Fr. Thomas Aquinas Pickett and Sr. Anna Wray ask the question "How did study sanctify St. Thomas Aquinas?" St. Thomas serves as an exemplar of how study becomes holy when it is ordered by charity, tempered by right desire, and lived as a way of being with God.

This lecture was given on June 27th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies.

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About the Speaker:

Fr Thomas Aquinas Pickett is a son of Ellensburg, Washington and a member of the Western Dominican Province. Apart from running, board games, and coffee, he enjoys studying his namesake, St Thomas Aquinas. Having received his BA in Philosophy at Gonzaga University (where he was NOT a member of the basketball team), his MDiv and MA in theology from the DSPT, his STB from l’Institut Catholique de Toulouse, and his STL and STD from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception, he is now a professor of theology at the DSPT, assigned to St Albert the Great Priory.

Sister Anna Wray is a native of Connecticut and a member of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia of Nashville, TN.  Sister received her PhD in philosophy from The Catholic University of America, having written her dissertation on Aristotle’s account of the activity of contemplation.  Sister is an assistant professor on the faculty of CUA's School of Philosophy in Washington, DC, where she regularly teaches courses in rhetoric, philosophy of religion, and philosophical psychology.  She is also an adjunct professor for Aquinas College, where she teaches metaphysics and epistemology to her sisters in formation.  Her research and conversational interests include imagination and attention in human agency and speech, the effects of technology on human agency, and form as function and unifying activity.

Keywords: Charity, Contemplative Life, Dominican Life, Holy Study, Studiousness, Summa Theologiae, Temperance, Theology, Thomas Aquinas

This lecture was given on April 23rd, 2026, at University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

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About the Speaker:

Bruce D. Marshall is Lehman Professor of Christian Doctrine at Southern Methodist University, and in 2023 he held the Aquinas Chair in the Thomistic Institute at the Angelicum in Rome.  He is the author of Trinity and Truth and Christology in Conflict, and at present he is completing a book entitled The Primacy of Christ: Faith, Reason, and the Cross.  Marshall has written extensively on the doctrines of the Trinity, the person and redemptive work of Christ, the Eucharist, the Catholic Church and non-Christian religions, and the relationship between faith and reason.  He received his B.A. from Northwestern University and his Ph.D. from Yale University, and is a past President of the Academy of Catholic Theology.

Prof. Marshall Bierson asks what it really means to be philosophical, and he takes listeners through the subtle ways our love of truth gets derailed—by winning, by approval, by self-justification, and even by mistaking the feeling of insight for insight itself.

This lecture was given on June 27th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events

About the Speaker:

Marshall Bierson is an assistant professor of philosophy at the Catholic University of America. His research centers on the intersection of ethics and philosophical anthropology. He is particularly focused on the work of Elizabeth Anscombe and in exploring how her Thomisticly inflected philosophical psychology clarifies moral absolutes.

Keywords: Aquinas, C. S. Lewis, C. S. Peirce, Debate, Gorgias, Philosophy, Plato, Rationalization, Socrates, Truth

Prof. Joshua Benson asks why we should be theological, and he answers with a vivid case for studying the faith: to think more deeply, speak more clearly to others, and let theology shape both mind and life.

This lecture was given on June 27th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events

About the Speaker:

Joshua Benson specializes in Medieval Theology. He has taught at The Catholic University of America since 2008 and served as Chair of the Department of Theology and Franciscan Studies at St. Bonaventure University from 2018-2020.

Keywords: Augustine, Bonaventure, Children, Contemplation, Faith Seeking Understanding, Lectio, Memory, Peter Lombard, Theology, Thomas Aquinas

Fr. Cajetan Cuddy shows why Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae still matters today, presenting it as a clear, enduring roadmap for understanding Catholic truth, teaching beginners, and thinking more carefully about God, the world, and the human person.

This lecture was given on April 13th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies.

Apply for the Thomistic Institute Study Abroad program by August 1, 2026. To learn more, visit https://thomisticinstitute.org/study-abroad.

