He holds a Master of Arts in English literature from Xavier University, and master’s degrees in both philosophy and theology from the Athenaeum of Ohio's Mount St. Mary’s Seminary. He was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati where he remained for 19 years. During that time he received his doctorate in Psychology and Religion from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. He later returned to the Athenaeum of Ohio and taught as an Associate Professor of Pastoral Psychology and Counseling and served as the school’s Academic Dean.