Father Francis Tiso

Holds a Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary in New York City, with a dissertation on early versions of the biography of Milarepa.  He holds the M. Div. from Harvard University, Divinity School.  He holds a canonry in the Cathedral of St. Peter, Isernia, Italy, and is at the present time serving as Parochial Vicar of St. Thomas More Church, San Francisco, California where he is Catholic chaplain at San Francisco State University. He is a lecturer at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley and at the School of Pastoral Leadership of the Archdiocese of San Francisco.   From 1988 to 1998, he was rector of the Shrine of Ss. Cosmas and Damian in Isernia, developing a ministry of spiritual direction, healing, retreats, and spiritual conferences in many parts of Italy.  He taught at the seminaries of Mantova and Florence as visiting professor, and offered a seminar in Milarepa studies at the University of Rome, La Sapienza.  He is currently completing a volume of his research on Milarepa.  Additional research interests include the rainbow body phenomenon among Dzogchen practitioners and the spiritual writings of Evagrius of Pontus in comparative perspective.