Welcome Back, UVA Students, Faculty & Friends of the Institute!

Thank you for your patience as we work on reconstructing our website. Explore our free Fall 2024 Programs below:

Free Flannery O’Connor Film Night

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2024 | UVA MINOR HALL AUDITORIUM

Directed and co-written by four-time Academy Award nominee Ethan Hawke, WILDCAT invites you to weave in and out of celebrated Southern Gothic writer Flannery O’Connor’s mind and short stories as she ponders the great questions of her writing:

  • Can scandalous art still serve God?
  • Does suffering precede all greatness?
  • Can illness be a blessing?

In 1950, Flannery visits her mother Regina in Georgia when she is diagnosed with lupus at 24 years old. Struggling with the same disease that took her father’s life and desperate to make her mark as a great writer, this crisis pitches her imagination into a feverish exploration of belief. As she dives deeper into her craft, the lines between reality, imagination, and faith begin to blur, allowing Flannery ultimately to come to peace with her situation and to a healing of her strained relationship with her mother. 

Faith and Science Minicourse (Fall 2024) 

3 Fridays (Sept. 13, 20 & 27) 10:00am-12:00pm, w/ Roots lunch cards for registered UVA students

Location: UVA Clark Library 156

  • Why do many–including many Catholics–still think that the Church and the Catholic faith are in conflict with the modern sciences?
  • How does St. Pope JPII’s faith-science dialogue model work?
  • Is contemporary Astrophysics in conflict with Creation ex Nihilo?
  • Is Evolutionary Science a problem for the Doctrine of Original Sin?
  • What Is more reasonable: the meaninglessness of matter’s ‘heat death’ or Christian belief in bodily Resurrection?
  • Who apologizes for modern science’s long train of mistakes and abuses? What is the replication crisis plaguing modern science? Why does modern science need Christian commitments to truthtelling and the human person?

Challenge yourself–as others have in prior years–by signing up for this in-person, non-credit, faculty-led minicourse. Prior experience is NOT expected. Questions? Email Dr. Beth Frazier or Dr. Charles Kromkowski (cak5u@virginia.edu).

Register Today

Graduate Student Fellowship Dinners

Join UVA graduate/professional students, researchers and postdocs for monthly Fellowship & Dinner events. Our primary goal is to create a forum for friendship and support across our disciplinary divisions, where we can find refreshment and encouragement in the commitments of others to their academic works and our shared Faith. Questions? Interested in helping? Email grad student co-facilitators: Mary Clare Young (Classics, cdn3nm) or Candace Lei (Biomedical Engineering, spw4mt).

Sept. 25, 2024 (Wed., 6:30-8:00pm, @ St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish)

Oct. 30, 2024 (Wed., 6:30-8:00pm, @ St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish)

Nov. 20, 2024 (Wed., 6:30-8:00pm, @ St. Thomas Aquinas Univeristy Parish)

Fall 2024 Aquinas Reading Group

All are invited to join this faculty-led, (free) lunch group dedicated to reading and discussing the writings and wisdom of St. Thomas Aquinas.  Starting on Sept. 30, we will meet for a bi-monthly lunch discussion of Book IV of Aquinas’s Summa Contra Gentiles.  Need the text? we can assist on this, too! Newcomers and “just listerners” always are welcomed the group. Registration requested, but not required. Contact Dr. Anna Stelow (ars5x@virginia.edu).

Sept. 30, 2024: Monday, 12:00-1:30pm, SCG IV, 1-14 (On the Divinity of the Son)

Oct. 21, 2024: SCG, IV, 15-26 (On the Holy Spirit and the Trinity)

Nov. 4, 2024: SCG IV, 27-49 (On the Incarnation)

Nov. 25, 2024: SCG IV, 50-60 (On Original Sin, and the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation)

Dec. 9, 2024: SCG IV, 61-78 (On the Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders, and Marriage)

Dec. 16, 2024: SCG IV, 79-97 (On the Resurrection)

October TBD, 2024: Flannery O’Connor Reading Group

For Flanney O’Connor lovers and those who have not yet been properly introduced to the shockingly strange stories she felt compelled to tell because we all “breath in nihilism” and “people are deaf and dumb and need help to see and hear.” Time/Location TBD

