Lumen Christi Institute
Making the Catholic intellectual tradition a vital part of the secular university and the broader culture
Featured Events & News
Monastery Visit – The Lay Catholic as Prophet, Priest, and King | Nov. 14, 2026
The responsibility for teaching, sanctifying, and governing within the Church is most fully given to the bishops. However, all Catholics share in these offices as members of the Body of Christ. In what manner, then, is a lay Catholic called to teach, to sanctify, and to govern?
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How to Read Literature (and Life) as a Catholic | West Suburban Catholic Culture Series | Nov. 18, 2026
Is beauty in the eye of the beholder? Is literature merely a matter of taste? How can we inhabit the moral imagination in a way that avoids heavy-handed moralism? In his lecture, Joshua Hren will answer these questions and more by distilling insights from his new book More than a Matter of Taste: The Moral Imagination and the Spirit of Literature (Word on Fire, May of 2026).
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Fundamental Questions Seminar – A Visit To Nowhere: Reading Thomas More’s Utopia | Biweekly Thursdays, Oct. 15–Nov. 12, 2026
In 1516, Thomas More published Utopia. More takes his reader on a tour of an idealistic island society: six-hour work days, religious toleration, no private property, and no lawyers. But is it really possible for such a society to exist? And was Utopia actually a good place?
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Seeking Graduate Reading Groups for the Winter & Spring Quarters
Lumen Christi follows St. Paul’s injunction to attend to whatever is true, noble, right, admirable, and lovely. We support this endeavor by sponsoring a number of graduate student reading groups that may explore any genre, theme, time, and place. The proposal submission deadline is Friday, December 4.
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Applications Open for The Nicklin Fellows Program
The Nicklin Fellows are the recipients of a competitive, application based fellowship for undergraduate students. Fellows are granted exclusive access to research and development grant funds to pursue their intellectual interests. Applications are due Friday, December 18.
Learn More & RegisterLumen 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