From 92 Pages to More Than 60,000: How the Bollandists Created the “Science of the Saints”
Free and Open to the Public. This event is co-presented with the Bollandist Society. 2:00 PM CDT (GMT -5) | 21:00 (Brussels) For many centuries the Church has been venerating the saints. During Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, thousands of Lives have been written in Greek, in Latin and in the languages of the Christian East. Very soon wonderful and imaginary elements were mixed with historical ones, creating “legends”. If the awareness appeared quite early that all Lives of saints were not equally trustworthy, it is only at the beginning of the 17th century that scientific criteria were applied for the first time to…
Latino Christology
This event is part of a webinar series on Hispanic Theology. This event and series are made possible by a generous grant from the Our Sunday Visitor Institute. Two experts on Latinx Christology will share their perspectives on the uniqueness as well as the universality of the Latinx spirituality of the crucified Christ. Beyond the stereotypical and often caricatured “bloody crucifix,” these scholars will lay out their complementary visions of how in the Hispanic Catholic tradition and in daily life today this Hispanic practical theology and cultural reality address the solidarity with the poor, the struggle to be a Church of the poor,…
Future Directions of Hispanic Theology
Free and open to the public. This event will be held online through Zoom (registration required) and live-streamed to YouTube. This event is part of a webinar series on Hispanic Theology. This event and series is made possible by a generous grant from the Our Sunday Visitor Institute. Where do we go from here? Concluding our spring Hispanic Theology Series, Professor Peter Casarella and Dean Michelle Maldonado will discuss the current landscape of Hispanic Theology, considering the most pressing needs and most promising opportunities in the field. Join us for this lively conversation, moderated by Professor Horacio Vela (University of the Incarnate Word). Spring 2021 Hispanic…
Nicholas of Cusa & Qur’anic Exegesis
Free and open to the public. This event was held online through Zoom and live-streamed to YouTube. This event is part of a webinar series, “Catholics & Muslims: History, Theology, Encounters,” presented by the Lumen Christi Institute and the American Cusanus Society. This session will focus on “faithful interpretation” (pia interpretatio) as characteristic of Nicholas of Cusa’s approach to the Qur’ān as a book that claims to be revealed by God. He argues that it is possible to take the Qur’ān seriously as a theological source for Christian faith. Following Nicholas of Cusa’s example he will also talk about his own experiences as a…
Master Class on “Friendship with God: Apprenticeship of the Christian life”
REGISTER HERE Open to current graduate students. Advanced University of Chicago undergraduate students are also welcome. Others who are interested in participating should contact us at info@lumenchristi.org. PDF copies of the readings will be provided for registrants. Far from offering a romantic or sentimental notion of divine friendship, the Scriptures develop a theology of divine intimacy that portrays friendship with God as an apprenticeship in Christ. Through the filial friendship established by the grace of baptism, Christians are called to participate in Christ’s salvific mission. Friendship with God initiates Christians into the mystery of Christ’s cross and resurrection and teaches them…
Mary & Muslims: Bridge or Barrier?
Free and open to the public. This event is part of a webinar series, “Catholics & Muslims: History, Theology, Encounters,” presented by the Lumen Christi Institute and the American Cusanus Society. This event is cosponsored by the Collegium Institute. In 1965, Nostra Aetate 3 acknowledged that Christian and Muslims share a devotion to Mary. But did Christians always view Mary as a bridge? A few medieval Latins stressed concord between the two Marys, but others raised the Virgin on military standards in battles against Muslims. This talk will consider the myriad ways in which Mary’s role in Christian-Muslim relations has shifted…
Francis & Francis: Encountering Muslims, Past & Present
Free and open to the public. This event is part of a webinar series, “Catholics & Muslims: History, Theology, Encounters,” presented by the Lumen Christi Institute and the American Cusanus Society. This session will consider two Christian-Muslim encounters: the first between St. Francis of Assisi and Sultan al-Malik in 1219 in Egypt during the Crusades, and the second between Pope Francis and Grand Imam Ahmed el-Tayeb in Abu Dhabi eight centuries later, on Feb. 4, 2019, when they co-signed the historic “Document on Human Fraternity.” How have personal relationships between Christians and Muslims affected both the practice of interreligious dialogue and…
Master Class on “The Integralism of Jacques Maritain” Part I
REGISTER HERE THIS IS AN IN-PERSON EVENT. Open to current graduate students and University of Chicago Undergraduates. Others who are interested in participating should contact us. Copies of The Primacy of the Spiritual: On the Things that are not Caesar’s (Cluny Media, 2020) will be provided for registrants. Jacques Maritain (1882-1973) was perhaps the most influential Catholic social and political philosopher of the 20th century. He taught at Columbia and Princeton, and was a frequent guest lecturer at the University of Chicago, where he gave the Walgreen Lectures, later published as Man and the State (1951). Appointed the French Ambassador to the Holy See…
Conscience and Human Rights in Thomas Aquinas and Some Predecessors
Free and open to the public. Registration is required. Contact us with any questions. Note the time for this event has been changed from 4:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. In discussions of the history of the philosophy of human rights, typically a distinction is made between theories that understand rights as objective and those that understand them as subjective (or, to use a more contemporary term, more “personalistic”). This talk relates this issue to the history of reflection, especially by Christian thinkers leading up to the thirteenth century, regarding conscience. It argues ultimately that Thomas Aquinas’s understanding of conscience, influenced as…
A Life in Service of the Truth: The Legacy of Fr. Paul Mankowski, SJ
Fr. Paul Mankowski (1953 – 2020) was a brilliant essayist, a singular wit, and a devoted son of the Church. Born in South Bend, Indiana, he put himself through the University of Chicago while working summers in a steel mill. Called to a vocation with the Society of Jesus, Fr. Paul entered the novitiate in 1976 before studying Classics at Oxford and Semitic languages at Harvard. Though lacking all instincts for self-promotion, Fr. Paul quickly gained a reputation for his erudition and his razor-sharp intellect. He suffered greatly for his loyalty to the Church before finding a home at the…