David T Orique, O.P.

Rev. David Thomas Orique, O.P., is a professor of history and the director of Latin American Latina/o Studies at Providence College. After ordination to the priesthood, Father Orique served the academic and pastoral needs of St. Thomas More Newman Center at the University of Oregon, as well as of the rapidly growing Latino community in the Archdiocese of Portland and other locations. During his service to the student and Hispanic populations, he earned a master’s in history at the University of Oregon in 2007 and a Ph.D. in 2011.

His thesis and his dissertation centered on the life, labor and legacy of Bartolomé de Las Casas, which was also the focus of his 2016 masters in Spanish literature. Father Orique has lived, traveled, and conducted research in Spain and Portugal and in other European countries, as well as has engaged in investigative activities in nineteen Latin American nations—and has continued to do so today. Father Orique’s writings and publications include, among others: “To Heaven or Hell: An Introduction to the Soteriology of Bartolomé de Las Casas” (2016) and “Justice and the Church in Latin America in the Era of a Jesuit Pope” (2015). His book titled “To Heaven or to Hell: Bartolomé de Las Casas’s Confesionario” was published in 2018 by Penn State.