Professor Therese Cory, Director of the Maritain Center, delivered opening remarks on the Maritain Center’s mission to serve as a beacon for the Catholic intellectual tradition at Notre Dame and beyond, and emphasized the Maritain Fellows’ special role in carrying out that mission. She also reflected on the life and philosophy of Jacques Maritain, whom she framed as a model for our current moment of increasing social isolation and political polarization. All Maritain Fellows received a copy of the Jacques Maritain essay collection On the Uses of Philosophy, which contains the essay “Truth and Human Fellowship,” the guiding text for the Maritain Fellows for this year. The Maritain Center will host discussion seminars on the essay later this semester.

Maritain Fellows presidents Mark Mikhail and Nicholas Ramirez also spoke at the welcome event and encouraged the new and returning Fellows to get involved and make the Maritain Fellows program their own. After the remarks from Professor Cory and the Fellows presidents, everyone made their way upstairs to the Maritain Library for pizza and conversation.

After the event, Mark Mikhail, undergraduate Maritain Fellow president, shared what a pleasure it was to see the enthusiasm of new and returning fellows at the kickoff event. He said that it brought him joy to see “the assiduousness of the fellows in their united quest for Wisdom.” Nick Ramirez, graduate Maritain Fellow president, was equally thrilled by the turnout: “It was great seeing many of the new and returning Maritain Fellows, and to see their enthusiasm for being a part of the life of the Center.”

The application for the Maritain Fellows program will reopen in January. In the meantime, the Maritain Fellows lecture series and the Cercle d’études seminar are open to all students, faculty, and staff in the tri-campus community.

West will visit Notre Dame and the Maritain Center later this semester to deliver the Maritain Fellows Lecture on November 2nd, "Christian Philosophy and Pluralism: Suggestions from Maritain."

The Maritain Center will host two more game day coffees this season in the Geddes Hall coffee house. Be sure to stop by for a coffee on Saturday, October 10 and Saturday, November 14 from 9:30-12:30.

In July, Shane Ulbrich corresponded with Saliba about his graduate school experience and dissertation as well as the year ahead.

Shane Ulbrich: Tell us about your graduate school years at Boston College. How did your research focus develop, and what were some key moments?

Jacob Saliba: I always felt fortunate to be able to pursue my graduate studies at a Catholic university where the very tradition that I analyzed in my research was made visible to me firsthand through encounters with trusted colleagues, scholars, and friends. So much, if not all, of our research is uplifted by the communities we are a part of. Boston College was no exception.

When I first arrived to pursue my M.A. in political science at BC, I quickly found myself interested not merely in the quantifiable relationship between religion and politics but in the people, institutions, and ideas of the past that could help us think about the deep stakes of the Catholic tradition today. Much of this was also influenced by the many scholars I engaged with while serving as primary editor of the Journal of the History of Ideas Blog.

Specifically, I might mention two important moments from my time in the Ph.D. program at BC. The first, grounded in the power of interdisciplinary inquiry, was Richard Kearney’s course on philosophy of religion. The impact was less from the readings (not that I wasn’t fascinated by the writings of Emmanuel Levinas and Paul Ricœur) than from the way in which these thinkers were narrated as part of a world bigger than themselves. As my dissertation grew over the years and the historian’s responsibility for narration became far more clear, I found myself more interested in those Catholic figures who were themselves acutely aware of the ethical and political stakes of their tradition in an increasingly secularized world—which is one reason why France and its legacy of laïcité made a large impression on me. The second defining moment occurred in the History Department’s seminar on modern Europe, which made it very clear to me that any compelling history of religion in France was necessarily tied to the tensions, dilemmas, and aspirations of the growing global order in the last century.

SU: Tell us about your dissertation. You recently defended, in June—congratulations! And congratulations on receiving the John Tracy Ellis Dissertation Award. How did you arrive at the topic?

JS: Thank you! It’s an immense pleasure to reach this academic milestone, especially with an award from the ACHA. My topic, building on interdisciplinary and transnational research, came into focus, in part, through inspiration from books by Ed Baring, Sarah Shortall, Brenna Moore, Piotr Kosicki, and Stephen Schloesser, S.J., paving the way for me to ask new questions as well as instilling confidence in my adventures in archives. In order to realize the uniqueness of that historical moment wherein Catholics formed deep bonds of community with a variety of thinkers of other faith traditions and national backgrounds, I felt I needed to do a deep dive into the archival material, hoping to recover letters and unpublished manuscripts that may have been obscured over time. I confess that I wasn’t necessarily surprised to find dozens of these materials simply because I knew how my main thinkers—Gabriel Marcel, Gaston Fessard, S.J., Emmanuel Mounier, and Jacques Maritain—were themselves invested in experimentation, dialogue, and interpersonal exchange. Some of the century’s great thinkers in phenomenology, alterity, feminism, human rights, and political theology counted on those Catholic intellectuals as crucial dialogue partners.

SU: What was your favorite chapter or two to write?

