His Imperial and Royal Highness Imre of Habsburg-Lorraine delivered an exclusive talk to the Christendom community on Thursday, April 12, titled: “100 Years Later: Quo Vadis Europa?”

Archduke Imre came to campus with his wife, Her Imperial and Royal Highness Kathleen of Habsburg-Lorraine, for the event. Archduke Imre is the eldest son of Archduke Carl Christian of Austria, and the great-grandson of Blessed Emperor Karl of Austria, who was beatified by Pope Saint John Paul II.

Archduke Imre is noted for his lectures on his great-grandfather, who was the only political leader to support Benedict XV’s peace efforts during World War I.

Dr. Michael Zuckert presents Lincoln's theory of democratic statesmanship and the reasoning behind his political propositions. Dr. Zuckert also discusses the waves of praise and criticism that has been raised throughout the years. 

Dr. Zuckert is an accomplished author and the department chair of political science at the University of Notre Dame. A scholar of political philosophy and theory, American political thought, American constitutional history, and more, Zuckert co-authored and co-produced the public radio series Mr. Adams and Mr. Jefferson: A Nine Part Drama for the Radio, and was the senior advisor for the television series Liberty! And the senior advisor for the PBS series Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton. He is currently the head of the new Tocqueville Center for the Study of Religion in American Public Life.

Linguist Christophe Rico explains on the difficulties that often arise in translating complicated texts, and how to translate while still preserving the original meaning ad weight of the text. He discusses the different linguistic levels of the texts, and Biblical texts in particular pose a special difficulty due to the richly layered meaning behind the word choice.  

Christophe Rico is a linguist (Ph.D. Greek Linguistics, University of Paris-Sorbonne, 1992; Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches, University of Strasbourg, 2012) and belongs to the Faculty of the University of Strasbourg. He teaches ancient Greek at the Polis Institute and at the École Biblique et Archéologique Française de Jérusalem. Since 2001, Professor Rico has been applying the teaching methods commonly used for modern languages to ancient Greek. He has also published a method for learning ancient Greek.

Internationally recognized Humanae Vitae expert Dr. Janet Smith delivered a lecture at Christendom College on Monday, February 5, titled: “Humanae Vitae, 50 Years Later: Progress or Regress?” She engaged her audience throughout the talk as she spoke on the roots of Humanae Vitae’s groundbreaking publication and why the encyclical matters now, more than ever.

Smith is the author of Humanae Vitae: A Generation Later and of Right to Privacy and the editor of Why Humanae Vitae Was Right: A Reader. Her articles have been published in many academic journals, and she has been a regular columnist for the National Catholic Register and has appeared on Fox News, CNN, and EWTN.

Smith has also served three terms as a consultor to the Pontifical Council on the Family and currently is a member of the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission. She has received two honorary doctorates and several other awards for scholarship and service. More than two million copies of her talk, “Contraception: Why Not” have been distributed.

Distinguished author and professor Rev. Stephen Brock, Ph.D., delivered Christendom’s 2018 St. Thomas Aquinas Lecture on January 24. The talk was titled “The Metaphysics of Prayer.” He discussed the various types of prayer, using the writings of C. S Lewis to refute the objections to petitionary prayer.

Author and television personality Fr. Robert Spitzer delivered a lecture at Christendom College on Monday, September 18, speaking on the “Four Levels of Happiness.” The engaging talk delved into Fr. Spitzer’s summary of how to reach the greatest level of happiness in this life and the next, as he encouraged students to go out in the culture and spread the good news about true happiness to others.

A former president of Gonzaga University, Fr. Spitzer spoke at length about our culture’s views on happiness, and laid out a better path to happiness in Christ. Fr. Spitzer encouraged students to not dwell too much on the evils of today’s culture, but instead to look for the good in others and help them to come closer to God.

Acclaimed art historian and author Elizabeth Lev delivered an exclusive lecture to the Christendom College community on March 20, 2017 titled “Taking on the Temples: The Development of Christian Sacred Space in St. John Lateran.” The talk was part of Christendom College’s Major Speakers Program.

Lev, who has taught art and architecture courses for the Christendom College Junior Semester in Rome Program for years, is an American-born art historian who currently lives and works in Rome. After earning degrees from the University of Chicago and the University of Bologna, Lev became a denizen of Rome in 1997, giving tours of the city while also teaching art history for Duquesne University. With her dynamic and engaging speaking skills, Lev is now a highly sought tour guide, teacher, and public speaker. She has presented TED talks, and has appeared on ABC’s Nightline and the Today Show.

In addition to numerous articles, Lev is the author of three books, The Tigress of Forli: Renaissance Italy’s Most Courageous and Notorious Countess, Caterina Riario Sforza de’ Medici; Roman Pilgrimage: The Station Churches with George Weigel; and A Body for Glory: Theology of the Body in the Papal Collections with Fr. Jose Granados.

Theology chair for the University of Saint Mary of the Lake Dr. Matthew Levering presented the annual St. Thomas Aquinas Lecture at Christendom College. Levering delivered a lecture entitled “Aquinas on Studiousness,” explaining how studiousness is significant for the Christian moral life. Levering touched upon the differences between studiousness and curiosity, stating that the studious do not seek to dominate what they hope to know, but look to respond lovingly to knowledge as a gift. The curious, on the other hand, look at reality as something to be seized or dominated.

Nationally recognized religious freedom expert Dr. Ryan T. Anderson delivered an exclusive talk to the Christendom community on Monday, January 30, titled: “‘Marriage Equality’: Religious Freedom or a ‘License to Discriminate’?”

Anderson is the William E. Simon Senior Research Fellow in American Principles and Public Policy at The Heritage Foundation, and the founder and editor of Public Discourse, the online journal of the Witherspoon Institute. He is the author of the just-released book Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom and the co-author with Princeton’s Robert P. George and Sherif Girgis of the book What Is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense. Anderson’s research has been cited by two U.S. Supreme Court justices, Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas, in two U.S. Supreme Court cases.

Anderson received his B.A. from Princeton University and received his doctoral degree in political philosophy from the University of Notre Dame. He has made appearances on ABC, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, and Fox News, including appearance on This Week with George Stephanopoulos and Piers Morgan Live. Anderson’s work has also appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, First Things, and Principles.

Dr. Christopher Shannon discusses the cultural and social significance of Pope John XXIII. Pope John XXIII greatly influenced twentieth century intellectual history and produced a notable change of attitude within the Church.