Dr. Thomas Staubli

Biography

I was born on September 28, 1962, in the Freie Ämter region of Aargau, in a Roman Catholic family. This was on the eve of the Jewish New Year and two weeks before the start of the Second Vatican Council. Like my two younger siblings, I completed my schooling in Köniz, near Bern, where I obtained a literary maturity. In the Catholic parish of St. Joseph, I was socialized in the church and sensitized to liberation theology, surrounded by a tolerant and progressive majority Protestant society. I learned to play the oboe at the Bern Conservatory and was one of the founders of the Köniz Youth Orchestra, which still exists today. In 1981, I began my studies in theology and philosophy in Fribourg (Switzerland), specializing in biblical subjects under professors Othmar Keel, Adrian Schenker, and Georg Schelbert. I had significant semesters abroad, including a year in theological studies at the Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem (1983/84), where I was shortly afterwards called back for a subsequent year as the study director (1986/87). In 1988, I obtained my degree in religious sciences and in 1989 my doctorate in theology under the direction of Professor Othmar Keel with a thesis on "The Image of Nomads in Ancient Israel and in the Iconography of its Sedentary Neighbors". My professional career began with the establishment and direction of the Diocesan Center for Biblical Pastoral Care of the Diocese of St. Gallen (1989-94). This was an extremely diverse engagement with adults and youth at the regional, diocesan, Swiss, European, and international levels.

Research Interests