Monastic Wisdom Seminar: "The Schola Caritatis"
2023-06-05 00:00 - 2023-06-11 00:00 (America/Chicago) | Our Lady of the Angels Monastery, 3365 Monastery Drive Crozet, VA 22932, Crozet, VA
APPLY HERE
The Lumen Christi Institute, the St. Anselm Institute and Our Lady of the Angels Monastery, a Trappistine monastery located near Crozet, Virginia are partnering for the first time to organize a retreat that explores the monastic wisdom tradition. The Trappistine Community at Crozet, Virginia lives according to a continual tradition of Christian monasticism with its roots in the Cistercian Tradition. This seminar will offer the possibility of not only learning the guiding principles that foster a good and balanced life according to the monastic tradition, but of putting them into practice, since it is experience alone that leads not only to correct understanding but to real wisdom.
After reading some core texts in the monastic tradition in advance, participants will then spend a week praying, working, reading, and learning from the Sisters during two daily conferences and other times of sharing and mutual exchange.
The goals of the seminar are fourfold:
1. Introduce participants to monastic life and the history and theology of monasticism.
2. Introduce participants to monastic practices, including community life, lectio divina, the Divine Office, the discipline of silence, and manual labor, and see how these practices form a balanced whole that fosters human and spiritual growth.
3. Provide an opportunity for participants to learn more about the longstanding ascetical and mystical guidelines that support prayer in the Catholic monastic tradition.
4. Study texts of major figures of the monastic tradition and see how their teaching can illuminate and enrich our human experience.
PRINCIPAL TEXTS FOR DISCUSSION

Evagrius Ponticus, Praktikos and Chapters on Prayer, trans. John Eudes Bamberger, CS 4 (Cistercian Publications, 1972).
Benedict of Nursia, RB 1980: The Rule of St. Benedict (Liturgical Press, 1981).
Michael Casey, The Road to Eternal Life: Reflections on the Prologue of Benedict’s Rule, (Liturgical Press, 2010).
Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs I, trans. Kilian Walsh, CF 4 (Cistercian Publications, 1971).
William of St Thierry, The Mirror of Faith, trans. Thomas X Davis, CF 15 (Cistercian Publications, 1979)
Beatrice of Nazareth, The Seven Modes of Love

How to read the texts: Besides taking advantage of the introductions to be found in these books, slow reading is the best approach to these texts. It’s also helpful to bear in mind Bernard McGinn’s advice in his introduction to the Sermons of Isaac of Stella (Cistercian Publications, 1979). Dr. McGinn encourages the reader to be challenged by the texts instead of attempting to fit them into the confines of their own horizons. Doing this implies being prepared to bracket our spontaneous critical reactions, and renouncing the attitude of picking out what seems useful and rejecting the rest. It’s precisely by the effort to appreciate this “strangeness” in the texts that we will come away from our reading richer than when we began, our horizons widened, our world expanded.
LOCATION AND FORMAT

The seminar will take place at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Crozet, Virginia.
The seminar sessions will be led by the Sisters of the monastery.
Travel stipends will be available for currently enrolled students.
Lodging, meals, and books will be provided.
Participants will arrive at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery on Monday, June 5 (before 5 pm), and depart on Sunday, June 11 (after 9:30 am).
Participants will be required to read the assigned materials in preparation for the seminar.

APPLICATION INFORMATION

Open to women age 18 through 40. Catholics and non-Catholics are invited to apply.
Applicants must submit an online application including a statement of interest, a CV or resume, and a letter of recommendation from a professor or pastor.
Application materials are due February 21, 2023
APPLICATION DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO MARCH 8, 2023.

Explorations in Integral Ecology: Science, Theology, and Creation
2023-06-18 00:00 - 2023-06-24 00:00 | Cornell University, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
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COLLIS Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture at Cornell University, the In Lumine Network, and the Lumen Christi Institute partner to organize “Explorations in Integral Ecology: Science, Theology, and Creation,” a weeklong intensive seminar at Cornell University integrating theological study with direct scientific observation of the natural world and experiences of creation. Led by Sr. Damien Marie Savino, F.S.E., PhD (Dean of Science and Sustainability, Aquinas College) and Fr. Terrence Ehrman, C.S.C, PhD (Department of Theology, University of Notre Dame), this program aims to inspire and educate undergraduates of all academic backgrounds to pursue a God-centered response to current environmental challenges in the holistic spirit of integral ecology. With its setting at Cornell University’s Ithaca campus in the heart of the Finger Lakes region, the seminar will allow participants to explore the rich natural beauty of the area through field-based study and excursions which may include visits to Cayuga Lake, Cascadilla Gorge, Ithaca Falls, and the “living laboratory” of Cornell University’s 3,600-acre Botanic Gardens. In the classroom, participants will delve into a range of theological texts, including authors such as St. Basil the Great, St. Bonaventure, St. Francis of Assisi, Pope Francis, and Josef Pieper. Students may also have the opportunity to meet leaders in sustainability research at Cornell University. This program is free for accepted students; undergraduate students of all backgrounds are invited to apply.
LOCATION AND FORMAT

The seminar will take place at Cornell University, in Ithaca, NY. Admitted students will be required to arrange their own travel to and from the seminar.
Admitted students will be granted a stipend of $350 to offset travel costs
Lodging and meals will be provided for the duration of the seminar.
Participants will arrive on Sunday, June 18 and depart on Saturday, June 24. The seminar will take place from Monday to Friday, with lecture, discussion, and/or field excursions throughout the day
Participants will be required read the assigned materials in preparation for the seminar.
In order to receive the $350 stipend, students must participate fully in all seminar activities and complete a survey at the end of the seminar.

APPLICATION INFORMATION

Open to all undergraduate students, including those who graduate in 2023 and recent graduates.
Applicants must submit an online application, including details on their course of study, a statement of interest, and a letter of recommendation.
Applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis (Updated April 3)
15 applicants will be admitted to the seminar.

This seminar is made possible through the support of grant #62372 from the John Templeton Foundation, “In Lumine: Promoting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on Campuses Nationwide.” This event is cosponsored by the St. Kateri Institute and member institutes of the In Lumine Network, including the Harvard Catholic Forum, the Nova Forum, COLLIS, the St. Anselm Institute.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is integral ecology? Integral ecology (from Latin integralis, meaning “whole”) is a theme of Catholic Social Teaching. It proposes a holistic framing of creation, emphasizing the connections and relationship between its parts. Integral ecology calls for the integration of knowledge from various academic disciplines and other domains to repair ruptures in these relationships.
I’m not an environmental studies or ecology major. Can I still apply? This program does not presuppose any specific science background. We welcome applications of all majors and backgrounds.
I am a college student graduating this academic year. Can I still apply? Yes!
Do I have to be Catholic to apply? No. The Lumen Christi Institute and other institutes within the In Lumine Network exist to promote the Catholic intellectual tradition and are committed to the integration of the intellectual and spiritual life. We welcome seminar participants of all or no religious affiliation, and wants to assure all applicants that the opportunities to participate in devotional activities are optional.
Application Deadline: Rolling Basis

Economics and Catholic Social Thought: A Primer
2023-06-19 00:00 - 2023-06-23 00:00 | Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome, Piazza Santa Apollinare, 49, 00186 Roma, Italy, Rome, Italy
APPLY HERE
Now in its sixth year, this seminar is designed as an introduction and immersion into Catholic social thought for graduate students and faculty in economics, finance, or related fields. Participants will cover foundational principles in Catholic social thought, starting with the human person, dignity, freedom, subsidiarity, solidarity, and the common good, and moving toward applications of these principles to conceptual understandings and ethical considerations involving economic topics such as utility theory, firm and business ethics, wages, markets, globalization, poverty, and development. Participants will delve into social encyclicals, secondary sources, and relevant economics texts.
FORMAT
There will be two or three sessions each day for five days, each featuring a different instructor. Each instructor will open with a lecture, and then we will turn to a seminar-style discussion of the texts and issues at hand. In the final sessions, we will discuss how the material can be applied to each student’s particular area of interest.
LOCATION
The seminar will take place at the Pontifical University of Santa Croce in Rome. Travel stipends are available on a need basis. All participants will be provided with accommodations and meals.
APPLICATION INFORMATION
This seminar will be open to PhD students and faculty in economics, finance and related fields. Applicants will be required to submit a completed online application form, including:

An updated CV.
A brief statement of research interest no longer than 750 words.
One academic writing sample.
All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Fifteen students will be admitted to this seminar.

Application materials are due February 21, 2023.
APPLICATION DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO MARCH 8, 2023.
This seminar is sponsored by the Lumen Christi Institute; the Catholic Research Economists Discussion Organization; the De Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture; the Kellogg Institute for International Studies; and the Institute for the Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, College of Arts and Letters, University of Notre Dame.
Please direct any further questions to contact@credo-economists.org.

