Patrick Reilly Bio

Patrick J. Reilly founded The Cardinal Newman Society in 1993 and serves as President and CEO.

Reilly has written numerous articles on Catholic higher education and other education and Catholic issues for Catholic World Report, Inside the Vatican, ZENIT, Crisis, Legatus, Chronicle of Higher Education, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, Chronicle of Philanthropy, Lay Witness, Los Angeles Times and other publications, and he has appeared on FOX News, MSNBC, EWTN and numerous radio programs to discuss The Cardinal Newman Society’s work. He has co-edited CNS publications including The Enduring Nature of the Catholic University (2009), The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College (2009) and Newman’s Idea of a University: The American Response (Newman House Press, 2002). Reilly authored “Considering Honors and Platforms” (October 2009), a paper for the Center for the Study of Catholic Higher Education.

Reilly has many years of prior experience with education issues, including as Executive Director of Citizens for Educational Freedom; higher education analyst for the U.S. House of Representatives education committee; and Program Analyst for the Postsecondary Division of the U.S. Department of Education. He served several years as a board member and Chairman of American Collegians for Life. While an editor and researcher for the Capital Research Center, a Washington, D.C. think tank that promotes responsible philanthropy and nonprofit activity, Reilly contributed to Mandate for Charity: Policy Proposals for the Bush Administration (Capital Research Center, 2001). From 1993 to 1995, he was a media consultant for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.

In 2008 Reilly delivered the commencement address at Holy Apostles College & Seminary in Cromwell, CT, where he received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. He is a recipient of the 2009 Hall of Fame Award from the Catholic Education Foundation and the 2003 Spes Nostra Award from the National Association of Private Catholic and Independent Schools. Reilly serves on the board of directors of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists and the advisory boards of Catholics United for the Faith and Catholic Citizens of Illinois. He is an associate member of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars and a former member of the board of directors of the Brent Society of the Diocese of Arlington.

Reilly earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and communications (print journalism) from Fordham University (New York) in 1991, and a master’s degree in public administration from The American University (Washington, D.C.) in 1993. He and his wife Rosario, president of Aquinas Learning LLC, have five children.