JS: If I had to pick a favorite chapter or two (which is tough because all of my chapters speak on different registers), I quite like my chapters on Mounier and feminism as well as on Maritain serving as president of the Free French University in New York while in exile. The former gave me an opportunity to explore a topic that remains very little-discussed, despite Mounier being a known name, and to situate Catholicism in relationship to some fascinating scholarship on gender emerging in the last decade. (It also allowed me to talk about Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s concept of the “eternal feminine,” which also remains a bit under-explored.) The Maritain chapter was an equal favorite because I bridged, across thousands of miles, archival materials and fragments between the Maritain Center here at Notre Dame and the Bibliothèque nationale de France—always an exciting moment in a historian’s research! I’ll add that Maritain’s activism during World War II in the U.S., working directly with the Rockefeller Foundation and the New School for Social Research to save Jewish writers from Nazi-occupied Europe, powerfully demonstrated how the Catholic tradition is built on the vita activa as much as it is on the vita contemplativa.

SU: Tell us about your decision to apply for a fellowship with the Cushwa Center.

JS: My decision actually came quite easily. I was grateful to have received a travel grant from Cushwa a few years ago to consult Maritain’s archives at the Maritain Center (one of the great gems on campus). I felt that after the election of Pope Leo XIV, American Catholicism and its relationship to the rest of the world were cast in a new light. A lot of my own research on the 20th century, especially as World War II loomed and then erupted, investigates the globalizing effects of questions of human rights, exile, and migration—questions that feel extra timely today. If these were some conceptual reasons, I will also tie back to the Catholic liberal arts, more broadly, as another reason. Notre Dame’s commitment—like BC and many Catholic universities—to understanding the perennial demands of the human condition as both an intellectual and lived task resonated deeply with me. I am very excited to continue this work in the vibrant intellectual community at Notre Dame.

SU: What are you looking forward to about the year ahead at Notre Dame?

JS: While working towards my doctorate, I published articles in the Catholic Historical Review, the Journal of Global Catholicism, and the Journal of French and Francophone Philosophy, as well as two French-to-English book translations: Authority, History, and Political Theology: Collected Works and Correspondence of Alexandre Kojève and Gaston Fessard (Bloomsbury, 2026) and Thinking God Otherwise: Entering into the Work of Emmanuel Falque (Wipf and Stock, 2025). I mention these publications because while at Notre Dame I plan to continue to work across disciplines in order to explore new areas and scholarly conversations in which Catholicism can be understood for its expansive and ecumenical historical and normative spaces. To be able to do some of that as part of the newly established GCRI, under the direction of Kathleen Cummings, is a tremendous opportunity. The time is certainly ripe for thinking about the stakes of the global on all registers, and the GCRI is poised to help us rethink what those stakes are and why they matter. The Maritain Center likewise, building on the great legacy of Maritain as a world-renowned thinker, is just as meaningful a place for me and my work ahead.

While translations continue to be a point of interest for me, especially where language itself can serve as a bridge across borders and cultures, I have a couple of my own projects in progress. Firstly, the direct support of the Cushwa Center and David Lantigua as well as the people and resources of the GCRI and Maritain Center will help to refine my dissertation into a book manuscript. More broadly, I look forward to not only being of service to the missions of the Cushwa Center and GCRI but also to the many scholars and researchers throughout Notre Dame as this year’s exciting events and programming unfold!

Two other postdoctoral fellows also joined the Cushwa Center in summer 2026. Read our conversations with them:

Christian pluralism and the making of modern American politics: Five questions with Austin Clements

Missionary women and Indigenous resilience: Five questions with Alice Laburthe

Originally published by Shane Ulbrich at cushwa.nd.edu on August 28, 2026.

The Jacques Maritain Center is excited to welcome three new staff members starting this academic year: Jordan Rodgers (Assistant Director for Operations and Initiatives), Beth Muench (Program Manager), and Margaret Freddoso (Assistant Director for Engagement, part-time).

All three will help to plan and administer the ever-expanding slate of programs and initiatives put on yearly by the Jacques Maritain Center and its History of Philosophy Forum, including the popular Maritain Fellows program for undergraduate and graduate students, grants programs for research visitors, weekly lectures/works-in-progress series in theology and the history of philosophy, signature events like the Maritain Lecture and the History of Philosophy Colloquium, and more.

“Jordan, Beth, and Margaret bring to the Center not only many practical talents and expertise, but also extensive familiarity with and deep appreciation for the philosophical and theological traditions to which the Center is dedicated,” said Therese Cory, Maritain Center Director. “I could not be more excited to work with them as we continue to grow the Center’s initiatives.”

As Assistant Director of Operations and Initiatives, Jordan Rodgers will take up primary responsibility for the programming and the collaborative intellectual network relating to the History of Philosophy Forum, in addition to supporting the Maritain Center’s broader programming. Before joining the Maritain Center, Jordan worked in the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs at Notre Dame, where he assisted with appointment processes and social community programming for ND’s postdocs. Prior to that, he received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Notre Dame in 2017, with a dissertation on Friedrich Nietzsche, under the direction of the late Karl Ameriks. He and Ryan Kemp (Wheaton College) are the authors of Marilynne Robinson’s Worldly Gospel (Bloomsbury, 2023), a book-length analysis of Marilynne Robinson’s fictional corpus from a philosophical perspective.