Gregory Nazianzen’s Five Theological Orations
2023-06-25 00:00 - 2023-07-01 00:00 | University of St. Michael’s College, 81 St. Mary's Street Toronto, ON M5S 1J4, Toronto, ON
APPLY HERE
Professor Lewis Ayres and Fr. Andrew Summerson will lead a summer seminar of graduate students in a close reading of Gregory Nazianzen’s Theological Orations. A difficult character who for a time presided over the Council of Constantinople in 381, Gregory (c.330 – 390) was one of the most well-educated among fourth-century Christian thinkers. His five Theological Orations, delivered during his tenure in Constantinople between 379 and 381, are works of high art, as well as complex theology, and generated extensive commentary throughout later Byzantine history. The Orations are sometimes enigmatic, lacking the prolixity of Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nyssa’s works, but the attack on Eunomius (and others) to defend the Nicene faith found in the Orations is no less fascinating or profound. Gregory’s Orations constitute one of the key works that define pro-Nicene theology and shape the orthodox Trinitarian faith.
LOCATION AND FORMAT
· The seminar will be held at Windle House, hosted by the Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies at the University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto.
· Meals and lodging will be provided.
· Participants will receive a stipend of up to $350 to offset travel expenses.
· Participants will arrive on Sunday, June 25 and depart on Friday, July 1.
· Participants will be provided with a copy of On God and Christ: The Five Theological Orations and two Letters to Cledonius, trans. L. Wickham and R. Norris (Crestwood: SVS Press, 2002).
· Fifteen applicants will be admitted to the seminar.
Working knowledge of relevant ancient languages will be helpful, but not essential. Preference will be given to Ph.D. students in theology, philosophy, classics, and other relevant fields of study, though advanced M.A. students will be considered.
There will be two sessions each day in the morning and in the afternoon. Each session will include lectures and seminar-style discussions working through all five orations, and parallel texts from Gregory, other Cappadocian theologians, and select passages from Maximus the Confessor’s principal commentary on Gregory, the Ambigua. Students will be expected to prepare the readings carefully and participate in the discussions of the material.
The application deadline is March 13, 2023. Contact us with any questions at seminars@lumenchristi.org.

Theology for Engineers and Scientists: Technology, Environment, and the Pursuit of Wisdom
2023-06-25 00:00 - 2023-07-01 00:00 | Duke University, Chapel Drive Durham , NC 27708, Durham, NC
APPLY HERE
“Theology for Engineers and Scientists” aims to give graduate students with little or no background in Theology an introduction to the integration of Catholic theology with their respective fields of research or professional training. The goal is not comprehensive knowledge of an emerging field but the building of a bridge between disciplines that seem remote from one another and even in opposition. The theological part will be drawn principally from Romano Guardini’s The End of the Modern World and Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’ because these texts look at the technocratic paradigm generously and critically with the goal of gathering wisdom from many domains of experience and learning for the sake of genuine integration. The practical part will include work on a farm or local ecological restoration project. We also expect to consult with experts at Duke and in the Durham area who have some perspective on theology and engineering (Edgardo Colón-Emeric, Fr. Juan José Hernández), the climate crisis team at Duke (Norman Wirzba), and the placemaking division of the Ormond Center at Duke.
LOCATION AND FORMAT

The seminar will take place at Duke University in Durham, NC. Admitted students will be required to arrange their own travel to and from the seminar.

Admitted students will be granted a stipend of $350 to offset travel costs

Lodging and meals will be provided for the duration of the seminar.

Participants will arrive in Durham, NC on Sunday, June 25 and depart on Saturday, July 1. The seminar will take place from Monday to Friday, with a lecture and discussion session each morning and afternoon.

Participants will be required to read the assigned materials in preparation for the seminar.

In order to receive the $350 stipend, students must participate fully in all seminar activities and complete a survey at the end of the seminar.

APPLICATION INFORMATION

Open to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in STEM fields, medicine, the history of science, philosophy, theology, and relevant fields.

Applicants must submit an online application, including details on their course of study, a statement of interest, and a letter of recommendation (optional).

Applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis (Updated April 3).

15 applicants will be admitted to the seminar.

This seminar is made possible through the support of grant #62372 from the John Templeton Foundation, “In Lumine: Promoting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on Campuses Nationwide.” This program is copresented by Fons Vitae at Duke University, and the Nova Forum. This program is cosponsored by institutes of the In Lumine Network: the Collegium Institute, the Harvard Catholic Forum, COLLIS, the Saint Anselm Institute, and the Lumen Christi Institute

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
I am a PhD student graduating this academic year. Can I still apply? Yes!
I am currently an undergraduate but have been admitted to a graduate program for the next academic year. Can I still apply? Yes, please indicate this in the statement of purpose in your application.
I have attended a Lumen Christi Institute or In Lumine Network seminar in the past. May I still apply? Yes!
Do I have to be Catholic to apply? No. The Lumen Christi Institute exists to promotes the Catholic intellectual tradition and is committed to the integration of the intellectual and spiritual life. The Institute welcomes seminar participants of all or no religious affiliation, and wants to assure all applicants that the opportunities to participate in devotional activities are optional.
Application Deadline: Rolling Basis

The Thought of John Henry Newman
2023-07-01 00:00 - 2023-07-08 00:00 | Merton College, Oxford, Merton St, Oxford OX1 4JD, UK, Oxford, United Kingdom
APPLY HERE
Now in its tenth year, this intensive seminar will examine the achievements of Saint John Henry Newman as a theologian, philosopher, educator, preacher, and writer. Remarkably, in each of these areas Newman produced works that have come to be recognized as classics: An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, The Grammar of Assent, The Idea of a University, The Parochial and Plain Sermons, and the Apologia Pro Vita Sua. This seminar will approach Newman’s thought through a critical engagement with these texts.
LOCATION AND FORMAT

The seminar will be held at Merton College, Oxford.
Meals and lodging will be provided.
Participants will receive a stipend of up to $700 to offset travel expenses.
Participants will arrive on Saturday, July 1 and depart on Saturday, July 8.
Participants will be required to read the assigned texts in preparation for the seminar.
Fifteen applicants will be admitted to the seminar.

QUALIFICATIONS AND APPLICATION
This seminar is open to Ph.D. students in theology, philosophy, classics, and other relevant fields of study.

A completed online application form.
An updated CV.
At least one and no more than two letter(s) of recommendation.
A statement of research interest no longer than 750 words, which includes an explanation of how this seminar might bear on the student’s current or future research plans.
One academic writing sample (30 pages maximum).
All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered

Application materials are due February 21, 2023.
APPLICATION DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO MARCH 8, 2023.
Contact us with any questions at seminars@lumenchristi.org.

The Thought of Rene Girard: Understanding the Faith in a Secular Age
2023-07-09 00:00 - 2023-07-15 00:00 | Stanford University, 450 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, Stanford, CA
Photo Credit: Linda A. Cicero / Stanford News Service
APPLY HERE
[Direct link: https://lumenchristi.submittable.com/submit/fe249b0c-362e-4d83-b3e9-4c86180e2e37/2023-the-thought-of-rene-girard-understanding-the-faith-in-a-secular-age ]
One of the most influential 20th century Catholic thinkers, René Girard transformed our understanding of culture, religion, and human behavior. His “mimetic theory” builds on the demystifying power of the Old and New Testaments to illuminate the religious history of mankind. Through an intensive reading of his more accessible works, in conjunction with the fiction of the greatest writers, this five-day seminar will explore Girard’s key insights into imitation, conflict, and scapegoating, connecting them to central themes of Christian theology.
Location and Format
This seminar will be held at Stanford Univeristy.
There will be two 2.5-hour sessions on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On Tuesday and Thursday, the morning session will be followed by a post-lunch excursion. Each session will a seminar-style discussion of the text and the issues at hand. Students will be expected to prepare the readings carefully, submit study questions in advance, and participate actively in each session.
Application Information
This seminar is open to all undergraduate students (including 2023 graduates) interested in understanding the thought of one of the great modern Christian apologists.
Applicants will be required to submit an online application form including:

A list of completed coursework.
At least one and as many as two letter(s) of recommendation from a professor at the school in which the student is currently enrolled.
A statement of interest no longer than 750 words, which includes an explanation of how this seminar might bear on the student’s current intellectual interests.

All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Fifteen applicants will be admitted to this seminar. Admitted students will receive lodging and meals for the duration of the seminar and a $350 travel stipend.
Admissions accepted on a rolling basis until full.

Truth and Authority in Augustine's City of God
2023-07-30 00:00 - 2023-08-05 00:00 | University of California, Berkeley, S Hall Rd. Berkeley, CA 94720, Berkeley, CA
APPLY HERE
This seminar is an intensive week-long course in how to read, analyze, and discern the many themes in Augustine’s most ambitious and sprawling work. The City of God tells the history of two societies, and their respective origins, progress, and appointed ends. The story is engaged first from the evidence of profane history (I-XI) and then from the evidence of revelation (XII-XXII). In this seminar, participants will discuss how Augustine reckons with the crisis of the ancient and the human city, and whether it is possible to reconcile truth and authority across the competing domains of polity, religion, and philosophical wisdom. These themes will be approached from an interdisciplinary perspective, addressing questions pertinent to students in political science, philosophy, law, theology, religious studies, and history.
Format
There will be two 2.5-hour sessions each day. Each session will include an opening lecture and seminar-style discussion of the text and the issues at hand. Students will be expected to prepare the readings carefully and participate in the discussions of the material.
Location
The seminar will take place at the University of California, Berkeley. Students will be provided with lodging, meals, and a travel stipend of up to $350.
Application Information
This seminar will be open to JD, PhD students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty in the humanities and relevant fields (such as philosophy, theology, English, classics, law and history).
Applicants will be required to submit:

A completed online application form.
An updated CV.
At least one and as many as two letter(s) of recommendation from a member of the program in which the student is currently enrolled.
A statement of research interest no longer than 750 words, which includes an explanation of how this seminar might bear on the student’s current or future research plans.
One academic writing sample (30 pages maximum).

All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Fifteen students will be admitted to this seminar.
Application materials are due February 21, 2023.
APPLICATION DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO MARCH 8, 2023.
Any further questions can be directed to seminars@lumenchristi.org.

