The Tower, an independent student newspaper of The Catholic University of America, reports that, "Campus Ministry held a CUA on Tap yesterday entitled, 'Heaven: Angels, Saints, and Spirits, Oh My!' The Resident Ministers sponsored an open mic hour that included a performance by Redline A Cappella, and then presented their speaker, Dominican Fr. John Mellein, a doctorate student in the School of Philosophy.

Mellein who graduated with a B.A. in liberal arts at Thomas Aquinas College in 1999 said that he joined the Dominican Order because of the vibrant community life, the choral office, his desire to preach, and because he wished to continue studying the works and life of St. Thomas Aquinas.

After his graduation, Mellein joined the Western Dominican Province based in California. He completed studies in philosophy and theology at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley, and he spent a residency year in Anchorage, Alaska.

He was ordained to the priesthood in 2007 and then returned to Anchorage to serve one year at Holy Family Cathedral, before coming to study here at the Catholic University of America.

Mellein opened his speech with a comedic anecdote from his childhood about Halloween. Because his parents required him to dress up as a saint, he found every way possible to find a saint who fit the costume he really wanted.

In doing so, he learned the great range of saints throughout all aspects of life. Speaking to the group, the speaker sought to impress on his audience that saints are those holy people who live their lives at the foot of the Cross, even if they are not canonized by the Church.

Evidence of this, according to Mellein, is the fact that the late Pope John Paul II canonized more than 400 saints during his pontificate, which more than doubled the number of saints in the Catholic Church.

Mellein spoke in length about Heaven, saying that human imagination 'will always fall short of the reality.' He also engaged the audience by quizzing the attending freshmen about Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, which they have been reading in their First Year Experience learning communities.

The discussion was also well-received by the students who attended. After Mellein's talk, freshmen Annie Bist and Sasa Ferman said in unison, 'We love him!' and Ferman added, 'In a holy, Catholic way.'"

Fr. John Mellein, O.P., is a Dominican Priest of the Province of the Holy Name (Western Province), residing at the Dominican House of Studies while he completes his doctoral program.