"Without the opportunity to take class at Saint Mary’s, I never would have known this joy that dancing brings me."
Events
Spring Events
Endowed Lectures Series
Distinguished scholars come to Saint Mary's to lead us in an exploration of the relationship of faith and faith and engagement with contemporary religious and theological issues. Please join us for our upcoming lectures, which are free and open to the public. These lectures are sponsored by the Saint Mary's College Annual Endowed Lecture Series Fund.
Thursday, February 6, 7 p.m., Carroll Auditorium, Madeleva Hall
Communion, Memory, and Sacramentals in Song of Solomon
Dr. M. Shawn Copeland
Professor Emerita of Theology
Boston College
In several of her novels, Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison blends elements of African Traditional Religion (ATR), Christianity, and African American history and folklore to present examples of love, mercy, and hope in the midst of trauma, cruelty, and despair. This lecture draws out and considers Catholic themes in Song of Solomon.
Free and open to the public.
Due to the global coronavirus pandemic and ensuing changes on campus, the March 31st lecture by Dr. Stephanie Paulsell has been canceled.
CANCELED: Tuesday, March 31
The Spirituality of Virginia Woolf
Dr. Stephanie Paulsell
Susan Shallcross Swartz Professor of the Practice of Christian Studies
Harvard Divinity School
Interim Pusey Minister, Memorial Church of Harvard University
Although not a practitioner of any particular religion, Virginia Woolf was a profound religious thinker whose work explores religious practice, the idea of God, and forms of sacred community. This lecture will explore, in particular, her thinking about community during the years that fascism was gaining strength in Europe and ask what her ideas might contribute to the search for sacred community in our own time.
35th Madeleva Lecture
The 35th Madeleva Lecture has been postponed until April 2021.
Dining at the Table of Holy Wisdom: Global Hungers and Feminist Biblical Interpretation
Dr. Barbara E. Reid, OP
Professor of New Testament Studies
Catholic Theological Union
In the book of Proverbs, Woman Wisdom invites all who want to learn her wise ways: “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Lay aside immaturity and live and walk in the way of insight.” Like Wisdom’s feast, feminist interpretation of the Scriptures offers rich fare for addressing today’s global hungers, particularly those of women and other disadvantaged persons who long for the full flourishing of all creation. This presentation will explore texts in the Gospel of Luke in which women participate in, produce, prepare, and serve satisfying feasts (both literal and metaphorical) including: Mary, the mother of Jesus, Elizabeth, Anna, Simon’s mother-in-law, Mary and Martha, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and the other Galilean women.
Free and open to the public.
For more information, please contact Kathy Guthrie, (574) 284-4636, or email: kguthrie@saintmarys.edu.
Past Events
Monday, November 18, 2019
Memory, Commitment and Solidarity: Maura Clarke and the Churchwomen of El Salvador as Models for Our Troubled Present
Eileen Markey
Asst. Professor, Lehman College, City University of New York
Investigative journalist
Four decades after their deaths, the lessons of churchwomen of El Salvador's lives offer clarity and instruction for our contemporary struggles for justice. Eileen Markey, author of A Radical Faith: The Assassination of Sr. Maura, will reflect on how the acts of remembrance and commemorating, understanding the particular and specific work of the churchwomen can illuminate our present and help light a future.
Women of the Church: A Catholic Leadership Conference
October 18-20, 2019
A wide range of people gathered to examine how women’s leadership is a source of strength and knowledge. We were inspired, challenged, and strengthened as we Imagined new possibilities for women as leaders in the Catholic Church. Details are available on the conference website.
Read interviews with our keynotes and conference organizer about this exciting, unique conference in the National Catholic Reporter.
Click to read an excellent article published in America magazine on women in the Catholic Church
2018-2019 Theologies of Lived Faith
More and more theology today uses experience as a legitimate source for reflection on faith and reason. The experiences of everyday Christians as well as those of more famous saints, prophets, and martyrs, shape the ways we think about God and act for love and justice in the world. In 2018-2019 we explored spirituality from the lens of experience and cultivated communities of lived faith.
Thursday, February 21, 2019
Christian Prayer in a Violent World
Dr. Andrew Prevot
Associate Professor of Systematic Theology
Boston College
While recognizing that prayers offered in the midst of violence can be ineffective and can encourage inaction, Dr. Prevot will nevertheless argue that genuine prayers offered in solidarity with the victims of history can have a powerful, life-transforming significance and that this is the true meaning of Christian prayer.
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
The Latinx Catholic Imagination and the Future of American Catholicism
Dr. Natalia Imperatori-Lee
Associate Professor of Religious Studies
Manhattan College
Dr. Imperatori-Lee explores how the stories people tell, especially stories from marginalized communities like Latinas, can broaden our understanding of Catholicism's past, present, and future.
Other Events
Monday, March 25, 2019
A School of Their Own: Saint Mary's Graduate School of Sacred Theology (1943-1969)
Dr. Sandra Yocum
University Professor of Faith and Culture
Associate Professor of Religious Studies
University of Dayton
Established in 1943, the School of Sacred Theology at Saint Mary's College was the first program in the United States to provide graduate education in theology to women. As a way of reading and responding to the signs of the times, the College empowered some of the first female theologians. This lecture celebrates Saint Mary's 175th anniversary and the 75th anniversary of the School's founding.
34th Madeleva Lecture
Theologizing in an Insurgent Key, Subverting Violence Against Women
Dr. Nancy Pineda-Madrid, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles
Thursday, April 25, 2019