Religion and Human Flourishing
2023-08-07 00:00 - 2023-08-11 00:00 | Harvard University, Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA
APPLY HERE
Christianity, like other great spiritual traditions, is centrally concerned with the good life, with that “perfect peace” promised to those who trust in God (Isa. 26:3), or that “life abundant” which Christ came to offer (Jn. 10:10). Christian thinkers in every generation have reflected on the nature of human flourishing, the evils that threaten it, and the complex relationships among the temporal and eternal goods that comprise it.
Until recently, by contrast, the younger social sciences tended to focus myopically on understanding and preventing human illness and suffering, seeking (in Freud’s words) to “turn hysterical misery into ordinary unhappiness.” That has begun to change, with the rise of fields such as “positive psychology” and even “positive epidemiology,” which have sought instead to understand and promote human flourishing. Moreover, scholars from these fields have increasingly emphasized that religious participation promotes many aspects of well-being.
Co-sponsored by the Lumen Christi Institute, the Harvard Catholic Forum, and the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University, and with generous support from the John Templeton Foundation, this seminar will consider the relationship between religion and human flourishing from the perspective both of the Christian theological tradition and contemporary social science. The seminar will be led by Dr. Brendan Case, a theologian and Associate Director for Research of the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University, and will include instruction by notable social scientists and humanists, including Dr. Tyler VanderWeele (Harvard University), Dr. Jennifer Frey (University of Tulsa), and the interdisciplinary research team at the Human Flourishing Program.
Topics to be considered include 1) the nature and interrelation of theology and the social sciences; 2) the nature of human flourishing, and especially the relationship of temporal and eternal goods; 3) the nature of “religion” as a sociological category, and its relationship both to Christianity and to flourishing; 4) the significance of death and suffering for a flourishing life; 5) the nature and distribution of the moral virtues and vices; and 6) the role of interpersonal love in a flourishing life.
Application Information
Applications are welcome from doctoral students in theology, philosophy, psychology, sociology, anthropology, public health, or related fields. Please submit the following:

A completed online application form.
An updated CV.
At least one and no more than two letter(s) of recommendation.
A statement of research interest no longer than 750 words, which includes an explanation of how this seminar might bear on the student’s current or future research plans.
One academic writing sample (30 pages maximum).

All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Admitted students will receive lodging and meals for the duration of the seminar and a $350 travel stipend.
For full consideration, applications should be submitted by May 14.
This seminar is made possible through the support of grant #62372 from the John Templeton Foundation, “In Lumine: Promoting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on Campuses Nationwide.” This event is cosponsored by the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science and member institutes of the In Lumine Network, including the Harvard Catholic Forum, the Nova Forum, the Collegium Institute, COLLIS, the St. Anselm Institute, and the Lumen Christi Institute.

Economics and Catholic Social Thought: A Primer
2024-06-02 00:00 - 2024-06-05 00:00 | University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, Notre Dame, IN
Now in its seventh year, this seminar is designed as an introduction and immersion into Catholic social thought for graduate students and junior faculty in economics, finance, or related fields. Participants will cover foundational principles in Catholic social thought, starting with the human person, dignity, freedom, subsidiarity, solidarity, and the common good, and moving toward applications of these principles to conceptual understandings and ethical considerations involving economic topics such as utility theory, firm and business ethics, wages, markets, globalization, poverty, and development. Participants will delve into social encyclicals, secondary sources, and relevant economics texts.
This seminar is sponsored by the Lumen Christi Institute; the Catholic Research Economists Discussion Organization; the De Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture; the Kellogg Institute for International Studies; and the the Institute for the Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, College of Arts and Letters, University of Notre Dame.

LOCATION AND FORMAT
Format: There will be two sessions each day for three days, each featuring a different instructor. Each instructor will open with a lecture, and then we will turn to a seminar-style discussion of the texts and issues at hand. In the final sessions, we will discuss how the material can be applied to each student’s particular area of interest.
Location: The seminar will take place at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. Travel stipends are available on a need basis. All participants will be provided with accommodations and most meals (some on their own).
Application Information: This seminar will be open to PhD students and faculty in economics, finance and related fields.
Applicants will be required to submit a completed online application form, including:

An updated CV.
A brief statement of research interest no longer than 750 words.
One academic writing sample.

All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Fifteen students will be admitted to this seminar.
The application deadline is February 25, 2024.
Please direct any further questions to contact@credo-economists.org.

What is Social Science? Charles Taylor’s Catholic Vision of Human Behavior
2024-06-02 00:00 - 2024-06-08 00:00 | University of Southern California, University Park Campus 3551 Trousdale Pkwy, Los Angeles, CA, 90007
Are the social sciences properly scientific? Will we one day discover a social physics—perhaps a blend of psychology, economics, and algorithms—that allows us to predict and engineer our common life? No one has done more intellectual work to cast doubt on these techno-utopian claims than Catholic philosopher Charles Taylor. In this seminar we will explore Taylor’s argument that the study of human behavior should be closer to history and literature than biology and statistics. Is the human mind no more than a wet computer, or does selfhood possess moral and artistic dimensions? Can we understand politics by calculating large-scale voter behavior, or must we study cultural traditions like the “ethic of authenticity”? Taylor’s paradigm shift promises to transform 21st century social theory much as Max Weber or Emile Durkheim shaped theirs. For Taylor, secular modernity is not only a story of disenchantment and fading values, but an opportunity for increased spiritual intensity—what he calls a “Catholic modernity.”s
This seminar is organized by the Nova Forum for Catholic Thought and will be held at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. There will be two 2.5-hour sessions on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. On Wednesday and Friday, the morning session will be followed by a post-lunch excursion. Each session will be a seminar-style discussion of the text and the issues at hand. Students will be expected to carefully prepare the readings, submit study questions in advance, and participate actively in each session.
Application Information
This seminar is open to all undergraduate students (including 2024 graduates) interested in understanding the thought of one of the greatest Catholic thinkers of our century. The seminar will be of interest to a wide variety of students regardless of major.
Applicants will be required to submit an online application form including:

A list of completed coursework.
At least one and as many as two letter(s) of recommendation from a professor at the school in which the student is currently enrolled.
A statement of interest no longer than 750 words, which includes an explanation of how this seminar might bear on the student’s current intellectual interests.
All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Fifteen applicants will be admitted to this seminar.

Admitted students will receive lodging and meals for the duration of the seminar and a $350 travel stipend.
Application materials are due February 25.
Contact us with any questions at seminars@lumenchristi.org.

Early Christian Old Testament Exegesis
2024-06-09 00:00 - 2024-06-14 00:00 | University of St. Michael’s College, 81 St. Mary's Street Toronto, ON M5S 1J4, Toronto, ON
Co-presented with the Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies at the University of St. Michael’s College
Scripture is the soul, shape, and content of early Christian theology. This week-long seminar will offer an intensive exploration of the foundational texts, concepts, and movements in Early Christian Old Testament exegesis from 100-700 AD.
LOCATION AND FORMAT
· The seminar will be held at Windle House, hosted by the Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies at the University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto.
· Most Meals (some on their own) and lodging will be provided to participants.
· Participants will receive a stipend of up to $350 to offset travel expenses.
· Participants will arrive on Sunday, June 9 and depart on Friday, June 14.
· Participants will be provided with the relevant books.
· Fifteen applicants will be admitted to the seminar.
Working knowledge of relevant ancient languages will be helpful, but not essential. Preference will be given to Ph.D. students in theology, philosophy, classics, and other relevant fields of study, though advanced M.A. students will be considered.
There will be two sessions each day in the morning and in the afternoon. Each session will include lectures and seminar-style discussions. Students will be expected to prepare the readings carefully and participate in the discussions of the material.
The application deadline is February 2, 2024.
Contact us with any questions at seminars@lumenchristi.org.

Catholic Social Thought in Business Education
2024-06-11 00:00 - 2024-06-14 00:00 | University of Saint Thomas, Minnesota, St. Paul Campus 2115 Summit Ave, St. Paul, MN, 55105
Apply here
We are pleased to announce the fourth annual seminar on “Business and Catholic Social Thought: A Primer.” During the seminar, graduate students and faculty members in business schools will cover foundational principles in Catholic social thought and apply them to their own field of research and teaching. This seminar aims at widening epistemological preconceptions and showing practical implications of Catholic social thought for business in a way that affirms the goodness of business directed toward the common good. Participants will delve into social encyclicals, secondary sources, and relevant business texts that show the path for principled entrepreneurship in order to gain knowledge, exchange experiences, receive help with their syllabi and consider how best to integrate Catholic social thought into business education.
LOCATION
The seminar will take place at the University of Saint Thomas in Minnesota between Tuesday, June 11 and Friday, June 14.
A limited number of travel stipends for students are available on a per need basis. All participants will be provided with accommodations and most meals (some on their own).

APPLICATION INFORMATION
This seminar will be open to graduate students and faculty of any specialization in business schools. Applicants will be required to submit a completed online application, including:

An updated CV/resume.
A brief statement of research interest related to Catholic social thought no longer than 750 words.
One academic writing sample.
All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Fifteen students will be admitted to this seminar.

Application materials are due February 25, 2024.
This seminar is cosponsored by the John A. Ryan Institute for Catholic Social Thought at the University of St. Thomas (MN); the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame; the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship at the Catholic University of America; the Lumen Christi Institute; and the Markets, Culture and Ethics Research Centre at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome.

