CA), The Yankees (born in NJ), and the Fighting Irish (duh).

• My new favorite sports to play are tennis and pickleball (retirement training!), but I grew up playing soccer. Lots of soccer. Soccer everywhere… as in, all over the California, all over the country, and across the globe. Too much soccer. My dad, who transported me to everything, would agree with my assessment.

• My favorite authors are (probably) Graham Greene, Sigrid Undset, and Rumer Godden.

• My favorite holiday movies to quote are Christmas Vacation, Elf, and Love Actually.

• My favorite kid from among our six kids is… (just kidding).