As Program Manager, Beth Muench will manage the Maritain Fellows program, communications, events, and visiting scholars, in addition to supporting the History of Philosophy Forum. She holds a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame’s Program of Liberal Studies, with a supplemental major in peace studies, and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Mount Saint Mary’s University in Los Angeles. Prior to her work at the Maritain Center, Beth taught high school English in Los Angeles, served as a Fulbright teaching fellow in Mexico, and worked as a nonprofit program manager.

As Assistant Director of Engagement, Margaret Freddoso will bring focus to the Maritain Center’s efforts in advancement and external outreach. Margaret received her Ph.D in Theology from Notre Dame with a focus on patristic and medieval theology, especially the thought of Thomas Aquinas, and is currently working on a book entitled "Thomas Aquinas's Theology of Hope." She also holds a B.A. from Yale University, where she studied philosophy and literature. She is a Faculty Affiliate of Notre Dame's Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government, and developed the course "Catholicism, Sex, Law, and Politics" with Dr. Gabrielle Girgis. Margaret has taught as an adjunct professor for Notre Dame's Program of Liberal Studies and the Augustine Institute, and has worked for Notre Dame's McGrath Institute for Church Life and the USCCB. She is a co-founder and board member of St. Thomas More Academy, and served as its first Head of School.

As part of this staff transition, the Maritain Center bids a fond farewell to Chris Enabnit and Grayden McCashen, whose ingenuity and hard work carried us through the last three years of unprecedented growth, and who are moving into new chapters of their academic lives. Chris begins a Theology PhD here at Notre Dame this fall, specializing in systematic theology. He’ll still be helping out as a student assistant on special projects, so we can look forward to continuing to see him around Geddes. Grayden is entering the academic tenure-track this fall as an Assistant Professor at the Hamilton School of Classical and Civic Education at the University of Florida, where he will teach and research on the history and religious and intellectual life of the ancient and late antique Mediterranean world. Congratulations, Chris and Grayden, on your new pursuits!

Please join us in welcoming Jordan, Beth, and Margaret to the Maritain team! For more information about the work they are doing, and to join our mailing list, please visit maritain.nd.edu and historyofphilosophy.nd.edu.

Nicholas Ramirez, the graduate chapter president, is a second-year PhD student in Moral Theology. Nick graduated from the MTS program at Notre Dame in the spring of 2025. Both as a MST student and first-year PhD, Nick was a graduate Maritain Fellow officer, where he showed tremendous initiative in welcoming visiting speakers, participating in our lectures and discussion groups, and even organizing a Jacques Maritain reading group. We are grateful and excited to have Nick's leadership as president of the graduate chapter of the Maritain fellows in the coming year.

Reflecting on his time at the Center thus far, Nick comments,

The Maritain Center has greatly enriched my intellectual life at the University of Notre Dame by affording me many opportunities to more deeply engage in the Catholic intellectual tradition under the tutelage of St. Thomas Aquinas and Jacques Maritain. As a Maritain Fellow, I have had the privilege of listening and conversing with faithful and accomplished guest speakers, of partaking in several reading groups on the works of Jacques Maritain, and of being supported in presenting my research related to the Catholic intellectual tradition at various conferences.

In the coming academic year, Nick is looking forward to the Maritain Center's upcoming lectures and the continued growth of the fellows program. He is especially excited for the speakers and events we will be hosting, and look forward to welcoming both new and familiar faces at these events!

Mark Mikhail, the president of the undergraduate chapter of the Maritain Fellows, is a second-year student double majoring in Biological Sciences and Theology. Mark was also a Maritain fellow last year and a regular contributor to the community here at the Center.

Reflecting on his first year, Mark writes,

In pursuit of holiness, I thought theological knowledge was something that was good but not that important. However, when I came to the University of Notre Dame and found the number of individuals who love engaging in deep intellectual Theological discussions, I knew that it was something that I loved and wanted to pursue. I realized the gift of intelligence can be directed towards deepening our understanding of God. Ever since then, I have deliberately pursued learning theology in and outside of class.

The Maritain Center has enriched my experience at Notre Dame by creating a space where intellectual life and personal formation come together in a meaningful way. Through its events and community, I’ve been able to engage deeply with philosophical and theological questions that go beyond the classroom. It has provided a place where I can intellectually engage with my peers, outside of class, in matters that are of great interest to me. Additionally, I have benefited a lot from many of the talks that the center held.

This year Mark is looking forward to expanding his theological and philosophical knowledge through reading and by engaging with many inspiring intellectuals at the Center. As president, he hopes to provide opportunities for the fellows to nourish their hearts and minds through the Center's programming.

Interested in becoming a Maritain Fellow?

Learn more.