St. Thomas Aquinas on Free Choice
2024-06-16 00:00 - 2024-06-23 00:00 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
This seminar will be a five-day, intensive discussion aimed at understanding and evaluating St. Thomas Aquinas’ account of liberum arbitrium and of the psychological and metaphysical principles that underlie it. The sessions will center on passages from the Summa Theologiae, but we will also refer to other works of Aquinas, such as the De Malo and the Commentary on Aristotle’s Metaphysics, and to pertinent texts from other philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Kant, and Anscombe. We will want to address some of the more controversial questions about Thomas’ views, such as the following: Does he differ from Aristotle on the will, and if so, how? Did he change his own mind about the will? To what extent, in Aquinas’ account, does the freedom of the will depend upon the distinction between the will and the intellect? Does St. Thomas’ apparent intellectualism commit him to some kind of determinism with regard to choice? Does he offer an adequate account of the choice of evil? In comparison with modern thinkers, does he sufficiently appreciate the value of freedom?
LOCATION AND FORMAT
Format: There will be two 2 ½ hour sessions each day. Each session will include an opening lecture and seminar-style discussion of the text and the issues at hand. Students will be expected to prepare the readings carefully and participate in the discussions of the material.
Location: The seminar will take place at the Gavin House. Students will be provided with lodging, most meals (some on their own), and a travel stipend of up to $350.
Application Information: This seminar will be open to PhD students in the humanities and relevant fields (such as philosophy, theology, english, classics, & history).
Applicants will be required to submit:

A completed online application form.
An updated CV.
At least one and as many as two letter(s) of recommendation from a member of the program in which the student is currently enrolled.
A statement of research interest no longer than 750 words, which includes an explanation of how this seminar might bear on the student’s current or future research plans.
One academic writing sample (30 pages maximum).

All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Fiften students will be admitted to this seminar.
THE APPLICATION DEADLINE IS FEBRUARY 25, 2024.
Contact us with any questions at seminars@lumenchristi.org.

The Thought of John Henry Newman
2024-06-22 00:00 - 2024-06-29 00:00 | Linacre College, St. Cross Road, Oxford, OX1 3JA, United Kingdom
Now in its eleventh year, this intensive seminar will examine the achievements of Saint John Henry Newman as a theologian, philosopher, educator, preacher, and writer. Remarkably, in each of these areas Newman produced works that have come to be recognized as classics: An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, The Grammar of Assent, The Idea of a University, The Parochial and Plain Sermons, and the Apologia Pro Vita Sua. This seminar will approach Newman’s thought through a critical engagement with these texts.
LOCATION AND FORMAT

The seminar will be held at Linacre College at the University of Oxford.
Most Meals (some on their own) and lodging will be provided for the participants.
Participants will receive a stipend of up to $700 to offset travel expenses.
Participants will arrive on Saturday, June 22 and depart on Saturday, June 29.
Participants will be required to read the assigned texts in preparation for the seminar.
Fifteen applicants will be admitted to the seminar.

QUALIFICATIONS AND APPLICATION
This seminar is open to PhD students in theology, philosophy, classics, and other relevant fields of study.

A completed online application form.
An updated CV.
At least one and no more than two letter(s) of recommendation.
A statement of research interest no longer than 750 words, which includes an explanation of how this seminar might bear on the student’s current or future research plans.
One academic writing sample (30 pages maximum).
All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered

Application materials are due February 2, 2024
Contact us with any questions at seminars@lumenchristi.org.

Artificial Intelligence, Ethics and Catholic Thought
2024-06-23 00:00 - 2024-06-29 00:00 | Duke University, Chapel Drive Durham , NC 27708, Durham, NC
The last few years have seen the rapid advance of artificial intelligence (AI), bearing potentially great benefits for the common good but also many dangers. AI applications are shaping society and individual life, leaving governments, businesses, and individuals struggling to address the effects of this powerful technology. This five-day seminar will explore how the Catholic intellectual tradition can help contemporary society develop an ethics for AI. Possible topics that will be addressed include: virtue ethics and AI-driven applications’ effects on character; arguments over the personhood of AI; the resources of Catholic Social Thought for confronting dangerous social effects of AI on society, such as those emanating from algorithmic bias; AI’s influence on work, especially in the caring professions; potential tools for AI governance. Participants will engage a range of theological and secular sources on the questions of AI.
LOCATION AND FORMAT

The seminar will take place at Duke University in Durham, NC. Admitted students will be required to arrange their own travel to and from the seminar.

Admitted students will be granted a stipend of $350 to offset travel costs

Lodging and most meals (some on their own) will be provided for the students for the duration of the seminar.

Participants will arrive in Durham, NC on Sunday, June 23 and depart on Saturday, June 29. The seminar will take place from Monday to Friday, with a lecture and discussion session each morning and afternoon.

Participants will be required to read the assigned materials in preparation for the seminar.

In order to receive the $350 stipend, students must participate fully in all seminar activities and complete a survey at the end of the seminar.

APPLICATION INFORMATION

Open to Ph.D. students in theology, philosophy, computer science, and other relevant fields of study. Limited spots open to professionals within the field.

Applicants must submit an online application, including details on their course of study, a statement of interest, and a letter of recommendation (strongly encouraged).

Applications Deadline is February 2.

15 applicants will be admitted to the seminar.

Contact us with any questions at seminars@lumenchristi.org.
This seminar is made possible through the support of grant #62372 from the John Templeton Foundation, “In Lumine: Promoting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on Campuses Nationwide.” This program is copresented by the Lumen Christi Institute at University of Chicago and Fons Vitae at Duke Divinity School. This program is cosponsored by institutes of the In Lumine Network: the Collegium Institute, the Harvard Catholic Forum, COLLIS, and the Saint Anselm Institute.

Faith on the Frontiers: Origins, Cosmos, and Extraterrestrial Life
2024-07-07 00:00 - 2024-07-13 00:00 | Cornell University, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
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COLLIS Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture at Cornell University, the In Lumine Network, and the Lumen Christi Institute partner to organize
“Faith on the Frontiers: Origins, Cosmos, and Extraterrestrial Life”
a weeklong intensive summer seminar for undergraduates exploring questions at the frontiers of science and theology.
Where do we come from? Are humans a unique form of life? Is there life beyond our planet, and what would that mean for us? In this weeklong intensive seminar at Cornell University, we will explore scientific, philosophical, and theological approaches to these questions in an attempt to forge a holistic perspective in which the three disciplines are treated as distinct but mutually enriching paths to truth. Possible topics to be explored include: the material origins of the cosmos, evolution and the origin of human beings, the structure of the cosmos, and theological implications for the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Outside of the classroom, we will explore the night sky at Cornell’s Fuertes Observatory, chat with Catholic astronaut and scientist, Thomas Jones; tour Cornell Space Sciences Labs; and sing the Office of Compline under the stars.
LOCATION AND FORMAT

The seminar will take place at Cornell University, in Ithaca, NY. Admitted students will be required to arrange their own travel to and from the seminar.
Admitted students will be granted a stipend of $350 to offset travel costs
Lodging and most meals (some on their own) will be provided for the duration of the seminar.
Participants will arrive on Sunday, July 7 and depart on Saturday, July 13. The seminar will take place from Monday to Friday, with lecture, discussion, and/or field excursions throughout the day
Participants will be required read the assigned materials in preparation for the seminar.
In order to receive the $350 stipend, students must participate fully in all seminar activities and complete a survey at the end of the seminar.

APPLICATION INFORMATION

Open to all undergraduate students, including those who graduate in 2024 and recent graduates.
Applicants must submit an online application, including details on their course of study, a statement of interest, and a letter of recommendation.
15 applicants will be admitted to the seminar.

The application deadline is February 25, 2024
Contact us with any questions at seminars@lumenchristi.org.
This seminar is made possible through the support of grant #62372 from the John Templeton Foundation, “In Lumine: Promoting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on Campuses Nationwide.”

The Thought of Rene Girard: Understanding the Faith in a Secular Age
2024-07-13 00:00 - 2024-07-20 00:00 | Stanford University, 450 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, Stanford, CA
One of the most influential 20th century Catholic thinkers, René Girard transformed our understanding of culture, religion, and human behavior. His “mimetic theory” builds on the demystifying power of the Old and New Testaments to illuminate the religious history of mankind. Through an intensive reading of his more accessible works, in conjunction with the fiction of the greatest writers, this five-day seminar will explore Girard’s key insights into imitation, conflict, and scapegoating, connecting them to central themes of Christian theology.
Location and Format
This seminar will be held at Stanford Univeristy.
There will be two 2.5-hour sessions on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On Tuesday and Thursday, the morning session will be followed by a post-lunch excursion. Each session will a seminar-style discussion of the text and the issues at hand. Students will be expected to prepare the readings carefully, submit study questions in advance, and participate actively in each session.
Application Information
This seminar is open to all undergraduate students (including 2024 graduates) interested in understanding the thought of one of the great modern Christian apologists.
Applicants will be required to submit an online application form including:

A list of completed coursework.
At least one and as many as two letter(s) of recommendation from a professor at the school in which the student is currently enrolled.
A statement of interest no longer than 750 words, which includes an explanation of how this seminar might bear on the student’s current intellectual interests.

All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Fifteen applicants will be admitted to this seminar. Admitted students will receive lodging and meals for the duration of the seminar and a $350 travel stipend.
Application materials are due February 25.
Contact us with any questions at seminars@lumenchristi.org.

