Lumen Christi Institute
Making the Catholic intellectual tradition a vital part of the secular university
Featured Events & News

April 1–May 14 | Non-Credit Course | Experience of Grace
Christian faith proclaims that we are saved by divine grace. What is “grace” and how do we experience it? What is special about the Catholic understanding of grace? This class will draw on Scripture, short autobiographical accounts, and film to show the transformative power of grace in the lives of men and women such as Paul of Tarsus, Augustine of Hippo, Ignatius of Loyola, Edith Stein, Dorothy Day, and Bernard Nathanson.
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2025 Summer Seminars
Since 2008, the Lumen Christi Institute’s summer seminar program has offered intensive coursework and formation in the Catholic intellectual tradition. The seminars are designed to convey in one week the equivalent of a semester-long course, so that students can use the intellectual formation over the tenure of their own academic careers as teachers and researchers once they become future faculty. Students who have passed through the Lumen Christi Institute’s summer seminar program currently teach at Harvard University, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Dallas, and many other institutions.
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Rooms for Rent | Catholic Student Housing
Rooms are available for rent at LCI's residential community for university students. The house has capacity for 9 male student residents. As an intentional Catholic residence, the residents receive weekly community meals, community prayer, and access to a private chapel.
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Job Opening: University Program Coordinator
The Lumen Christi Institute (LCI) seeks a University Program Coordinator to join its growing team of young professionals and academics. This is a full-time position.
Learn MoreLumen 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.
– Bishop Robert Barron

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