Lumen Christi Institute
Making the Catholic intellectual tradition a vital part of the secular university and the broader culture
Featured Events & News
Remembering Fr. Paul Mankowski, S.J.
Fr. Mankowski, Lumen Christi's longtime scholar-in-residence and University of Chicago alumnus, passed away six years ago this September, leaving behind a legacy of deep scholarship and courageous loyalty to the Church.
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Seeking Graduate Reading Groups for the Fall Quarter
The Lumen Christi Institute seeks leaders for its Fall Quarter graduate student reading groups. These groups are rooted in friendship, hospitality, and the pursuit of truth, and they may explore any genre, theme, time, and place. Proposals for prospective groups are due on September 15, 2026.
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Remembering Thomas Levergood
This August marks the fifth anniversary of the death of Thomas Levergood, the founder of Lumen Christi. Thomas believed that the Catholic intellectual tradition had the power to transform minds, shape culture, and renew the Church. That conviction was the animating force behind everything he built at Lumen Christi and the reason this Institute exists today.
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How to Pray as a Catholic | West Suburban Catholic Culture Series | Sept. 23, 2026
Have you ever wondered how to pray? Join us for a lecture by Dr. Daniel Wasserman-Soler, as he explores the spiritual writers on prayer from the Middle Ages - and how they can relate to our life of prayer today.
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Apply to Ricketts House, our Catholic Student Residence
The Lumen Christi Institute offers a residential community for current and incoming male University of Chicago students, with capacity for nine total residents. As an intentional Catholic residence, the residents partake in weekly community meals, community prayer, and opportunities for intellectual and spiritual formation.
Learn More & ApplyLumen Christi has been one of the great spiritual achievements of the last 25 years. And to see Lumen Christi flourishing so well and expanding around the country is a sign of tremendous hope for the Church.
The longest intellectual tradition of any institution in the contemporary world
Celebrated University of Chicago President Robert Maynard Hutchins once remarked that the Catholic Church has “the longest intellectual tradition of any institution in the contemporary world.” The mission of the Lumen Christi Institute is to make the Catholic intellectual tradition a vital part of the secular university and the broader culture. The Lumen Christi Institute’s programs enrich academic communities at the University of Chicago and beyond with the insights of Catholic thought, in order to engage our secular culture in dialogue and ultimately to renew our civilization by forming leaders for a global society in need of Christian wisdom.
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Making the Catholic intellectual tradition a vital part of the secular university and the broader culture