Eudaimonia: Philosophical, Theological, and Psychological Perspectives
2024-07-21 00:00 - 2024-07-27 00:00 | University of Pennsylvania, 34th & Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19104
What is a good human life? What are the virtues and community types that enable us to live well? This seminar will explore the nature of virtue and happiness by putting philosophical and theological perspectives on eudaimonia in dialogue with the empirical findings and theoretical frameworks of contemporary psychology, especially the field of positive psychology situated at Penn. Possible topics to be explored include: (1) eudaimonia and its relation to subjective well-being, (2) virtue in the context of community and social institutions, (3) the significance of religion and transcendence for human flourishing, (4) interdisciplinary perspectives on concepts like (a) freedom and grace, conditioning and constraint; (b) acquired virtue and infused virtues, or (c) sin / failure and forgiveness / resilience.
This Magi Summer Seminar is presented by the Collegium Institute and the Lumen Christi Institute, and will feature lectures by Martin E.P. Seligman (University of Pennsylvania), Candace Vogler (University of Chicago), Kristján Kristjánsson (University of Birmingham), Darcia Narvaez (University of Notre Dame), David Cloutier (Catholic University of America), and Sarah Schnitker (Baylor University).
LOCATION AND FORMAT

The seminar will take place at University of Pennsylvania. Admitted students will be required to arrange their own travel to and from the seminar.
Admitted students will be granted a stipend of $350 to offset travel costs in addition to having their lodging and most meals covered for the duration of the seminar.
Participants will arrive in Pennsylvania on Sunday, July 21 and depart on Saturday, July 27. The seminar will take place from Monday to Friday, with a lecture and discussion session each morning and afternoon.
Participants will be required to read the assigned materials in preparation for the seminar.
In order to receive the $350 stipend, students must participate fully in all seminar activities and complete a survey at the end of the seminar.

APPLICATION INFORMATION

Open to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in STEM fields, medicine, the history of science, philosophy, theology, and relevant fields.
Applicants must submit an online application, including details on their course of study, a statement of interest, and a letter of recommendation (optional).
Application Deadline is February 2.
15 applicants will be admitted to the seminar.

Contact us with any questions at seminars@lumenchristi.org.
The Application Deadline is Friday February 2.
This seminar is made possible through the support of grant #62372 from the John Templeton Foundation, “In Lumine: Promoting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on Campuses Nationwide.”

Catholic Social Thought: A Critical Investigation
2024-07-27 00:00 - 2024-08-03 00:00 | University of California, Berkeley, S Hall Rd. Berkeley, CA 94720, Berkeley, CA
In this seminar, students will read, analyze, and discern continuities and discontinuities in Catholic social thought from the late 19th century to the present. Lectures, seminar reports, and discussion will focus on original sources (encyclicals and other magisterial documents), beginning with Rerum novarum (1892) and concluding with Caritas in veritate (2009) and Evangelii Gaudium (2013). This intensive course is multi-disciplinary, since this tradition of social thought overlaps several disciplines in the contemporary university including political science, political philosophy, law, economics, theology, and history.
LOCATION AND FORMAT

The seminar will be held in Berkeley, CA.
Most Meals (some on their own) and lodging will be provided for participants.
Participants will receive a stipend of up to $350 to offset travel expenses.
Participants will arrive on Saturday, July 27 and depart on Saturday, August 3.
Participants will be required to read the assigned texts in preparation for the seminar.
Fifteen applicants will be admitted to the seminar.

QUALIFICATIONS AND APPLICATION
This seminar is open to Ph.D. and J.D. students in theology, philosophy, law, social sciences, and relevant fields of study

A completed online application form.
An updated CV.
At least one and no more than two letter(s) of recommendation.
A statement of research interest no longer than 750 words, which includes an explanation of how this seminar might bear on the student’s current or future research plans.
One academic writing sample (30 pages maximum).
All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered

THE APPLICATION DEADLINE IS FEBRUARY 25, 2024.
Contact us with any questions at seminars@lumenchristi.org.

The Thought of René Girard
2025-06-15 - 2025-06-21 | University of Southern California, University Park Campus 3551 Trousdale Pkwy, Los Angeles, CA, 90007
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Description:

One of the most influential 20th century Catholic thinkers, René Girard transformed our understanding of culture, religion, and human desire. Through an intensive reading of Girard’s works, in conjunction with the fiction of the greatest writers, this five-day seminar will explore imitation, conflict, and scapegoating, connecting them to central themes of Christian theology.
The seminar is co-sponsored by the Nova Forum for Catholic Thought.
Location and Format:
This seminar will be held at University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
Students will meet twice daily during 2.5 hr sessions in seminar style lecture and discussion. Students will be expected to prepare the readings carefully, submit study questions in advance, and participate in each session.
Application Information

This seminar is open to all undergraduate students (including 2025 graduates) interested in understanding the thought of one of the great modern Christian apologists.
Applicants will be required to submit an online application form including:

A list of completed coursework.
At least one and as many as two letter(s) of recommendation from a professor at the school in which the student is currently enrolled.
A statement of interest no longer than 750 words, which includes an explanation of how this seminar might bear on the student’s current intellectual interests.

All application materials can be submitted through the online application interface. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Fifteen applicants will be admitted to this seminar.

Admitted students will be granted a stipend of $350 to offset travel costs in addition to having their lodging and meals covered for the duration of the seminar.

Application Deadline is February 2, 2025

Cynthia L. Haven is an American literary scholar, author, critic, Slavicist, and journalist.
While at the University of Michigan, she studied with Nobel poet Joseph Brodsky. Her books include Evolution of Desire: A Life of René Girard, which the San Francisco Chronicle named one of the best books of 2018. The biography was also named a 2019 CHOICE Magazine Outstanding Academic Title. Her Czesław Miłosz: A California Life was a finalist for a Northern California Book Award. She is a National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar.
Her Penguin Modern Classics anthology for the selected writings of René Girard was published in June 2023, and a short German anthology was published in 2022 with the Leipzig publisher Reclam, for its popular “Was bedeutet das alles?” series.
She has been a Milena Jesenská Journalism Fellow with the Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen in Vienna and a visiting scholar at Stanford University’s Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages while researching her book on French theorist René Girard. She was a Voegelin fellow at the Hoover Institution while working on her book on Nobel poet Joseph Brodsky and his translator, George L. Kline.

Grant Kaplan is professor of historical and systematic theology at Saint Louis University (USA). He is the author of three monographs, including René Girard, Unlikely Apologist: Mimetic Theory and Fundamental Theology (University of Notre Dame Press, 2016), Answering the Enlightenment: The Catholic Recovery of Historical Revelation (Crossroad/Herder, 2006), and Faith and Reason through Christian History: A Theological Essay (Catholic University of America Press, 2022). He is the author of many scholarly articles, essays, and reviews in such venues as Theological Studies, America Magazine, Modern Theology, Pro Ecclesia, Newman Studies Journal, and First Things.

Trevor Cribben Merrill teaches French and French literature at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He is the author of The Book of Imitation and Desire (Bloomsbury, 2013) and The Situation of the Catholic Novelist (Wiseblood Books, 2021). He collaborated with Jean-Michel Oughourlian on Psychopolitics: Conversations with Trevor Cribben Merrill (Michigan State University Press, 2012) and co-edited René Girard’s La Conversion de l’art (Grasset, 2023) with Benoît Chantre. He is co-producer of the documentary film Things Hidden: The Life and Legacy of René Girard.

Catholic Social Thought in Business Education
2025-06-16 - 2025-06-19 | University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, Notre Dame, IN
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We are pleased to announce the fifth annual seminar on “Business and Catholic Social Thought: A Primer.” During the seminar, graduate students and faculty members in business schools will cover foundational principles in Catholic social thought and apply them to their own field of research and teaching. This seminar aims at widening epistemological preconceptions and showing practical implications of Catholic social thought for business in a way that affirms the goodness of business directed toward the common good. Participants will delve into social encyclicals, secondary sources, and relevant business texts that show the path for principled entrepreneurship in order to gain knowledge, exchange experiences, receive help with their syllabi and consider how best to integrate Catholic social thought into business education.

The seminar is co-sponsored by the Terrence J. Murphy Institute for Catholic Thought, Law, and Business, the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame; the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship at the Catholic University of America; the Lumen Christi Institute; and the Markets, Culture and Ethics Research Centre at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome.

Location: The seminar will take place at the University of Notre Dame between Monday June 16 (day of Arrival) and Thursday June 19 (Departure after lunch).

A limited number of travel grants are available. To apply for financial assistance, please complete and submit the attached request for funds to murphyinstit@stthomas.edu by May 5, 2025

Click for the Attachment

All participants will be provided with accommodations and meals.

Application Information

This seminar will be open to graduate students and faculty of any specialization in business schools.

Applicants will be required to submit a completed online application, including:

An updated CV/resume.
A brief statement of research interest related to Catholic social thought no longer than 750 words.
One academic writing sample.

All application materials can be submitted via the online application interface. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Fifteen students will be admitted to this seminar.

Application materials are due March 16, 2025.

This seminar will be led by:

James Otteson, University of Notre Dame

Lloyd Sandelands, University of Michigan

Msgr. Martin Schlag, University of St. Thomas

Andreas Widmer, The Catholic University of America

Dionysius the Areopagite: The Corpus and Its Legacy
2025-06-22 - 2025-06-27 | University of St. Michael’s College, 81 St. Mary's Street Toronto, ON M5S 1J4, Toronto, ON
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Co-presented with the Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies at the University of St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto.
Dionysius the Areopagite is a figure who is as elusive as his prose is powerful. The course will involve a close reading of his entire corpus and situating his writings in the intellectual and historical context of the first millennium. We will further outline the indelible marks he leaves on subsequent Christian theology, liturgy, and the broader philosophical tradition.