Christopher Enabnit

First and foremost, congratulations to Christopher Enabnit! Chris is the first Program Coordinator, and then Program Manager, of the Maritain Center. Starting as a full time staff member in the fall 2023 semester. Chris played a pivotal role in conceptualizing a number of the Center's signature programs - the Maritain Fellows, Maritain Lecture Series, History of Philosophy Program, visiting research programs, and much more. In addition to his essential role in planning the Center's expanding activities, he has been the engine moving forward our day-to-day operations. Well loved by visitors, staff, and friends of the Center, his consistent presence on Geddes 4 has defined the charity, hospitality, and collaborative community of the Center over the past three years. We are happy that while Chris is moving into a new role, we will still see him around: he is beginning a PhD in Systematic Theology program right here at Notre Dame, and he looks forward to continuing his collaboration with the Center as a student. Please join us in thanking Chris for making the Maritain Center what it is today, and congratulating him on his academic achievement and new adventure!

Reach out to Chris

Laub-Novak Fellows

Congratulations also to two of our previous Laub-Novak Fellows: Catherine Lemos (Duggan) and Evelyn Behling. Cait is a recipient of the 2024 Laub-Novak Fellowship, with Evelyn receiving the award the following year. This fall, Cait is beginning a position as Post Doctoral Scholar at the Chase Center of The Ohio State University. Cait will be leading a reading group on Alasdair MacIntyre's After Virtue and continuing research on Aquinas and positive law's contribution to the development of habits. She can be reached in her new role at lemos.17@osu.edu. Evelyn is joining the University of Tennessee’s Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs, where she will teach “Foundations of American Citizenship” and continue her research on Aristotle's constitutionalism. She can be reached at ebehlin1@utk.edu.

Congratulations to Evy and Cait on their well-deserved appointments!

Affiliates/Long-term Visitors

Finally, the Center wishes well two long-term visitors/research affiliates, both of whom were hosted by the Maritain Center and History of Philosophy Forum during the 2024/25-2025/26 academic years. Loren Reinoso spent two years as a visiting research affiliate with the Maritain Center as he completed his PhD in Political Science (Yale University). A consistent and friendly presence at the Center, Loren contributed to reading groups and the Work-in-Progress series while carrying on his dissertation research and collaborating with other units at the University. Loren will be beginning a postdoctoral fellowship at Princeton University's James Madison Program this fall.

While teaching seminary classes online, the History of Philosophy Forum functioned as Grayden McCashen's academic home for the 2024/25 academic year, while he was a visiting researcher supported by the Forum. Grayden expanded his connection to the Center as the Temporary Program Manager in the fall 2025 semester, and continued in a part-time role as communications coordinator the following spring. Grayden will begin a tenure-track role as Assitant Professor of the Humanities at the Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education at the University of Florida in 2026, where he will teach in Great Books, PPEL, and Christian Thought and Culture programs. Grayden is extremely grateful to the Maritain Center for its hospitality, community, and support over in the postdoctoral phase of his career, and credits the Center and HPF with preparing him to thrive in his new interdisciplinary academic environment.

A few weeks ago, I traveled to Gaming, Austria to participate in the Hildebrand Project’s Summer Residency. The goal of the residency was to compare the personalist philosophy of Dietrich von Hildebrand with that of Karol Wojtyla/Pope John Paul II. In preparation, we read 450 pages of primary source material, allowing for a rigorous and deep dive into the thought of both authors. We were blessed with an excellent lineup of professors who lectured, answered questions, and facilitated impromptu, supplementary sessions when students hoped to discuss certain topics further. Most notably, Professors Rocco Buttiglione, Josef Seifert, and John F. Crosby were all close friends of either Dietrich von Hildebrand, John Paul II, or both; they were able to share many personal stories of their time with both, and it was such a special gift to get a glimpse into the hearts of the men we were studying. 

In the lectures, I was struck by each professor’s intimate knowledge of the texts and their careful mode of articulation. The residency style of the program was conducive to many conversations with the professors outside the lecture setting, i.e., during meals, on hikes, and during social time in the evenings. We also had several opportunities to meet with professors for office hours, present to them our own works in progress, and take an oral exam at the end of the program to solidify what we had learned.

My time at the residency was most fruitful academically, socially, and spiritually. Before attending, I had some undergraduate-level knowledge of the thought of John Paul II, and I had never read any von Hildebrand. Now, I feel confident articulating key similarities and differences in their work, what each contributed to the field of personalist philosophy, and how each is related to both his immediate philosophical context and the broader history of philosophy. I also feel prepared for, and am greatly looking forward to, teaching my own undergraduate course on John Paul II this coming fall. In addition to all the knowledge gained, I also made several connections and formed many dear friendships with the professors and participants of the program. I was particularly grateful for conversations with Professors Maria Wolter, Maria Fedoryka, and John Crosby. They really sharpened my knowledge of not only von Hildebrand and John Paul II, but also of Max Scheler and Edith Stein. I am so grateful for all their help and interest in my work—I know I will find my conversations with them most valuable as I begin to write my dissertation.