Oct. TBD: A Discussion of 2 Short Stories

Faith and Reason in the Modern University Minicourse

What is faith? What is reason? And why do many within modern universities believe that authentic faith commitments require their deep separation from one’s intellectual and professional pursuits. This free, noncredit minicourse counters the conventional norm by openly exploring the possibility that “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth” (JPII). But how exactly can the wings of faith and reason work together? Join us as we take up and discuss the life and inspiring texts of Boethius (c.480-524), a Christian philosopher and marytr, who demonstrated how faith and reason flew together.

Seminar 1: The Life, Death, and Theological Tractates of Boethius

Seminar 2: Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy, Books I-III

Seminar 3: Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy, Books IV-V

November TBD, but Registration now open. Questions? Email Dr. Charles Kromkowski

August 29, 2024 Welcome Back Social! 

people at social gathering

All new and returning UVA Graduate Students, Postdocs and Faculty: Welcome Back Social! Thursday, August 29, 6:00-9:00pm, St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish Courtyard. Let’s begin the new year together with fellowship, food and drinks. All are invited, including spouses and friends. Sponsored by the St. Anselm Institute for Catholic Thought and UVA Catholic Graduate Students (GradCats). Questions? Email Mary Clare Young (cdn3nm).

September 6, 2024 Lunch Discussion: St. Faustina Kowalska! 

UVA Students & Friends: Join us for a free onGrounds lunch introduction to the inspiring life and writings of the much beloved St. Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938). Friday, Sept. 6 (12:00-1:30pm), UVA Clark Library 156. Reserve a seat by registering or emailing Dr. Beth Frazier (eas3dm@virginia.edu).

Faith and Science Minicourse (Fall 2024)

  • Why do many–including many Catholics–think that the Catholic faith and modern science are in conflict?
  • Is contemporary Astrophysics in conflict with Creation ex Nihilo?
  • Does Evolutionary Science create problems for the Doctrine of Original Sin?
  • In what ways is Christian belief in bodily Resurrection confirmed and contradicted by the physical sciences of life and death?
  • How can a real dialogue between the distinct truths and ways of knowing offered by faith and by science help us see the differences, validity and real limits of things known by science and things known by faith?

Challenge yourself–as others have in prior years–by signing up for this free, non-credit, faculty-led minicourse. Prior experience is NOT expected; only an openness to inquiring about some harder questions in a cross-disciplinary way. This 6-hour commitment may very well change the way you think about God, yourself, others and the great sciences of the universe! Interested? then register today! Questions? Email Dr. Charles Kromkowski (cak5u@virginia.edu).

Faith and Reason in the Modern University Minicourse

What is faith? What is reason? And why do many within modern universities believe that authentic faith commitments require their deep separation from one’s intellectual and professional pursuits. This free, noncredit minicourse counters the conventional norm by openly exploring the possibility that “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth” (JPII). But how exactly can the wings of faith and reason work together? Join us as we take up and discuss the life and inspiring texts of Boethius (c.480-524), a Christian philosopher and marytr, who demonstrated how faith and reason flew together.

Seminar 1: The Life, Death, and Theological Tractates of Boethius

Seminar 2: Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy, Books I-III

Seminar 3: Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy, Books IV-V

Registration now open. Questions? Email Dr. Charles Kromkowski

Fall 2024 Dante, Paradiso Reading Group 

Join Professor Bill Wilson and other lovers of the Divine Comedy in a friendly discussion of Dante’s Paradiso in 4 Wednesday evening seminars (6:30pm-8:00pm at Thomas Aquinas University Parish). Registration requested. UVA students: we will buy you the book! Questions? Please email Dr. William Wilson (wmw2v@virginia.edu).

Sept. 18 (Wed. 6:30-8:00pm) 

October 2 (Wed., 6:30-8:00pm)

October 16 (Wed., 6:30-8:00pm)

Nov. 6 (Wed., 6:30-8:00pm)

Fall 2024 Aquinas Reading Group

All are invited to join this faculty-led, (free) lunch group dedicated to reading and discussing the writings and wisdom of St. Thomas Aquinas.  Starting on Sept. 30, we will meet for a bi-monthly lunch discussion of Book IV of Aquinas’s Summa Contra Gentiles.  Need the text? we can assist on this, too! Newcomers and “just listerners” always are welcomed the group. Registration requested, but not required. Contact Dr. Anna Stelow (ars5x@virginia.edu).