LOCATION AND FORMAT

The seminar will be held at Sheptytsky House at the University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto. Admitted students will be required to arrange their own travel to and from the seminar
Participants will receive a stipend of up to $350 to offset travel expenses.
Lodging will be provided to participants.

Meals will also be provided, although students will be responsible for meals when on their own outside the seminar

Participants will arrive on Sunday, June 22 and depart on Friday, June 27.
Participants will be provided with the relevant books.
There will be two sessions each day in the morning and in the afternoon. Each session will include lectures and seminar-style discussions. Students will be expected to prepare the readings carefully and participate in the discussions of the material.

APPLICATION INFORMATION

This seminar is open to graduate students. Working knowledge of relevant ancient languages will be helpful, but not essential. Preference will be given to Ph.D. students in theology, philosophy, classics, and other relevant fields of study, though advanced M.A. students will be considered.
Applicants will be required to submit an online application form including:

A list of completed coursework.
At least one and as many as two letter(s) of recommendation from a professor at the school in which the student is currently enrolled.
A statement of interest no longer than 750 words, which includes an explanation of how this seminar might bear on the student’s current intellectual interests.

All application materials can be submitted through the online application interface. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Fifteen applicants will be admitted to this seminar.
Application Deadline is February 2, 2025

This seminar will be led by:

Lewis Ayres, Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas/Durham University

Paul Blowers, Milligan University

Fr. Andrew Summerson, Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies

Self Knowledge as "First Philosophy:" Introducing Bernard Lonergan
2025-06-22 - 2025-06-28 | Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467, United States
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The seminar is co-presented by the Lonergan Institute.
This graduate seminar is designed as an advanced introduction to the thought of Bernard Lonergan, SJ. The seminar will examine Lonergan’s approach to self-knowledge and “self-appropriation,” epistemology, and method in metaphysics and theology. The main text for the course will be Lonergan’s seminal Insight: A Study of Human Understanding. Upon first publication in 1957, Insight was greeted by reviewers as “probably… one of the great philosophical treatises of the century,” “a profound book… evincing an extraordinary sense for the persistent significance of ancient and medieval thought in the light of modern science,” “a Catholic Phenomenology of Mind with a personalist orientation.”
Our principal objectives will be to understand the fundamental ideas animating Lonergan’s project, to facilitate the personal “philosophic experience” Insight was intended to provoke, and to introduce a critique of methods to help participants begin to make sense of the deep sources of disagreement in the humanities, particularly philosophy and theology. Although it would be impossible to communicate the whole of Lonergan’s thought in a week, the seminar will attempt to give a sense of the whole “in” Lonergan’s thought, that is, of the through-line linking the project of Insight to his theological work and to the framework for methodical collaboration he proposed in Method in Theology, his sequel to Insight.
Application Information:
This seminar will be of interest to students in philosophy, theology, and other disciplines that address foundational questions in the humanities and human sciences, including law, economics, politics, and history. Although primarily intended for doctoral students, advanced master’s degree candidates will be considered. Previous familiarity with Lonergan is not required.
Please submit the following:

A completed online application form.
An updated CV.
At least one and no more than two letter(s) of recommendation.
A statement of research interest no longer than 750 words, which includes an explanation of how this seminar might bear on the student’s current or future research plans.
One academic writing sample (30 pages maximum).
All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Application deadline is February 2, 2025

The seminar will take place at Boston College between June 22 and June 28, 2025
Admitted students will be provided housing and most meals during the seminar. They can submit for up to $350 travel reimbursement after the conclusion of the seminar.
For full consideration, applications should be submitted by February 2.

Jeremy D. Wilkins is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Boston College, and Director of the Lonergan Institute. He is the author of Before Truth: Lonergan, Aquinas, and the Problem of Wisdom (The Catholic University of America, 2018). In addition to the philosophy and theology of Bernard Lonergan, his research focuses on Thomas Aquinas, Trinitarian theology, Christology, and grace.
Roberto J. De La Noval is Assistant Professor of Theology at Mount St. Mary’s University (Emmitsburg, MD). A systematic and historical theologian, his research concerns Russian religious thought, eschatology, and the thought of Bernard Lonergan.

Truth and Authority in Augustines City of God
2025-07-27 - 2025-08-02 | University of California, Berkeley, S Hall Rd. Berkeley, CA 94720, Berkeley, CA
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This seminar is an intensive week-long course in how to read, analyze, and discern the many themes in Augustine’s most ambitious and sprawling work. The City of God tells the history of two societies, and their respective origins, progress, and appointed ends. The story is engaged first from the evidence of profane history (I-XI) and then from the evidence of revelation (XII-XXII). In this seminar, participants will discuss how Augustine reckons with the crisis of the ancient and the human city, and whether it is possible to reconcile truth and authority across the competing domains of polity, religion, and philosophical wisdom. These themes will be approached from an interdisciplinary perspective, addressing questions pertinent to students in political science, philosophy, law, theology, religious studies, and history.
The Seminar will be led by Prof. Russel Hittinger and Fr. Michael Sherwin OP.
Format: There will be two 2.5-hour sessions each day. Each session will include an opening lecture and seminar-style discussion of the text and the issues at hand. Students will be expected to prepare the readings carefully and participate in the discussions of the material.
Location: The seminar will take place at the University of California, Berkeley. Students will be provided with lodging, meals, and a travel stipend of up to $350.
APPLICATION INFORMATION

This seminar will be open to JD, PhD students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty in the humanities and relevant fields (such as philosophy, theology, English, classics, law and history).
Applicants will be required to complete and submit an online application form including:

An updated CV.
At least one and as many as two letter(s) of recommendation from a member of the program in which the student is currently enrolled.
A statement of research interest no longer than 750 words, which includes an explanation of how this seminar might bear on the student’s current or future research plans.
One academic writing sample (30 pages maximum).

All application materials can be submitted via the online application interface. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Fifteen students will be admitted to this seminar.
The applications is due on February 2, 2025.

Any further questions can be directed to seminars@lumenchristi.org.

Economics and Catholic Social Thought - A Primer
2025-07-28 - 2025-08-01 | Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul, Santiago de Chile, Chile
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Now in its eight year, this seminar is designed as an introduction and immersion into Catholic social thought for graduate students and junior faculty in economics, finance, or related fields. Participants will cover foundational principles in Catholic social thought, starting with the human person, dignity, freedom, subsidiarity, solidarity, and the common good, and moving toward applications of these principles to conceptual understandings and ethical considerations involving economic topics such as utility theory, firm and business ethics, wages, markets, globalization, poverty, and development. Participants will delve into social encyclicals, secondary sources, and relevant economics texts.
This seminar is sponsored by the Lumen Christi Institute; the Catholic Research Economists Discussion Organization; the De Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture; the Kellogg Institute for International Studies; and the the Institute for the Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, College of Arts and Letters, University of Notre Dame.
Format: There will be two sessions each day, featuring a different instructor. Each instructor will open with a lecture, and then we will turn to a seminar-style discussion of the texts and issues at hand. In the final sessions, we will discuss how the material can be applied to each student’s particular area of interest.
Location: The seminar will take place at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, between July 28 and August 1. Partial travel reimbursement funds are available on a need basis. All participants will be provided with accommodations and meals.

APPLICATION INFORMATION:

This seminar will be open to PhD students and faculty in economics, finance and related fields.
Applicants will be required to submit a completed online application form, including:

An updated CV.
A brief statement of research interest no longer than 750 words.
One academic writing sample.

All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Fifteen students will be admitted to this seminar.
The application deadline is March 16, 2025.

Please direct any further questions to contact@credo-economists.org or seminars@lumenchristi.org

Vocation of the Catholic Scholar
2025-08-10 - 2025-08-15 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
The Vocation of the Catholic Scholar seminar was catalyzed by LCI’s Postdoctoral Fellows Program in Catholic Studies, which launched this fall. For the inaugural cohort of fellows, the institute was only able to accept two out of a pool of nearly seventy, highly-qualified candidates. This week-long seminar was born out of the interest of so many talented young Catholic scholars, seeking intellectual community and greater connection with the Church’s rich tradition. The seminar made it possible to bring an additional eleven of these young scholars for a week of formation, friendship, and discussion about the meaning of the role in the Church to which God has called them.
Each morning, Fr. Stephen Fields, SJ (Georgetown University) led a conversation on the seminar’s primary text: St. John Henry Newman’s The Idea of a University. Each afternoon, senior scholars shared their own reflections on research and teaching in the university in the light of their faith. They encouraged seminar participants to consider how the Catholic tradition enriches the scholarly vocation.

The Mystery of Christ from Chalcedon to Maximus
2026-06-14 - 2026-06-20 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
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The Mystery of Christ from Chalcedon to Maximus
Please note that this Seminar will now take place at the University of Chicago!
This seminar will offer a contextual study of doctrine of the person of Jesus, beginning with the council of Chalcedon and culminating in Maximus the Confessor. This period is determinative for Christian thought on Christ for subsequent centuries and maps a complex interrelation between philosophy, politics, scriptural exegesis, and the accrued weight of prior Christian tradition. Students will be exposed to a wide range of texts and equipped to teach them effectively in the classroom.
Lewis Ayres, Angelicum University/Durham University
Paul Blowers, Milligan University
Fr. Andrew Summerson, Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies
Co-presented with the Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies at the University of St. Michael’s College.

There are no tuition costs for the seminar and all course materials are provided. Lodging and most meals will be provided. Students will be responsible for some meals on their own.
After completion of the seminar, participants will receive a travel reimbursement of up to $350 to offset travel expenses.
Participants will arrive on Sunday, June 14 and depart on Saturday, June 20.
Fifteen applicants will be admitted to the seminar.