I am also grateful to many new friends, a few of whom I suspect will be life-long, for their willingness to discuss and to share the knowledge and wisdom they brought from their various academic backgrounds. Finally, the two weeks in Gaming were such a spiritual gift. We lived in an old Carthusian monastery, had a minimum of one Holy Hour per day, communal reading of the Divine Office, daily Mass, and said many rosaries and chaplets together on long drives and during hikes in the Alps. I loved how prayer, physical exercise, and natural beauty were all incorporated into each day to complement our academic work. I really came to understand the true sense of leisure during the time at the residency, and I am so grateful both for all that I learned and for the time of retreat.

I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to the Maritain Center for their generosity in funding this experience. It was truly the best of my academic career so far, and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of it!

Want to become a Maritain Fellow?

Learn more and apply

For Antônio Jose Lemos, being a college professor was always part of the plan. Since he was young, he was passionate about marking out his path towards that goal. He wanted to study theology, but he wanted to do it in the very best places to study theology, particularly as a Catholic. After pursuing law studies in his home country, Brazil, he enrolled in the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome, Italy, and graduated with bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and theology, and then went on to earn his master’s in theology. From there, he started looking into Ph.D. programs. Notre Dame was at the top of his list.

Antônio had his eye on Notre Dame for a few reasons. For starters, it had the exact kind of theology program he was interested in. “One of the things I do in my research is the historical method. So I go back in history and see how theologians dealt with a specific ethical problem and try to apply their ideas toward present issues,” he shares. “Notre Dame happens to be one place that has a very solid historical theology program.” Another point in Notre Dame’s favor is that it’s theology program is consistently ranked the top theology, divinity, and religious studies program globally. Finally, the majority of the theologians doing the most important work in his field were professors at Notre Dame (not to mention, many of the professors at the other university he considered had studied at Notre Dame themselves).

The day he got accepted was one of the happiest days of his life. “I couldn’t sleep—I spent the whole night awake just out of excitement.”

Continuing his research at a Catholic university was especially beneficial, as his research touches on Catholic Social Teaching and Catholic theologians. “My field of theology is moral theology. I deal with ethical problems, social problems.” Specifically, his research examines migration ethics in Catholic social teaching, with a particular focus on the contemporary articulation of the theological and moral principles that serve as the bedrock of migrants’ rights. It asks the question, what does the Catholic Church teach about my migrants’ rights and the migration crisis?

In Notre Dame, he found the ideal setting to pursue his research. “At Notre Dame, you start your Ph.D. program in a community of scholars and researchers. During the first two years, you take coursework in different fields, which opens up your horizons. You have peers working side by side with you with whom you’re sharing your research.” For Antônio, another important part of his education was not just advancing and refining his research, but learning how to teach it. “I want to be a good professor, not just a researcher.” This was another area where Notre Dame excelled—his education included training for how to teach. By providing workshops and actual teaching experiences, students are exposed to teaching early on, as opposed to being thrown into it after they get their Ph.D.

The only problem with Notre Dame? “There are more resources than ideas you can come up with to use them,” says Antônio, jokingly. “I've been to conferences all over the world, and had opportunities to present my paper to scholars...the resources for research are incredible.” He also took opportunities to get involved through fellowships, becoming a fellow at several organizations, including the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture, the Jacques Maritain Center, the Nanovic Institute for European Studies, and the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good. “I was blessed to be part of very different institutes as a fellow,” Antônio says, “These were also opportunities of community.”

Last summer, he finished his Ph.D. program and defended his dissertation titled, “The right to travel and dwell in Francisco de Vitoria and Domingo de Soto: a historical retrieval of the right to migrate in Catholic social teaching.” In the fall, he started as a postdoc at Notre Dame. Now, he spends his days both continuing his research and instructing as a teaching scholar in the Department of Theology. “I love teaching. I love engaging with students, and I love sharing my faith through theology…Since I was 18 years old in college in Brazil, I already had the mind to be a college teacher someday. So it's a dream fulfilled in a way.”

Noting the growing number of Brazilian students at Notre Dame, the largest population of international students, Antônio shares that it’s particularly special for him to teach Brazilian students. “Knowing that Notre Dame is so engaged with Brazil excites me. Thaïs [Burmeister de Campos Pire] has all kinds of incredible things she’s sharing about Notre Dame in Brazil, and I really appreciate the work she’s doing,” he says, speaking of the Notre Dame São Paulo director.

An especially beautiful part of his journey at Notre Dame, Antônio says, is how many opportunities he’s found here to grow in his faith. As a Catholic, he’s found community on campus through prayer groups, adoration, and programs Campus Ministry puts on. After meeting his wife here, they went through a marriage prep course together that Campus Ministry organized.

Beyond his personal faith life, Notre Dame’s Catholic identity has also impacted his work. “I see the overlap between my faith and my research and my teaching, and I really appreciate this. I cannot take that for granted.” Between publishing papers, receiving fellowships, engaging in community activities, and finding his life partner (and starting his family), it’s clear that Antônio has not taken a single opportunity or experience for granted while at Notre Dame. His is a dream well pursued, and a journey still ongoing.