Sept. 30 (Monday, 12:00-1:30pm), SCG IV, 1-14

Graduate Student Fellowship Dinners

Join UVA graduate/professional students, researchers and postdocs for monthly Fellowship & Dinner events. Our primary goal is to create a forum for friendship and support across our disciplinary divisions, where we can find refreshment and encouragement in the commitments of others to their academic works and our shared Faith. Questions? Interested in helping? Email grad student co-facilitators: Mary Clare Young (Classics, cdn3nm) or Candace Lei (Biomedical Engineering, spw4mt).

Sept. 25, 2024 (Wed., 6:30-8:00pm, @ St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish)

Oct. 30, 2024 (Wed., 6:30-8:00pm, @ St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish)

Nov. 20, 2024 (Wed., 6:30-8:00pm, @ St. Thomas Aquinas Univeristy Parish)

“Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on these things” (St. Paul to the Philippians 4:8).
The St. Anselm Institute for Catholic Thought is a voluntary organization of Catholic faculty and others dedicated to promoting the vast, life-affirming riches of the Catholic intellectual tradition at the University of Virginia and beyond. Founded in 2000, the Institute offers various free educational programs, including a public lecture series, various reading and discussion groups including a Doctors of the Church lunch seminar series, Catholic arts programs, faculty-student dinners and local field trips, Lenten retreats, and an annual appeal to support more localized forms of Catholic education in Saltadère, Haiti.
Some of Our Other Free Programs for UVA Students
1. Faith & Reason in the Modern University Minicourse
2. Faith & Science Minicourse
3. Faith & Reason and a Meaningful Life Minicourse
4. Beauty and the Catholic Imagination Minicourse
5. Holy Women of the Americas Lunch Discussions
6. Catholic Literature Reading Group
7. Aquinas Reading Group
8. Doctors of the Church Lunch Seminars
9. Catholic Social Teaching Series
10. Off-the-Path Field Trips
11. New Friends & Foods Dinners
Upcoming Events

 Nov. 8: Flannery O'Connor Reading Group

Nov. 11: Aquinas, Summa Contra Gentiles Reading Group

Nov. 14 Public Lecture: Vaidyanathan, The Beauty of Understanding"

Nov. 20: Graduate Student Fellowship Dinner

Nov. 25: Aquinas, Summa Contra Gentiles Reading Group

2025 Calendar: TBA

Please Support the St. Anselm Institute

For the past 25 years, the generosity of UVA alumni, parents, faculty and friends of the Institute have  sustained and inspired every one of our free programs.  Thank you! 

DONATE TODAY 

image suggesting videos

Visit our Video Archives of Past LecturesVideo Archive

Episcopal Moderator

Most Rev. Barry C. Knestout, Bishop of Richmond
Board of Directors
William McF. Wilson, Chair
Robert F. Redmond, Jr., Vice Chair 
Thomas M. Strassburg,  Treasurer
Frank J. Russo III, Secretary
Matthew W. Hantzmon
Karen Robinson
Stephen G. Reardon
Rev. Michael Suarez, S.J.
Rev. Walter Wagner, O.P.
W. Bradford Wilcox

Faculty Steering Committee

Jorge Secada, Philosophy, President
John Dobbins, Classical Art & Archaeology, Vice President
Julie Bergner, Mathematics
Mary Katherine Burke, Drama
Bill Ferraro, History
Elizabeth Frazier, English
Kevin Hart, Religious Studies
Charles Kromkowski, Politics, Executive Director
John Miller, Classics
Jocelyn Moore, Classics
Lisa Reilly, Architectural History
Robert Ribando, Engineering
Michael Slon, Music
Rebecca Stangl, Philosophy
Anna Stelow, Classics
Ed Stelow, Medical School
Michael Suarez, S.J., English
W. Bradford Wilcox, Sociology
William M. Wilson, Religious Studies