Working knowledge of relevant ancient languages will be helpful, but not essential. Preference will be given to Ph.D. students in theology, philosophy, classics, and other relevant fields of study. Advanced M.A. students will also be considered.
There will be two sessions each day in the morning and in the afternoon. Each session will include lectures and seminar-style discussions. Students will be expected to prepare the readings carefully and participate in the discussions of the material.
The application deadline is February 2, 2026.
Contact us with any questions at seminars@lumenchristi.org.

Glimpses of Wonder: Epiphanies of Beauty in the Midst of Technological Change
2026-06-14 - 2026-06-20 | Duke University, Chapel Drive Durham , NC 27708, Durham, NC
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Glimpses of Wonder: Epiphanies of Beauty in the Midst of Technological Change
Cosponsored by the Society of Catholic Scientists.
Eugene Wigner, a winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1963, was not only a celebrated scientist but also defended the “unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics” in aesthetic terms. The beauty of the natural realm and the capacity of mathematical reason not only to measure the world but to see beyond its own finitude and look for a whole in the midst of parts is both mysterious and ubiquitous. In times of technological change, those parts move at an accelerated pace. True human flourishing is not necessarily about slowing down or accelerating the advance of progress as finding a new measure that allows one to see epiphanies of beauty and learn from them about oneself, the world, and the creator of the beauty of the world.
The point of this seminar will be to compare ancient visions of the wonder and beauty of creation, above all in the Augustinian and Franciscan intellectual tradition, with the challenges of technological revolutions, medieval and modern. The idea of the mechanical arts predates Newtonian mechanism and is already a theme in 13th century Paris, as can be found in distinct realms of technological advancement ranging from the motion of mechanical clocks to the engineering of the Gothic cathedral. The point is not to vindicate ancients, moderns, or contemporaries but to create a fruitful dialogue between ancient grammars of wonder and the intellectual, moral, spiritual, and everyday challenges that arise in the midst of rapid and accelerating technological change.
In order to give a foretaste for the summer seminar, Lumen Christi will offer a virtual masterclass on related themes, to be held on January 23, 2026 for graduate students from any university or discipline. The program is entitled “Glimpses of Wonder: Faith, Reason, and Technology in the University Today” and will be led by the seminar organizers, Peter Casarella and Sr. Damien Marie Savino. Click here for more information and registration.
Instructor: Sr. Damien Marie Savino, FSE, Ph.D., University of Notre Dame,
author of Learning the Language of Creation: Catholic Social Teaching and Integral Ecology, forthcoming in the spring of 2026 with Liturgical Press.
Other presenters from Duke:
Peter Casarella,
author of The Song of Creation: Saint Bonaventure’s Franciscan Pilgrimage into God, forthcoming, Word on Fire Academic.
Matthew Whelan, author of Christianity and Agroecology, Cambridge UP, 2025.
Norman Wirzba, author of Love’s Braided Dance, Yale UP, 2024.
Reinhard Huetter, Duke Divinity School and International Theological Commission
Kevin Hart, author of Lands of Likeness: For a Poetics of Contemplation. Chicago, 2023.
LOCATION AND FORMAT:
The seminar will take place at Duke University in Durham, NC. Admitted students will be required to arrange their own travel to and from the seminar.
Admitted students will be granted a stipend of $350 to offset travel costs in addition to having their lodging and meals covered for the duration of the seminar.
Participants will arrive in Durham, NC on Sunday, June 14 and depart on Saturday, June 20. The seminar will take place from Monday to Friday, with a lecture and discussion session each morning and afternoon.
Participants will be required to read the assigned materials in preparation for the seminar.
In order to receive the $350 stipend, students must participate fully in all seminar activities and complete a survey at the end of the seminar.
Open to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in STEM fields, medicine, the history of science, philosophy, theology, and relevant fields.
Applicants must submit an online application, including details on their course of study, a statement of interest, and a letter of recommendation.
15 applicants will be admitted to the seminar.
This project is made possible through the support of In Lumine Tuo: Expanding and Sustaining the Catholic Intellectual Tradition Nationwide (grant #63614) from the John Templeton Foundation and the generous support of our donors.

The Application Deadline is February 2, 2026.
Contact us with any questions at seminars@lumenchristi.org.

Catholic Social Thought in Business Education
2026-06-16 - 2026-06-19 | Catholic University of America, 620 Michigan Ave NE, Washington, DC 20064, Washington, DC
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We are pleased to announce the sixth annual seminar on “Business and Catholic Social Thought: A Primer.” During the seminar, graduate students and faculty members in business schools will cover foundational principles in Catholic social thought and apply them to their own field of research and teaching. This seminar aims at widening epistemological preconceptions and showing practical implications of Catholic social thought for business in a way that affirms the goodness of business directed toward the common good. Participants will delve into social encyclicals, secondary sources, and relevant business texts that show the path for principled entrepreneurship in order to gain knowledge, exchange experiences, receive help with their syllabi and consider how best to integrate Catholic social thought into business education.
The seminar is co-sponsored by the Terrence J. Murphy Institute for Catholic Thought, Law, and Business, the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame; the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship at the Catholic University of America; the Lumen Christi Institute; and the Markets, Culture and Ethics Research Centre at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome.

Location:
The seminar will take place at the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. between Tuesday June 16 (day of Arrival) and Friday June 19 (Departure after lunch).

A limited number of travel grants are available to all admitted applicants.

To apply for financial assistance, please complete and submit the attached request for funds to murphyinstit@stthomas.edu by April 27, 2026 – Click for the Attachment

There are no tuition/registration costs to attend the seminar. All participants will be provided with accommodations and meals.

Application Information

This seminar will be open to graduate students and faculty of any specialization in business schools.

Applicants will be required to submit a completed online application, including:

An updated CV/resume.
A brief statement of research interest related to Catholic social thought no longer than 750 words.
All application materials can be submitted via the online application interface. Fifteen participants will be admitted to this seminar.

Application materials are due March 2, 2026.

This seminar will be led by:

David Cloutier, University of Notre Dame

Msgr. Martin Schlag, University of St. Thomas
Nicholas Schmitz, The Catholic University of America

Andreas Widmer, The Catholic University of America

"Judgment in Rome: Art and Papal Teaching from John Paul II to Leo XIV."
2026-06-21 - 2026-06-25 | Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome, Piazza Santa Apollinare, 49, 00186 Roma, Italy, Rome, Italy
We are pleased to announce the inaugural summer seminar on Law in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, “Judgment in Rome: Art & Papal Teaching from John Paul II to Leo XIV.” During the seminar, participants will engage in seminar discussions on papal teachings (writings, speeches, etc.) from Pope St. John Paul II to Pope Leo XIV on the topics of law, justice, judgment, and related matters. Attendees will also encounter artistic works located throughout Rome that address the theme of judgment. Participants will be provided with a curated reader of papal teachings on seminar topics. One goal of the seminar is to equip participants to better incorporate Catholic teaching on judgment and jurisprudence into their teaching, scholarship, and service to the academic community and to the legal profession.
The seminar is co-organized by: The Center for The Constitution and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition at The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, the Eleanor H. McCullen Center for Law, Religion and Public Policy at Villanova University, the Center for the Study of Liberal Democracy at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, The Catholic Criminal Justice Reform Network at the Lumen Christi Institute, and Notre Dame Law School.
Location: The seminar sessions will take place in Rome, with seminars held at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross and the Augustinianum, and artistic site visits taking place across Rome.
Participants will arrive on Sunday, June 21 and depart on Thursday, June 25.

All participants will be provided with accommodations and most meals as well as travel stipends of $750

The seminar is by invitation only.

Elisabeth Lev – Duquesne University/University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum)
Scott Roniger – Loyola Marymount University
Fr. Petar Popović – Pontificial University of the Holy Cross
Ralf van Bühren – Pontificial University of the Holy Cross

The Thought of René Girard
2026-07-02 - 2026-07-08 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
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The Thought of René Girard
For Undergraduate Students.
One of the most influential 20th century Catholic thinkers, René Girard transformed our understanding of culture, religion, and human behavior. His “mimetic theory” builds on the demystifying power of the Old and New Testaments to illuminate the religious history of mankind. Through an intensive reading of his more accessible works, in conjunction with the fiction of the greatest writers, this five-day seminar for undergraduate students will explore Girard’s key insights into imitation, conflict, and scapegoating, connecting them to central themes of Christian theology.

Location and Format:
This seminar will be held at Gavin House in Chicago, Illinois.
Participants will arrive on Thursday, July 2 and depart on Wednesday, July 8.
The seminar will comprise of two 2.5-hour sessions each day (with only afternoon sessions on Sunday). Each session will have a seminar-style discussion of the text and the issues at hand. Students will be expected to prepare the readings carefully, submit study questions in advance, and participate actively in each session. The seminar will also include optional excursions within Chicago.
Admitted students will be granted a stipend of $350 to offset travel costs in addition to having their lodging and meals covered for the duration of the seminar.
Application Information:
This seminar is open to all undergraduate students (including 2026 graduates) interested in understanding the thought of one of the great modern Christian apologists. Applicants must be 18 by the time of the seminar.
Applicants will be required to submit an online application form including:
A list of completed coursework.
At least one and as many as two letter(s) of recommendation from a professor at the school in which the student is currently enrolled.
A statement of interest no longer than 750 words, which includes an explanation of how this seminar might bear on the student’s current intellectual interests.
All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Fifteen applicants will be admitted to this seminar.
Application Deadline is February 2, 2026.