Originally published by Jessie Carson at saopaulo.nd.edu on May 19, 2026.

Read the report

How did a young agnostic wracked with doubt and contemplating suicide become one of the greatest Catholic philosophers of the twentieth century? Join me as I talk with Therese Cory and Christopher Enabnit of the University of Notre Dame’s Jacques Maritain Center about the life, impact, and continuing relevance of Jacques Maritain on The Evangelization & Culture Podcast.

Listen to the podcast now

Also this month, Director Cory offered commentary for a video documentary, Beyond the Machine: Josef Pieper and the Challenge of AI. A EWTN feature, the documentary examines the understanding of leisure and work in the 20th century Catholic Philosopher. Director Cory features with a host of other leading intellectuals to elucidate Pieper's thought and connect it to contemporary questions related to AI, over-work, and humanity.

Watch now

This May neighbors on Geddes 4 - the Jacques Maritain Center and the McGrath Institute for Church Life - participated in a variety of events devoted to the study of the ancient Church. Early in the month, the Maritain Center Communications Coordinator and research affiliate along with Dr. Grant Gasse of the McGrath Institute presented papers on the most ancient Doctor of the Church, Irenaeus of Lyons. The presentations were part of a larger celebration (taking place in Lyons and simulcast via the internet) of the 500th anniversary of the first modern edition of Irenaeus' magnum opus, Against Heresies, by Erasmus of Rotterdam in 1526. Discussion focused on the legacy of Irenaeus, including in Medieval figures like Thomas Aquinas and others.

Just last week, the Center's work on early Christianity continued at the North American Patristics Society Annual Meeting in Chicago and the meeting of the Canadian Society of Patristic Studies/Association Canadienne des Études Patristiques meeting in Toronto. In Chicago, the Maritain Center and McGrath teamed up to organize a multi-session workshop on Irenaeus' use of Scripture and earlier Christian tradition. Papers included Dr. Gasse's study of the role of Mary and the virgin birth in Irenaeus' conception of inheritance. During the conference, Prof. John Cavadini, Director of the McGrath Institute, also presented a paper studying the relationship between reason and revelation in early Christian understandings of prophecy.

In Canada, the Center shifted to considering the relationship between philosophy and the makeup of early Christian communities. In early Christian writers, the belief that all persons, no matter their ethnic background, are made by the same God and endowed with the same capacities to believe, cultivate virtue, and live a life modelled after the life of Christ means that Christian communities are open to persons of all ethnicities. This type of logic can be found not only in the earliest Christian sources, but also in explicit calls for justice in the face of egregious abuses, such as Pope Paul III's 1537 Sublimis Deus, which condemns the enslavement of native peoples. The Center will continue to sponsor research into early Christianity at its upcoming workshop between researchers at Notre Dame, Lumen Christi, and University of Chicago. Details to follow later this month!

Program Manager

We are seeking a new full-time Program Manager. The successful applicant will be responsible for managing programs such as the Maritain Fellows and other activities, including lots of opportunities to interact with students, build relationships with ND faculty across a variety of disciplines, and meet scholars from around the world. The Program Manager will be involved with planning and operating lectures, classes, reading groups, the research luncheons, visiting researcher programs, and more at the Maritain Center and History of Philosophy Forum. If you are interested in a job that is intellectually enriching and offers the opportunity to develop and hone a wide range of skills - academic, interpersonal, and administrative.

Read the job posting for Program Manager and apply

Assistant Director

The Jacques Maritain Center seeks a strategic, mission-driven, and intellectually engaged Assistant Director to help advance the Center’s vision as Notre Dame’s leading center for Catholic philosophy. This newly created leadership role will help guide the Center’s continued growth through innovative programming, strategic initiatives, donor and academic partnerships, and institutional collaboration.

Working closely with the Center Director, Program Manager, and student fellows, the Assistant Director will contribute to the Center’s expanding national and international presence through scholarly programming, development support, strategic planning, and community-building initiatives rooted in the Catholic intellectual tradition and inspired by Jacques Maritain’s vision of “integral Christian humanism.”

The ideal candidate will bring experience in academic or mission-driven environments, exceptional organizational and communication skills, and strong familiarity with Catholic philosophy, theology, and the history of philosophy, and enthusiasm for the distinctive mission of the Maritain Center.

Some evening and weekend hours may be required to support Center programming and events. Depending on program needs, the position may also offer some flexibility to accommodate limited research activities aligned with the Center’s mission.

This is a three-year, limited-term position. Contingent on funding, the position may be extended.

Read the full job posting for Assistant Director and apply

Miss the lecture? Not to worry - it's on the Maritain Center Videos page.

Watch the lecture now

During his lecture, Prof. Hösle considered at length the ends of philosophy and its various sub-disciplines. Having begun his career in Germany, where he was educated and reached the rank of Full Professor at the University of Essen, Prof. Hösle considered at length the differences between the US and European University systems. In particular, Prof. Hösle extolled the merits of the lecture system, where an expert in a given field delivers a course of lectures designed to introduce a wide range of persons—whether undergraduates or faculty at the institution—to the topic in question. This aspect of the German universities Prof. Hösle highlighted as particularly useful for cultivating a culture where knowledge, rather than credits and credentials, is the end of education, and where communities of learners of all ranks and disciplines develop collaborations and friendships.

