Newman Forum Summer Institute | There and Back Again: The Adventures of Heroes, Saints, and Pilgrims
2026-08-05 - 2026-08-09 | University of St. Mary of the Lake, 1000 E Maple Avenue, Mundelein, IL, 60060, United States
Newman Forum for High School Students
2026 Summer Institute
“There and Back Again: The Adventures of Heroes, Saints, and Pilgrims”
August 5-9
University of St. Mary of the Lake
APPLY HERE
SAMPLE SCHEDULE
Registration Deadline: July 3rd, 2026 | $450
Early Bird Registration Discount: May 31st, 2026 | $250

Course Description
St. Augustine once wrote that we should “so seek as if we should find, and so find as if we were going to go on seeking.” Join us on the beautiful grounds of Mundelein Seminary for a week of exploring the Western and Catholic intellectual tradition as we examine together the rich theme of the journey. Our texts will be drawn from the Bible, Greek Mythology, and Christian literature, theology, and spirituality from the Medieval Era to the modern day. In our expedition together—alongside the likes of such adventurers as Odysseus, Augustine, Dante, Bonaventure, Teresa of Avila, and Don Quixote—we will consider what it means to set out as sojourners and pilgrims longing for a true homeland in which we’ve never lived, to act heroically in the face of a broken world, and finally to return home to God, accepting the call to be saints. As Pope Francis has said, all Christians are “people on a journey”: how can these biblical, literary, and theological narratives of journeying and pilgrimage help us to understand better our own holy journeys toward the fullness of time, when God shall be all in all (1 Corinthians 15:28)?
High school students (including rising freshmen and recently graduated seniors) are welcome to apply for this 5-day seminar. Mornings will consist in academic seminars and small group, and afternoons will focus on these themes through team-building activities.
Applications are open until June 29th. Within two weeks of submitting their application, students will be informed of their admission decision. At that time students or their parents can request scholarship consideration. By July 15, students will be sent a handbook, welcome packet, syllabus & readings, and waiver forms. Students will be able to request a roommate at that time. The Newman Forum will try (but cannot promise) to accommodate all roommate requests. Students will be housed in two-bed units in the USML Conference Center. Males and females will be housed in different wings of the Conference Center.

Time is allocated in the Summer Institute schedule for private reading. Students do not need to prepare in advance. Students will be taught to use the Shorter Christian Prayer breviary to pray morning and night prayer. Mass is held daily and Confession will also be offered.
For more information, please email NewmanForum@LumenChristi.org