Contact the Institute:

Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024 Lecture

Prof. Brandon Vaidyanathan, "The Beauty of Understanding: What Scientists Can Teach Us About the Pleasures of Learning"

5:15pm | UVA Minor Hall Auditorium | All are invited

Scientists, traditionally viewed as paragons of rationality, often are viewed as coldly analytical and far from the beauty and mystery of Nature. Yet like the rest of us, Nobel laureates and renowned scientists openly reveal that they also are deeply moved by unexpected disclosures of beauty in their work as scientists. What does Beauty mean to these scientists and how does it shape the practices and pursuits of their work? To explore this topic, Prof. Brandon Vaidyanathan, Professor of Sociology at Catholic University of America, will share the findings of a first ever global study of the role of aesthetics in science.  He and his research team surveyed nearly 3,500 physicists and biologists across the US, UK, Italy, and India, conducting more than 200 in-depth interviews. Prof. Vaidyanathan's presentation will discuss the varieties of beauty that scientists encounter in their work, as well as the promises and pitfalls of the pursuit of beauty in science.

Cosponsored by the Thomistic Institute @ UVA and the St. Anselm Institute for Catholic Thought, with the generous support of the John Templeton Foundation, "In Lumine: Supporting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on College Campuses Nationwide," (Grant #62372).

Fall 2024 Aquinas Reading Group

All are invited to join this faculty-led, (free) lunch group dedicated to reading and discussing the writings and wisdom of St. Thomas Aquinas.  We will meet for a bi-monthly lunch discussion of Book IV of Aquinas's Summa Contra Gentiles.  Need the text? we can assist on this, too! Newcomers and "just listerners" always are welcomed the group. Registration requested, but not required. Contact Dr. Anna Stelow (ars5x@virginia.edu).

Sept. 30, 2024: Monday, 12:00-1:30pm, SCG IV, 1-14 (On the Divinity of the Son), UVA Clark 156

Oct. 21, 2024: SCG, IV, 15-26 (On the Holy Spirit and the Trinity), UVA Clark 155

Nov. 11, 2024: SCG IV, 27-49 (On the Incarnation), UVA Clark 156

Nov. 25, 2024: SCG IV, 50-60 (On Original Sin, and the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation)

Dec. 9, 2024: SCG IV, 61-78 (On the Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders, and Marriage)

Dec. 16, 2024: SCG IV, 79-97 (On the Resurrection)

Flannery O'Connor Reading Group

For Flanney O’Connor lovers and those who have not yet been properly introduced to the shockingly strange short stories she felt compelled to tell because we all “breathe in nihilism” and “people are deaf and dumb and need help to see and hear.” Interested?  Email Dr. Beth Frazier, eas3dm@virginia.edu

Graduate Student Fellowship Dinners

Join UVA graduate/professional students, researchers and postdocs for monthly Fellowship & Dinner events. Our primary goal is to create a forum for friendship and support across our disciplinary divisions, where we can find refreshment and encouragement in the commitments of others to their academic works and our shared Faith. Questions? Interested in helping? Email grad student co-facilitators: Mary Clare Young (Classics, cdn3nm) or Candace Lei (Biomedical Engineering, spw4mt).

Sept. 25, 2024 (Wed., 6:30-8:00pm, @ St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish)

Oct. 30, 2024 (Wed., 6:30-8:00pm, @ St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish)

Nov. 20, 2024 (Wed., 6:30-8:00pm, @ St. Thomas Aquinas Univeristy Parish)

Faith and Reason in the Modern University Minicourse

What is faith? What is reason? And why do many within modern universities believe that authentic faith commitments require their deep separation from one's intellectual and professional pursuits. This free, noncredit minicourse counters the conventional norm by openly exploring the possibility that "Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth" (JPII). But how exactly can the wings of faith and reason work together? Join us as we take up and discuss the life and inspiring texts of Boethius (c.480-524), a Christian philosopher and marytr, who demonstrated how faith and reason flew together.