Prof. Hösle’s lecture marked not only the end of the 2025/2026 Maritain Fellows lecture series, but also the final lecture organized by Arjun Wasan, the first President of the Maritain Fellows’ undergraduate chapter, who is graduating this month. A student of Prof. Hösle’s—who is also in his final weeks at Notre Dame—Arjun organized the event in part to celebrate Prof. Hösle’s 25+ years at the University. Adding a personal touch, Prof. Hösle’s thoughts on philosophical education at this turning point in his career included not only reflections on his time teaching and researching at Notre Dame, but also his memories of arriving at Notre Dame during the harsh northern Indiana winter!

A testament to Prof. Hösle’s impact, more than 80 students and faculty attended his final lecture as a Notre Dame Professor and celebrated his time here during the reception and dinner. The Maritain Center is grateful to Prof. Hösle’s service to the University and participation in the Center’s programming, including in the History of Philosophy Forum. Reflecting on the event and Prof. Hösle's time at Notre Dame, Maritain Center Director Therese Cory remarked, "Vittorio has been an inspiring presence at Notre Dame for a quarter of a century, and we are grateful for the wisdom that he shared with our Maritain Center and History of Philosophy Forum communities. I will very much miss his erudite, incisive, and often humorous comments during discussions after talks, and his unparalleled ability to offer a comprehensive perspective on the history of philosophy, as beautifully illustrated by his farewell talk."

Alexa and Arjun are the inaugural presidents of the Graduate and Undergraduate chapters of the Maritain Students Fellows. Both serving since the program's inception in 2024, Arjun and Alexa have created a community of fellows devoted to exploring the Catholic intellectual tradition and its power to speak to our intellectual and practical problems today. Their creativity has been integral to the program's success. As Director Cory writes,

Our Fellows program owes its existence to Arjun and Alexa, who originally approached the Maritain Center with their vision for empowering students to organize activities that promote a deeper exploration of philosophical questions on campus in light of the Catholic intellectual tradition. We are incredibly proud of what this student-led initiative has become in just two short years. Under Arjun's and Alexa's leadership, the Maritain Fellows has grown to 70+ students, organized numerous lectures and reading groups, and inspired the popular "Cercle d'Etudes" seminar. As Arjun and Alexa pass the baton to Mark and Nick, we know they will shine in all their future endeavors, and are deeply grateful for the lasting impact they have made on intellectual life on campus.

Alexa is excited to see the Fellows' connection with the broader ND community grow in the coming years. The opportunity to travel to Chicago and meet with Maestro Honeck while seeing a performance at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was one of her favorite memories of the program and she looks forward to seeing the Fellows continue to explore where their interests and connections take them, even off-campus.

After graduating from Notre Dame Law School, Alexa and her husband Nathan will move to the D.C. area and prepare for the birth of their first child! Alexa plans to stay at home and care for the newest member of their family before taking the bar exam in February 2027 and entering practice. Arjun plans to pursue graduate education in international relations and will continue to be working on building the Carlsbad Institute for Social Thought.

Congratulations, Alexa and Arjun, on your graduation. And thank you for your service to the Maritain Center!

Want to read more about Alexa and Arjun's experience in the Fellows Program?

Visit our student testimonials page

To close out this academic year's programming, the Maritain Center hosted a workshop titled, "The Ordo Amoris Revisited: Theological, Ethical, and Political Perspectives." Co-organized by Dr. Martin Hähnel and the Department of Philosophy at the University of Bremen, the workshop featured speakers from four different universities and six disciplines (Philosophy, Political Science, Ethics, Liberal Studies, Theology, History of Philosophy). These speakers, specialists on a wide range of traditions, examined classical and contemporary accounts of ordo amoris and its significance for today’s ethical and political challenges. The Center is grateful to the speakers and 50+ scholars who took time away from their end-of-year duties to join the discussion.

Explaining the importance of considering the Ordo amoris, the organizers wrote, "Obviously, the concept of ordo amoris—the 'order of love'—has deep roots in Western thought, from Augustine and Aquinas to Scheler and Spaemann. It concerns how love should be hierarchically ordered, granting higher priority to special relationships and objects. Yet it also raises a number of important questions."

Enumerating these challenges, they continued, "For one thing, it is unclear what the ordo amoris is. Does it describe a context-sensitive moral

rule, a hierarchy of values, the unity of virtues, or a form of moral triage. Is it objective or subjective, normative or descriptive? Does its hierarchy of love imply a certain hierarchy of duties? For another thing, a fundamental concept in Western thought, seminally illustrated by the Good Samaritan parable, is the Christian imperative to extend beneficence to all, regardless of the agent's personal ties. How has the Western tradition historically reconciled these two strains of thought, one recommending partiality and the other recommending impartiality? For instance, Thomas Aquinas argues that while love should be universal, it is necessarily expressed unequally in practice. Yet he also asserts that our preferences for those to whom we have stronger ties must be set aside in cases of a stranger's more urgent need. How should we understand the relationship between these two claims? How should we think about reconciling these two strands of thought today?"

