The Lumen Christi Institute for Catholic Thought was founded by Catholic scholars at the University of Chicago in 1997 to bring the light of Christ and the Catholic intellectual and spiritual tradition to the secular academy and the general public. On this station we make available our many lectures and programs, as well as interviews with visiting scholars. To support our work, visit www.lumenchristi.org/donate
Dr. Martin Shaw on February 4, 2026 at the Lumen Christi Institute. In his newly published _Liturgies of the Wild_, acclaimed mythographer and storyteller Martin Shaw argues that we live in a myth-impoverished age and that such poverty has left us vulnerable to stories that may not wish us well. Drawing on the “ancient technologies” of myths and initiatory rites, Shaw provides a road to wholeness, maturity and connection. In this event for UChicago students, Dr. Shaw explores both the theory and practice of mythmaking. In the first section Shaw guides us through myth's relationship to initiation rites and oral storytelling, explaining these “ancient technologies.” In the second we tilt directly into the telling of an Irish fairy tale, The Birth of Ossian. Drawing on his experience as a professor and widely respected storyteller, Shaw locates us in the deeper dimensions of how a modern person approaches an ancient story.
Dr. Martin Shaw on February 5, 2026 at the Graduate by Hilton Evanston Hotel. There's an old Irish belief that if you aren't wrapped in a cloak of story you will be unprepared for what the world will hurl at you. You remain adolescent at just the moment a culture worth its salt requires you to become a real, grown, human being. Myths from antiquity are vivid in describing the conditions of life. Christianity goes a step further in providing the most extraordinary example of how to live that life. Working out of examples from Arthurian and fairy tale motifs, acclaimed mythographer Martin Shaw shows how, if ‘all true is God's truth', profound Christian resonances can be found in many mythic traditions. How do stories assist us in the making of a real human being? In troubled times how could we forge a deeper life? In this event, we welcome Dr. Martin Shaw to celebrate the release of his new book _Liturgies of the Wild_.
Dr. Erika Kidd on November 12, 2025 at Ruth Lake Country Club. Doctor of the Church, Saint Augustine of Hippo, has a lot to say about teaching. He writes memorably about the way his early teachers failed him, teaching him to love praise and worldly success. He writes too about the vocation of the teacher, a vocation he lived in many different ways as rhetorician, father, priest, and bishop. In his early work “On the Teacher” he insists teaching is not a matter of passing along information. Instead, he writes, true teaching is an invitation to attend to the voice of Christ. Join Dr. Erika Kidd to learn more about Augustine's timeless teaching wisdom and its continued relevance today.
Season Finale - Special Episode by The Lumen Christi Institute
Dr. Carlos Eire on October 30, 2025 at Saint Ignatius College Prep. Two of the most significant features of Catholic Christianity are its focus on holy men and women and the miracles ascribed to them. What is it that makes saints and miracles so significant? What difference does this characteristic of Catholicism make, not just for its history, but for us, here and now? Asking such questions is absolutely necessary for Catholics, and in this talk we explore why this is so. --- This project was 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 the Bollandist Society and St. Ignatius College Preparatory School. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.
Dr. Carlos Eire and Dr. Kirsten Macfarlane on October 29, 2025 at the University of Chicago's Swift Hall. Levitation. Bilocation. Witchcraft. Demonic Possession. Europe in the early modern era was simultaneously the site of Kepler, Newton, Copernicus–and of eyewitness accounts of levitating saints and nocturnal witches' sabbats. In his history of the impossible, award-winning historian Carlos Eire mines the firsthand accounts and archival evidence of the miraculous and demonic. How did an increasingly skeptical and scientific culture account for events deemed impossible by its leading intellectuals? What does this say about the supposed boundaries between the natural and supernatural that marked the transition to modernity? In this lecture, Carlos Eire explores the major themes of "They Flew" and asks: what makes something impossible? And is there more to reality than meets the eye? University of Chicago Divinity School professor Kirsten Macfarlane offers a response and engages Eire in a conversation. --- This project was 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 the University of Chicago Divinity School and the Workshop on the Early Modern World. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.
Matthew (Episode 5/5) by The Lumen Christi Institute
Matthew (Episode 4/5) by The Lumen Christi Institute
Prof. Scott Moringiello on October 15, 2025 at Ruth Lake Country Club. The twentieth century philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein said that Augustine's Confessions was possibly the most serious book ever written. There's good reason to think he was right. In the book – equal parts memoir, prayer, philosophical treatise, and theological masterpiece – Augustine explores the nature of goodness, the puzzle of sin, and the necessity of friendship. He savors the love of God that is offered in Christ and his Church. He even realizes (as we all do eventually) that his mother was right all along. In this lecture, Prof. Moringiello introduces the Confessions, one of the greatest books in the Western canon, and one especially dear to Pope Leo's heart. He talks about his experience teaching it to undergraduates at Villanova University and DePaul University. And he focuses on how one of the most famous lines in the book — “our hearts are restless until the find rest in You, Lord” (1.1.5) – speaks to his students and to all of us who live in a world dominated by restlessness and who continually search for the rest that God's love provides.
