Dr. Layla A. Karst is an assistant professor in the department of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University where she teaches and writes at the intersection of liturgy and ecclesiology. Her recent scholarship has explored the ways that racism, sexism, and sexual abuse have impacted our liturgical celebrations and the function of lament in addressing these liturgical challenges. She is currently studying the theology and practice of lay preaching in Catholic communities and their implications for building a more synodal church.

Karst is a member of the Catholic Theological Society of America, the North American Academy of Liturgy, and the Catholic Academy of Liturgy and she serves on the Archbishop’s Liturgical Commission in the archdiocese of Los Angeles. She holds a PhD from Emory University and an MDiv from the University of Notre Dame.