The workshop considered not only these questions, but also a range of issues pertaining to applying the Ordo amoris in difficult contexts.

For a full abstract and list of speakers, visit the event page.

This past March, the Maritain Center hosted Bishop Robert Barron, of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester (Minnesota). Bishop Barron is the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, as the Third Annual Maritain Lectuerer. Bishop Barron delieverd an insightful and erudite lecture expounding themes in the Old Testament's theology of God. In the spirit of Maritain, Bishop Barron interpreted key passages from Genesis, Job, and the Prophets alongside some of the great thinkers from throughout history, including early Christians such as Augustine, and Thomas Aquinas, before a crowd of 600+ attendees.

Since we initially posted the story of Bishop Barron's lecture, we have received a few exciting details as to the lecture's reception. First, we are happy to share the perspectives of some of the audiences on campus who enjoyed the lecture and wrote about it publically. The Irish Rover posted a story on the lecture by Kolbe Barta, "Bishop Barron Gives Annual Maritain Lecture: Lecture on Old Testament draws hundreds." Another campus newspaper, The Observer, also ran a story by Mara Hall, "Bishop Barron returns to Notre Dame to discuss Old Testament theology." We are happy to see that the program reached a broad audience here on campus. (You can read our write up on the event here).

Second, the Center is pleased to announce that we have a recording of the lecture, along with many other videos from our archives and on-campus programming, available on the Maritain Center Videos page. Since it was posted less than a month ago, Bishop Barron's lecture has accrued over 20,000 views. Our thanks to Notre Dame Studios for their help in making the lecture available online.

Third, and finally, we would like to thank Word on Fire Catholic Ministries for making photos of the event taken by their team available. We hope you'll enjoy them!

Part of the way that the Maritain Center achieves its mission to apply faith and reason to perennial questions is by sponsoring the research activities of our Student Fellows. This March, we were pleased to provide a small grant to sponsor student Fellow Michal Caplan (J.D. Candidate, 2026) at the Federalist Society Student Symposium in Phoenix, AZ. Below is a reflection from Mr. Caplan on his experience.

Maritain Fellow Reflection on Federalist Society National Student Symposium

By Michael Caplan

Attending the National Student Symposium at the ASU O’Connor College of Law in Phoenix, Arizona was an enthralling and rewarding experience. There, hundreds of law students, academics, practitioners, state and federal judges gathered to discuss the importance of free markets, federalism, and the theme of “Liberty Rising.”

I attended the conference alongside four other Notre Dame Law students and was able to reconnect with students from other law schools whom I know through the Blackstone Legal Fellowship. At the symposium, we heard from speaker panels on topics ranging from state deregulation on economic freedom to the concept of subsidiarity applied to states and localities. The Attorney General of Florida, James Uthmeier, spoke on how his state has led the effort to expand school choice vouchers for parents and to protect children and human trafficking victims from exploitation.

After the presentation, I spoke with Attorney General Uthmeier and garnered his practical insight on pursuing a career in law and public policy after some time in private practice. The panel on when free speech and free markets intersect generated division among the panelists when it came to considering the actions taken by federal agencies and certain states to regulate Big Tech companies and private media censorship. In a room full of originalists and generally right of center conference participants, that panel produced a genuine split because of the cross current jurisprudential and political positions at issue around private media censorship of conservative voices. Professor Ilan Wurman gave an engaging presentation on how the system of jurisprudential formalism directs us to reconsider the judicial role, especially in relation to the Founders’ vision of our constitutional republic.

The final panel of the conference, featuring renowned natural law champion Professor Hadley Arkes, was on “Mandates, Medicine, and Liberty: The Legal Battle Over Bodily Autonomy and the Right to Choose.” That panel concerned the efforts of some states to prohibit life-altering sex alteration surgeries for minors, the alleged right to physician assisted suicide, and abortion policies in the states post-Dobbs. It was remarkable to consider that amid the legal issues discussed in the panel the only panelist to raise the serious moral issues at stake was Professor Arkes. Beyond the question of how federal and state law may address the liberty issues at stake, I hoped to see the entire panel comment on the obvious affronts to human dignity implicated in each issue yet only Arkes did.

The entire symposium proved invigorating, and I was excited to listen into fascinating conversations with fellow law students at the receptions and hear from academics, practitioners, and judges. The symposium proved efficacious for growing my network, as I reconnected with a law firm partner (who spoke at a lunch panel on how to stay involved with FedSoc while in private practice) and met the Florida Attorney General among other academics and judges. I am sincerely grateful to the Maritain Center for sponsoring my attendance at the symposium with a grant. Thank you for this special opportunity and I look forward to implementing some of the knowledge from this conference in my future legal career.