Rev. Matthew Dougherty, O. Praem.

College Chaplain

B.S., Organismal Biology, St. Norbert College
M. Div, Catholic Theological Union
M.A., Systematic Theology, Catholic Theological Union
M.S. Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Yale University
Ph.D. Candidate, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Yale University

Fr. Matthew Dougherty, O. Praem. is a native of Waukesha, Wisconsin and a Norbertine of St. Norbert Abbey. A lifelong angler, Fr. Matthew nurtured an interest in aquatic ecology from a young age, leading him to study biology at St. Norbert College. In his first year of studies, Fr. Matthew experienced a “reversion” to the Catholic faith, and later a call to the priesthood and canonical life. He was vested as a novice of the Norbertine Order on the vigil of the Feast of St. Augustine in 2009, three months after graduating from the college.

During his priestly formation, Fr. Matthew had the opportunity to serve in several ministerial roles: campus ministry at St. Norbert College, Faith & Fellowship: a ministry for the mentally ill in Chicago, hospital chaplaincy at St. Mary Mercy Hospital in Michigan, and deacon at the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii in Little Italy, Chicago. Fr. Matthew was also engaged in theological studies at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, where he earned a Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts in Systematic Theology.

After ordination to the priesthood in 2015, Fr. Matthew served on the college of chaplains at St. Norbert College and taught Theological Foundations as an adjunct instructor. He left St. Norbert College in 2017 to attend Yale University to pursue a doctorate in ecology and evolutionary biology, where he studies eco-evolutionary feedbacks in fish. Fr. Matthew is finishing his dissertation at St. Norbert Abbey.

In his free time, Fr. Matthew enjoys fishing and hunting. He has two brothers (including an identical twin!) and a sister, several nieces and nephews, and two loving, saintly parents.