The Thought of John Henry Newman
2026-07-19 - 2026-07-25 | The National Institute of Newman Studies, 211 N. Dithridge St., Pittsburgh, PA, PA 15213, United States
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National Institute of Newman Studies, Pittsburgh, PA
Fr. Stephen Fields, SJ, Georgetown University
Staff of the National Institute for Newman Studies
Now in its twelfth year, this intensive seminar will examine the achievements of Saint John Henry Newman as a theologian, philosopher, educator, preacher, and writer. Remarkably, in each of these areas Newman produced works that have come to be recognized as classics: An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, The Grammar of Assent, The Idea of a University, and the Apologia Pro Vita Sua. This seminar will approach Newman’s thought through a critical engagement with these texts.
Students will also be introduced to the work and digital Humanities’s tools of the National Institute for Newman Studies.
This seminar is cosponsored by the National Institute of Newman Studies (NINS).
LOCATION AND FORMAT:
The seminar will be held at the National Institute of Newman Studies in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
There are no tuition costs for the seminar and all course materials are provided. Lodging and most meals will be provided.
After completion of the seminar, participants will receive a travel reimbursement of up to $350 to offset travel expenses.
Participants will arrive on Sunday, July 19 and depart on Saturday, July 25.
Participants will be required to read the assigned texts in preparation for the seminar.
Fifteen applicants will be admitted to the seminar.
In order to give a foretaste for the summer seminar, Lumen Christi will offer a virtual masterclass on related themes, to be held on January 23, 2026 for graduate students from any university or discipline. The program is entitled “Glimpses of Wonder: Faith, Reason, and Technology in the University Today” and will be led by the seminar organizers, Peter Casarella and Sr. Damien Marie Savino. Click here for more information and registration.
QUALIFICATIONS AND APPLICATION:
This seminar is open to Ph.D. students in theology, philosophy, classics, and other relevant fields of study.

A completed online application form. An updated CV.
At least one and no more than two letter(s) of recommendation.
A statement of research interest no longer than 750 words, which includes an explanation of how this seminar might bear on the student’s current or future research plans.
One academic writing sample (30 pages maximum).
All application materials can be submitted via the online application.

THE APPLICATION DEADLINE IS FEBRUARY 2, 2026.
Contact us with any questions at seminars@lumenchristi.org.

Economics and Catholic Social Thought: A Primer
2026-08-02 - 2026-08-05 | University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, Notre Dame, IN
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Now in its ninth year, this seminar is designed as an introduction and immersion into Catholic social thought for graduate students and (junior) faculty in economics, finance, or related fields. Participants will cover foundational principles in Catholic social thought, starting with the human person, dignity, freedom, subsidiarity, solidarity, and the common good, and moving toward applications of these principles to conceptual understandings and ethical considerations involving economic topics such as utility theory, firm and business ethics, wages, markets, globalization, poverty, and development. Participants will delve into social encyclicals, secondary sources, and relevant economics texts.
This seminar is sponsored by the Lumen Christi Institute; the Catholic Research Economists Discussion Organization; the De Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture; the Kellogg Institute for International Studies; and the the Institute for the Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, College of Arts and Letters, University of Notre Dame.
Format: There will be two sessions each day, featuring a different instructor. Each instructor will open with a lecture, and then we will turn to a seminar-style discussion of the texts and issues at hand. In the final sessions, we will discuss how the material can be applied to each student’s particular area of interest.
Location: The seminar will take place at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend.
Participants will arrive on August 2 and will depart on August 5.
There are no registration or tuition costs to the seminar.

All participants will be provided with accommodations and meals.
Partial travel reimbursement funds are available as awarded to offset travel costs.

Application Information: This seminar will be open to PhD students and faculty in economics, finance and related fields.
Applicants will be required to submit a completed online application form, including:
An updated CV.
A brief statement interest no longer than 750 words.
All application materials can be submitted via the online application.
Fifteen students will be admitted to this seminar.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the seminar is filled. For fullest consideration, apply by April 6, 2026
Please direct any further questions to seminars@lumenchristi.org

Catholic Social Thought: A Critical Investigation
2026-08-02 - 2026-08-08 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
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“The Lumen Christi Institute will host its second week-long seminar for recent PhDs interested in the Catholic intellectual tradition. In this seminar, participants will read, analyze, and discern continuities and discontinuities in Catholic social thought from the late 19th century to the present. Lectures, seminar reports, and discussion will focus on original sources (encyclicals and other magisterial documents), beginning with Rerum novarum (1892) and concluding with Caritas in veritate (2009) and Evangelii Gaudium (2013). This intensive course is multi-disciplinary, since this tradition of social thought overlaps several disciplines in the contemporary university including political science, political philosophy, law, economics, theology, and history. The seminar is an opportunity to meet 12 to 15 promising scholars working in different academic fields, all with interests tied to Catholicism.
This seminar is our 2026 annual postdoctoral/early career scholar seminar.
There are no seminar fees and reading materials are provided. LCI will cover accommodations and most meals. Additionally, participants travel expenses will be reimbursed up to $500.
Applicants must have received the Ph.D. no earlier than January 2022. Ph.D. candidates will be considered and must complete the Ph.D. by seminar (July 1, 2026).
The seminar will begin with Vespers, followed by a welcome dinner on Sunday, August 2 and conclude the evening of Friday, August 8.”
This project is made possible through the support of In Lumine Tuo: Expanding and Sustaining the Catholic Intellectual Tradition Nationwide (grant #63614) from the John Templeton Foundation and the generous support of our donors.

"From Ancient Wisdom to Person-Centered Care": Historical, Philosophical, and Theological Foundations of Healthcare
2026-08-04 - 2026-08-08 | Anselm House (University of Minnesota), 720 Washington Avenue SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55414, United States
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Anselm House & Lumen Christi Institute present:
“From Ancient Wisdom to Person-Centered Care”: Historical, Philosophical, and Theological Foundations of Healthcare”
August 4-August 8, 2026
At a time when many learners in the health sciences feel stretched thin, morally conflicted, or uncertain about who they are becoming, we have created a space for the hungry and the weary to slow down, ask deeper questions about the professions they are entering, and deepen their moral and spiritual perspectives as they seek purpose in the healing arts.
From Ancient Wisdom to Person-Centered Care is a 4.5-day immersive experience for graduate-level health sciences learners—especially medical and nursing students—who want time and space to reflect on the deeper meaning of medicine, faith, and vocation amid the realities of modern healthcare.
During the first 2.5 days, participants will gather around shared meals, interactive lectures, seminar-style discussions, and unhurried conversations with faculty to explore foundational texts from the Judeo-Christian tradition and its philosophical partners. Readings range from ancient Greek and Hebrew sources through figures such as Galen, Hildegard of Bingen, and Maimonides. Together, we will wrestle with enduring questions that continue to shape clinical practice today: What does it mean to care for the whole person? What is the clinician–patient relationship really for? How do calling, character, and conscience matter in healthcare? These questions will be explored in conversation with ancient wisdom and carried forward into contemporary contexts.
As the seminar unfolds, learners will also be introduced to modern philosophical and theological accounts of personhood, attending carefully to how the promise and pressure of contemporary medicine—especially where efficiency, technology, and institutional demands collide with deeply held values—can be navigated with integrity and hope.
The experience culminates in a day-and-a-half symposium with the noted physician and philosopher Daniel P. Sulmasy. His work on spirituality in healthcare will enliven participants’ imaginations as they engage him in an intimate setting with one of the leading voices at the intersection of medicine, ethics, and faith.
Hosted at the University of Minnesota, the program also includes time to explore local art and culture, participate in worship at congregations or parishes of one’s choosing, and build community with peers who seek to become clinicians formed not only by competence, but by wisdom.
If you are a graduate-level health sciences student who has ever wondered:

What is medicine and healthcare ultimately for?
How can I live my faith and values with integrity in healthcare?
How do I navigate moral conflict, burnout, or disillusionment as a clinician in training?
Who am I becoming through this work—and who do I hope to be?

—this experience may be for you.
The seminar will be led by Professors Jon C. Tilburt, M.D. (Mayo Clinic), Evan Beacom (University of Minnesota Twin Cities) & Daniel Sulmasy (Georgetown University)
LOCATION AND FORMAT
This is a fully in-person experience; no virtual option is available. Attendance for the full program is required. Learners interested in attending only the final 1.5-day symposium may find more information at www.Anselmhouse.org.
The seminar will be held at Anselm House at the University of Minnesota between Tuesday August 4th and Saturday August 8th.
QUALIFICATIONS AND APPLICATION
The seminar is an opportunity to meet 15 promising scholars training in the medical fields at the graduate or resident level. There are no seminar fees and reading materials are provided. Accommodations and most meals will be provided. Additionally, participants will be reimbursed travel expenses up to $350.
Application Information:

Applicants will be required to submit a completed online application, including:

An updated CV/resume.
A brief statement of research interest related to seminar theme no longer than 750 words.
An academic letter of recommendation that speaks to the applicants academic qualifications and ability to participate in a collaborative learning seminar format.

All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Fifteen participants will be admitted to this seminar.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the seminar is filled. For fullest consideration, apply by April 6, 2026.

This seminar is made possible by Anselm House and the support of the Lumen Christi Institutes grant, In Lumine Tuo: Expanding and Sustaining the Catholic Intellectual Tradition Nationwide (grant #63614) from the John Templeton Foundation, and the generous support of donors.
Learners interested in attending only the final 1.5-day symposium may find more information at www.Anselmhouse.org.
Contact us with any questions at seminars@lumenchristi.org.