Seminar 1: The Life, Death, and Theological Tractates of Boethius

Seminar 2: Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy, Books I-III

Seminar 3: Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy, Books IV-V

November TBD, but Registration now open. Questions? Email Dr. Charles Kromkowski

Free Flannery O'Connor Film Night

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2024 | UVA MINOR HALL AUDITORIUM

Directed and co-written by four-time Academy Award nominee Ethan Hawke, WILDCAT invites you to weave in and out of celebrated Southern Gothic writer Flannery O’Connor's mind and short stories as she ponders the great questions of her writing:

  • Can scandalous art still serve God?
  • Does suffering precede all greatness?
  • Can illness be a blessing?

In 1950, Flannery visits her mother Regina in Georgia when she is diagnosed with lupus at 24 years old. Struggling with the same disease that took her father’s life and desperate to make her mark as a great writer, this crisis pitches her imagination into a feverish exploration of belief. As she dives deeper into her craft, the lines between reality, imagination, and faith begin to blur, allowing Flannery ultimately to come to peace with her situation and to a healing of her strained relationship with her mother. 

Faith and Science Minicourse (Fall 2024) 

3 Fridays (Sept. 13, 20 & 27) 10:00am-12:00pm, w/ Roots lunch cards for registered UVA students

Location: UVA Clark Library 156

  • Why do many--including many Catholics--still think that the Church and the Catholic faith are in conflict with the modern sciences?
  • How does St. Pope JPII's faith-science dialogue model work?
  • Is contemporary Astrophysics in conflict with Creation ex Nihilo?
  • Is Evolutionary Science a problem for the Doctrine of Original Sin?
  • What Is more reasonable: the meaninglessness of matter's 'heat death' or Christian belief in bodily Resurrection?
  • Who apologizes for modern science's long train of mistakes and abuses? What is the replication crisis plaguing modern science? Why does modern science need Christian commitments to truthtelling and the human person?

Challenge yourself--as others have in prior years--by signing up for this in-person, non-credit, faculty-led minicourse. Prior experience is NOT expected. Questions? Email Dr. Beth Frazier or Dr. Charles Kromkowski (cak5u@virginia.edu).

Register Today

August 29, 2024 Welcome Back Social! 

All new and returning UVA Graduate Students, Postdocs and Faculty: Welcome Back Social! Thursday, August 29, 6:00-9:00pm, St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish Courtyard. Let's begin the new year together with fellowship, food and drinks. All are invited, including spouses and friends. Sponsored by the St. Anselm Institute for Catholic Thought and UVA Catholic Graduate Students (GradCats). Questions? Email Mary Clare Young (cdn3nm).

September 6, 2024 Lunch Discussion: St. Faustina Kowalska! 

UVA Students & Friends: Join us for a free onGrounds lunch introduction to the inspiring life and writings of the much beloved St. Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938). Friday, Sept. 6 (12:00-1:30pm), UVA Clark Library 156. Reserve a seat by registering or emailing Dr. Beth Frazier (eas3dm@virginia.edu).

Episcopal Moderator

Most Rev. Barry C. Knestout, Bishop of Richmond
Rev. Nicholas Hartman, Chaplain
Board of Directors
William McF. Wilson, Chair
Robert F. Redmond, Jr., Vice Chair 
Frank J. Russo III, Secretary
Matthew W. Hantzmon
Karen Robinson
Stephen G. Reardon
Rev. Michael Suarez, S.J.
Thomas M. Strassburg
Rev. Walter Wagner, O.P.
W. Bradford Wilcox

Faculty Steering Committee

Jorge Secada, Philosophy, President
John Dobbins, Classical Art & Archaeology, Vice President
Julie Bergner, Mathematics
Mary Katherine Burke, Drama
Bill Ferraro, History
Elizabeth Frazier, English
Kevin Hart, Religious Studies
Charles Kromkowski, Politics, Executive Director
John Miller, Classics
Jocelyn Moore, Classics
Lisa Reilly, Architectural History
Robert Ribando, Engineering
Michael Slon, Music
Rebecca Stangl, Philosophy
Anna Stelow, Classics
Ed Stelow, Medical School
Michael Suarez, S.J., English
W. Bradford Wilcox, Sociology
William M. Wilson, Religious Studies

Contact the Institute: