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
Apply Here
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
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.
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
Apply here
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
Apply here
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
Apply here
Glimpses of Wonder: Epiphanies of Beauty in the Midst of Technological Change
Cosponsored by Fons Vitae and 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.
Co-Sponsors:
In Lumine Network
Fons Vitae
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 (optional).
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 17:00 - 2026-06-19 14:00 (America/New_York) | Catholic University of America, 620 Michigan Ave NE, Washington, DC 20064, Washington, DC
Apply here
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 February 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
Ralph 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
Apply here
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
Apply here
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
Apply here
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.
The application deadline is February 2nd.
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
Apply here
“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.
