It’s fitting that a man born in South Africa and now residing in Washington, D.C., is associated with Catholic Distance University (CDU). Distances have been a significant part of Father Bevil Bramwell’s life.

He was born and raised in Durban, South Africa, and attended Catholic schools there, eventually graduating from the University of Natal in 1976 with a bachelor’s degree in science and education. After graduation, he worked for the government of South Africa as a physicist on the South African National Antarctic Expedition from May 1976 to June 1977. It was difficult and lonely work in a difficult and lonely place.

According to the National Geographic Society, Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, driest and remotest place on earth. It’s about one-and-a-half times larger than the landmass of the United States, but it has no native or permanent population. Only 4,000 researchers occupy the continent in the summer, and just 1,000 of those hardy souls brave the winter. Father Bramwell was there for more than a year, living and working with 12 other researchers.

He spent his time studying the Earth’s magnetic fields, hiking out to desolate locations to monitor equipment. He took the position partly because the pay was good — he wanted to send the money to his parents in South Africa — and partly for the scientific adventure.

The remoteness of Antarctica offered certain reflective opportunities.

“It was quite a spiritual experience,” said Father Bramwell.

He had a vocation to the priesthood long before he went to the South Pole, but the solitary experience helped develop it.

“You get a sense that you have a mission,” he said about his vocation.

He even went to the provincial of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate and asked if he should forego the Antarctica trip and enter the seminary.

“If you do, you’ll regret it the rest of your life,” the provincial said.

Father Bramwell spent 13 months at the station, passing his free time praying and driving black golf balls into the perfectly white geography of the South Pole.

After Antarctica, he entered St. Joseph’s Scholasticate Seminary in Cedara, South Africa, to begin studies for the priesthood. He completed his seminary studies at the Oblate’s International Scholasticate in Rome. Father Bromwell was ordained an Oblate of Mary Immaculate priest in 1985.

His first assignment after ordination was in Tahiti, where he served as director of communications for the Archdiocese of Papeete. He worked there to set up a diocesan broadcasting studio. His scientific background was helpful in this work.

Father Bramwell worked closely with local officials and Tahitian staff to create the studio and hand its operation off to locals.

The government was very generous to the archdiocese, giving Father Bramwell equipment and other items necessary for the functioning of a radio station.

“Why are you so generous to the Catholic Church?” he asked a local official.

“You create good citizens,” the official said, “I put very few Catholics in jail.”

Father Bramwell said that this response was not unusual.

“The Church is very interested in civilization and values,” he said.

From Tahiti, Father Bramwell was assigned to Lowell, Mass., where he served as parochial vicar at St. Jeanne d’Arc Church. He earned a licentiate of sacred theology degree from the Westin Jesuit School of Theology in 1990, followed by a doctorate in theology from Boston College in 1998.

He started his collegiate teaching career at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, where he served as an assistant and associate professor of theology. Father Bramwell went on to serve as an associate professor in theology at Ave Maria University in Ave Maria, Fla., before coming to CDU in 2008.

He commutes more than 90 miles every day from his Oblate house in Washington, D.C., to the CDU offices in Hamilton.

Father Bramwell is the dean of undergraduate studies at the virtual university in rural Loudoun County and a full-time instructor. The school offers bachelors and masters degrees in theology to a diverse student body that ranges from academics to people wanting to enhance their faith. There are about 1,300 students taking online courses at any one time and Father Bramwell has students all over the country and internationally — including a student in China.

He’s interested in the online experience and “producing a community on the Web.”

Father Bramwell sees his work at CDU as teaching Catholic truth. His job is “managing it for the Web and getting it out there.”

Besides theology, Father Bramwell still has an active interest in science.

“I still subscribe to Scientific American,” he said. That quest for knowledge is reflected in his faith and in his commitment the truth of the Catholic Church.