[Message from our Executive Director, Daniel Wasserman-Soler]
Dear Friends,
People often ask if the summer is quiet at Lumen Christi.
Honestly, summer is one of our busiest seasons!
During the summer, the staff takes a break from our events at the University of Chicago and goes on the road. Through week-long seminars around the country, Lumen Christi makes accessible the Catholic intellectual tradition for students and faculty. Many teach at or attend a secular university, which means this kind of learning isn’t available to them during the rest of the year.
The summer is also when the staff deliberates, reflects, and plans. We look back at the academic year and consider what went well, what can be improved, and how to implement those improvements. Our goal is that each consecutive year provides better intellectual formation for students at the University of Chicago, around the country, and for the broader Chicago public.
In order to plan, we have to take stock of the support we’ve received. We see what’s possible to provide to the students from the generosity of our benefactors. Every donation goes directly to supporting our work of bringing the Catholic intellectual tradition to the secular university.
Will you help us plan the most robust programming year yet? We need to know by the end of the fiscal year – June 30 – what we are capable of offering our students.
In Leo XIV’s first official homily as pope he wrote, “There are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent. Settings where other securities are preferred, like technology, money, success, power, or pleasure.”
The Lumen Christi Institute seeks to address this crisis. We offer programs that are intelligent and coherent, bringing the Catholic intellectual tradition to the secular university, so that our students have the opportunity to experience the strength of Catholic wisdom. Will you join us?
Every donation directly supports efforts to bring the Catholic intellectual tradition to life on secular campuses—ensuring that students encounter its richness during their university years.
To support our planning efforts for next year, I need your gift by June 30! The team will be here at Gavin House, diligently working on next academic year’s programs.
Yours in Christ,
Daniel Wasserman-Soler
Executive Director
Lumen Christi Institute