Matthew (Episode 3/5) by The Lumen Christi Institute
Matthew (Episode 2/5) by The Lumen Christi Institute
Matthew (Episode 1/5) by The Lumen Christi Institute
Jeremiah (Episode 1/1) by The Lumen Christi Institute
Amos and Hosea (Episode 1/1) by The Lumen Christi Institute
Ezekial and Daniel (Episode 1/1) by The Lumen Christi Institute
Author Paul Kingsnorth and Professor James Matthew Wilson on September 25, 2025 at the University Club of Chicago. “Our culture is not in danger of dying; it is already dead, and we are in denial. This, now, is the reality we have to wrestle with—and transcend.” We all experience how the rapid advance of technology, especially AI, has affected the way we live, think, and experience the world. But has it also changed who we are? In his new book, "Against the Machine: on the Unmaking of Humanity," Paul Kingsnorth explores the consequences of hyper-technologized society. With the deftness of an essayist who is also a poet, Kingsnorth takes us through the historical and theological roots of post-Industrial Revolution advancement. He ultimately suggests that the dangers we face have a spiritual cause, and spiritual consequences. “If you knock out the pillars of a sacred order,” he writes, “the universe itself will change shape.” This technological reshaping will lead man to become the machine—unless we can learn to transcend it.
Genesis (Episode 2/2) by The Lumen Christi Institute
Genesis (Episode 1/2) by The Lumen Christi Institute
BXVI- Jesus of Nazareth (Episode 6/6) by The Lumen Christi Institute
This lecture is entitled "'In the One, we are One': Christian Unity and the City of God." It was delivered by Dr. Jared Ortiz of Hope College on September 10th, 2025 at the Ruth Lake Country Club.
BXVI- Jesus of Nazareth (Episode 5/6) by The Lumen Christi Institute
BXVI- Jesus of Nazareth (Episode 4/6) by The Lumen Christi Institute
BXVI- Jesus of Nazareth (Episode 3/6) by The Lumen Christi Institute
BXVI- Jesus of Nazareth (Episode 2/6) by The Lumen Christi Institute
BXVI- Jesus of Nazareth (Episode 1/6) by The Lumen Christi Institute
This lecture is entitled "What Can We Say About God? An Interview with David Novak on God-Talk." It features Rabbi David Novak of the University of Toronto and Melanie Barrett of the University of Saint Mary of the Lake and was presented on May 9th, 2025, at the University Club of Chicago
This lecture is entitled "Christianity, Culture, and Sport: From Play to Virtue." It was delivered by Clark Power of the University of Notre Dame on April 24th, 2025, at the Butterfield Country Club.
This lecture is entitled "A Catholic Vision of Art: Beauty – The Highway to God." It was delivered by Sarah Crow of Xavier University on May 14th, 2025, at the Ruth Lake Country Club
This lecture is entitled The Story of Catholic Education: Renewing Our Schools, Renewing Our Culture. It was presented by Michael Naughton of the University of St. Thomas on November 20, 2024, at the Ruth Lake Country Club.
This lecture is entitled Care of Souls in Inquisition Spain. It was presented by Lu Ann Homza of the College of William & Mary on February 9, 2024, at the University of Chicago.
This lecture is entitled America's Real Sister Act: The Hidden History of Black Catholic Nuns in the United States. It was presented by Shannen Dee Williams of the University of Dayton on April 27, 2023, at the University of Chicago's Swift Hall.
This lecture is entitled Catholicism: A Global History from the French Revolution to Pope Francis. It was presented by John McGreevy of the University of Notre Dame on February 8, 2023, at the University of Chicago's Swift Hall.
This lecture is entitled On the Dignity of Society: Catholic Social Teaching and Natural Law. It was presented by Russell Hittinger of the Catholic University of America, R.H. Helmholz of the University of Chicago, and Mary Hirschfeld of the University of Notre Dame on November 7, 2024, at the University of Chicago's Swift Hall Common Room.
This lecture is entitled What is Catholic Culture? It was presented by Jennifer Newsome Martin of the University of Notre Dame on September 25, 2024, at the Ruth Lake Country Club.
This lecture is entitled The Bond of All Creation: Renaissance Humanism and the Incarnate Word. It was presented by Matthew Gaetano of Hillsdale College on May 15, 2024, at the Ruth Lake Country Club.
This lecture is entitled Do We Know More than the Apostles? Or, Do Doctrines Develop?. It was presented by Lewis Ayres o on April 4, 2024, at the Magis Lecture Series.
This lecture is entitled Rethinking Economic Inequality: a Theological Perspective. It was presented by Mary Hirschfeld of the University of Notre Dame and followed by response from Amir Sufi of the Booth School of Business on March 30, 2023, at the University of Chicago.
This lecture is entitled Pro and Con: Does Faith Ignore Reason? It was presented by Fr. Stephen Fields, SJ of Georgetown University on October 19, 2022, at Saint Ignatius Prep.
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