Father Brian Davies, OP, is 2016 Aquinas Symposium Speaker

March 1, 2016 (Notre Dame, Ind.)—Saint Mary’s College is proud to announce that Father Brian Davies, O.P., Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Fordham University, is the speaker for the 2016 Symposium on St. Thomas Aquinas. The hour-long talk will be held on Tuesday, March 22 at 7 p.m., in Rice Commons of the Student Center.  A brief discussion and reception will follow the talk. The event is free and open to the public.

Davies’s lecture is titled “Thomas Aquinas on God and Evil.” He will explain how Aquinas thought about God and evil, while not supposing that God is a morally good agent, as many people do when discussing the topic.

“Father Brian Davies is a preeminent philosopher of religion and one of the foremost interpreters and expositors in the English-speaking world of the richness of St. Thomas Aquinas's thought,” said religious studies professor Joseph Incandela, the Joyce McMahon Hank Aquinas Chair in Catholic Theology at Saint Mary's College.  

“His ability to convey complex ideas through understandable images and ideas makes him a born teacher, an accomplished author, and a wonderful speaker. I'm truly excited to host him at this year's Aquinas Symposium and to hear him expound on a topic which, in Aquinas's day as in our own, is among the most vexing for all believers,” Incandela added.

The Aquinas Symposium is sponsored by the Joyce McMahon Hank Aquinas Chair in Catholic Theology. Click to see videos of past Aquinas Symposium lectures.  For more information on this year’s event, call Barb Westra, administrative assistant in religious studies, at (574) 284-4534.

About Saint Mary's College: Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Ind., is a four-year, Catholic, residential, women’s liberal arts college offering five bachelor’s degrees and more than 30 major areas of study, such as business, nursing, art, chemistry, and social work. Saint Mary’s College also offers two graduate degrees: a Master of Science and a Doctorate. All programs that fall under these degrees are co-educational and include a Master of Science in Data Science, a Master of Science in Speech Language Pathology, and a Doctorate of Nursing Practice. Founded in 1844 by the Sisters of the Holy Cross, Saint Mary’s College seeks, according to its mission statement, to educate students, develop their talents, and prepare them to make a difference in the world. Saint Mary’s College ranks among the top 100 Best National Liberal Arts Colleges for 2016 published by U.S. News & World Report. Follow Saint Mary's College on Twitter @saintmarys and @saintmarysnews. 

Contact for News Media: Gwen O’Brien, director of media relations, Saint Mary’s College, gobrien@saintmarys.edu (574) 284-4579