Lumen Christi Institute
Making the Catholic intellectual tradition a vital part of the secular university
Featured Events & News
Spring Social | May 29, 2026
Join us to celebrate the end of the school year and the beginning of summer with barbeque, fellowship, and s'mores! The first thirty students to arrive will also receive Lumen Christi branded t-shirts.
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Summer Seminar – The Mystery of Christ from Chalcedon to Maximus | June 14-20, 2026
Taking place at the University of Chicago, this seminar will offer a contextual study of doctrine of the person of Jesus, beginning with the council of Chalcedon and culminating in Maximus the Confessor. Students will be exposed to a wide range of texts and equipped to teach them effectively in the classroom.
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Summer Seminar – Glimpses of Wonder: Epiphanies of Beauty in the Midst of Technological Change | June 14-20, 2026
In this seminar taking place at Duke University, students will compare ancient visions of the wonder and beauty of creation, above all in the Augustinian and Franciscan intellectual tradition, with the challenges of technological revolutions, medieval and modern.
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Newman Forum Summer Institute – There and Back Again: The Adventures of Heroes, Saints, and Pilgrims | Aug. 5-9, 2026
St. Augustine once wrote that we should “so seek as if we should find, and so find as if we were going to go on seeking.” Join us for a week of exploring the Western and Catholic intellectual tradition as we examine together the rich theme of the journey. High school students (including rising freshmen and recently graduated seniors) are welcome to apply. Applications are due June 29, and those received by May 31 qualify for the Early Bird Discounted Attendance Fee.
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Apply to Ricketts House, our Catholic Student Residence
The Lumen Christi Institute offers a residential community for current and incoming male University of Chicago students, with capacity for nine total residents. As an intentional Catholic residence, the residents partake in weekly community meals, community prayer, and opportunities for intellectual and spiritual formation.
Learn More & ApplyLumen Christi has been one of the great spiritual achievements of the last 25 years. And to see Lumen Christi flourishing so well and expanding around the country is a sign of tremendous hope for the Church.
The longest intellectual tradition of any institution in the contemporary world.
Celebrated University of Chicago President Robert Maynard Hutchins once remarked that the Catholic Church has “the longest intellectual tradition of any institution in the contemporary world.” The mission of the Lumen Christi Institute is to make the Catholic intellectual tradition a vital part of the secular university and the broader culture. The Lumen Christi Institute’s programs enrich academic communities at the University of Chicago and beyond with the insights of Catholic thought, in order to engage our secular culture in dialogue and ultimately to renew our civilization by forming leaders for a global society in need of Christian wisdom.
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Making the Catholic intellectual tradition a vital part of the secular university