Lumen Christi Institute
Making the Catholic intellectual tradition a vital part of the secular university
Featured Events & News
Schola Antiqua – The Lion and the Lute: Music at the Court of Leo X (North Shore) | May 21, 2026
Leo X presided over one of the most resplendent courts of worship and art in the Renaissance, and his reputation as a champion of sacred music reached far beyond Rome. This program brings together magnificent choral music heard in the pope’s presence and music offered to him from afar, evoking the sacred beauty that animated his brief but consequential papacy. The event will take place at Loyola Academy Chapel.
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The Vocation of the Patristic Theologian | May 23, 2026
This forum invites graduate students and scholars to reflect on the vocation of the patristic theologian and its relationship to contemporary theological studies, the academy, and church today. A panel of senior faculty and early career scholars will speak on this topic in order to provide perspectives from those at every stage of their scholarly career.
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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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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