Benedictine’s Fifteenth Annual Faith and Reason Symposium: Nov. 15-16

“Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.”

With these words in his encyclical “Fides et Ratio,” Pope John Paul II captured the heart and soul of the university project. He also provided the perfect name for Benedictine’s annual conference on the complementary ways to study our world and understand our place in it.

This year we celebrate Benedictine’s fifteenth annual Faith and Reason Symposium with a special two-day event: Nov. 15-16.

Students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of the University will explore the rich relationship between faith and reason, especially faith and science.

Our theme, capitalizing on the phenomenal success of the James Webb Space Telescope and the place of Astrologia in the seven liberal arts of the medieval university, is “The Starry Heavens Above and the Moral Law Within.”

The Symposium begins Tuesday, Nov. 15, with our Fourth Annual Gold Mass and Lecture, organized by Benedictine’s chapter of the Society for Catholic Scientists and our Campus Ministry Department. Dr. Suzen Moeller, Professor of Health Sciences, North Park University, will be our special guest speaker.

• The Gold Mass is Nov. 15, 6:00 pm CT, in person on the Lisle campus, in Saint Benedict Chapel, fourth floor of Kindlon Hall.
• Dr. Moeller speaks on “We are What We Eat: Faith, Reason, and the Thirst for Meaning” at 7:15 pm CT.
• For information about the Gold Mass and Lecture, contact Dr. Matt Wiesner, [email protected], 630-829-6552

The Symposium continues Wednesday, Nov. 16, with two Zoom panels for multi-disciplinary faculty presentations and a Zoom keynote address.

Faculty presentations from eight professors in Benedictine’s College of Science and Health and the College of Liberal Arts will address this year’s Symposium theme and additional topics related to the dialogue of faith and reason, such as the James Webb Space Telescope, Evolution and Catholic Thought, and Benedictine’s Legacy as a Science Education Institution.

Faculty presenters include Dr. Rita George-Tvrtković, Dr. Manmohan Kaur, Dr. Jean-Marie Kauth, Dr. Robert C. McCarthy, Dr. Timothy W. Marin, Dr. Blair Nelson, Dr. Stefan Stefanoski, and Dr. Matthew P. Wiesner.

• Faculty will present during two panels: 12:30-1:30 and 1:30-2:30 pm CT. Register here to attend the Nov. 16 Zoom faculty presentations (both panels). Come and go as your schedule permits.

Our distinguished keynote speaker for this year’s Symposium is Dr. Aaron Franklin, Associate Dean for Doctoral Education and Addy Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Chemistry at Duke University. Dr. Franklin will speak on “The Spiritual Physics of Light.”

• Register here to attend the Nov. 16 Zoom Keynote Address (7:00 pm CT), featuring Dr. Franklin.

All members of the Benedictine community are invited to join us as we celebrate “the two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.”

For additional information, contact Dr. Peter Huff, Director, Neff Center for Benedictine Values, 630.829.6664, [email protected].