SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The University of Notre Dame and the Vatican announced on Monday that Pope Leo XIV has appointed Rev. Daniel Groody, C.S.C., the vice president and associate provost for undergraduate education and professor of theology and global affairs, as a member of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development was founded in 2016 by the late Pope Francis.

The dicastery's purpose includes supporting the church’s worldwide efforts in the areas of human dignity and human rights, economic justice, care for creation, migration and displacement, plus peace, conflict, and humanitarian crises.

“To be called upon by the Holy See to serve in this capacity is a testament to Father Groody’s deep commitment to leadership in service of the most vulnerable among us. This appointment is also an affirmation of Notre Dame’s ongoing contributions to Catholic social thought, to integral ecology and to forming leaders dedicated to the common good,” Father Dowd said. “I am profoundly grateful for Father Groody’s dedication to the University and to the Church, and I am confident that his leadership will be a tremendous blessing as he helps to guide the Church in these areas.”

Groody will contribute to the discernment process that helps direct the church’s mission and priorities.

University officials say Groody will continue in his roles at the school while serving the dicastery.

“I am truly honored and humbled by Pope Leo’s appointment,” Groody said. “My vocation is to serve, together with my colleagues at Notre Dame and around the world. The work of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development is vital to informing the Church’s response to the world’s most vulnerable people and the most pressing global challenges of our time.”