About the Speaker:

Fr. Cajetan Cuddy, O.P. teaches dogmatic and moral theology at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. He is General Editor of the ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CATHOLIC THEOLOGY (ect.org). Fr. Cuddy is the author of the book Catholic Theology: An Introduction (ECT Press, 2025). He has written for numerous publications on the philosophy and theology of St. Thomas Aquinas and the Thomist Tradition.

Keywords: beginners, causality, Catholic truth, doctrine, divine truth, pedagogy, sacred teaching, Summa Theologiae, Thomas Aquinas, theology

Mahon McCann argues that the real AI apocalypse already happened when social media and platform algorithms took over human judgment, reshaping what we see, think, and do through an attention economy that quietly downgrades our humanity.

This lecture was given on April 11th, 2026, at University of Maynooth.

Apply for the Thomistic Institute Study Abroad program by August 1, 2026. To learn more, visit https://thomisticinstitute.org/study-abroad.

About the Speaker:

Mahon McCann is an Irish philosophy lecturer and PhD researcher based in Dublin. He holds a BA in Philosophy & Economics from University College Dublin and an MA in English from Queen’s University Belfast. In 2022, he was awarded the DCU School of Theology, Philosophy, and Music Scholarship for his research on the attention economy, particularly how social media companies' commodification of user attention shapes their moral character. His academic research is at the intersection of modern cognitive science, ancient virtue ethics and transformative technologies. Outside of academia, he is involved in public philosophy communication and hosts a popular podcast, which has ranked in the top ten for self-improvement and education in Ireland, on the meaning crisis in the West.

Keywords: AI apocalypse, attention economy, social media, algorithms, human judgment, cognitive decline, human agency, digital ethics, platform power, technological formation

Fr. Ezra Sullivan examines artificial intelligence through a theological lens, showing why AI may imitate personhood and judgment, but cannot replace the human capacity for truth, freedom, and communion with God.

This lecture was given on April 11th, 2026, at University of Maynooth.

Apply for the Thomistic Institute Study Abroad program by August 1, 2026. To learn more, visit https://thomisticinstitute.org/study-abroad.

About the Speaker:

Fr. Ezra Sullivan, is a Dominican friar of the Province of St Joseph (USA), with a Doctorate in Sacred Theology and a License in Canon Law. He is currently the Director of the Institute of Spirituality at the University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome (Angelicum), where he has taught as professor of Moral Theology and Psychology for eight years. He is occasionally seen on Catholic television, or heard on Catholic radio, and he has preached parish missions and priestly retreats in over twenty countries around the world. Scholarly articles cover bioethics, artificial intelligence, moral theology, and ecclesiastical history. He is the author of various books, such as Habits and Holiness: Ethics, Theology, and Biopsychology (CUA Press 2020), and Alter Christus: Priestly Holiness in Time and Eternity (Sophia Institute Press, 2022). His next book is Yoga: A Theological Investigation (Catholic University of America Press, 2026).

Keywords: Agency, Artificial Intelligence, Flatterer, Golem, Human Intelligence, Imago Dei, Technology, Theological Anthropology, Truth, Utility

Dr. Robert McNamara examines what remains distinctively human in the age of AI, arguing that while artificial intelligence can process and predict with remarkable speed, it cannot replace human understanding, freedom, or wisdom.

This lecture was given on April 11th, 2026, at University of Maynooth.

Apply for the Thomistic Institute Study Abroad program by August 1, 2026. To learn more, visit https://thomisticinstitute.org/study-abroad.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Robert McNamara is lecturer in philosophy and department head at St. Patrick’s Pontifical University, Ireland, adjunct professor of philosophy at Franciscan University of Steubenville, USA, while also tutoring periodically at the ITI Catholic University, Austria, and the Maryvale Institute, England. Robert is an associate series editor of Edith Stein Studies, an associate scholar of the Hildebrand Project, a research fellow at the Institute for the Study of Man and Woman, and a founding member of the Aquinas Institute of Ireland (currently suspended). Having studied physics, computing, philosophy, and theology, Robert brings a multidisciplinary approach to his work while exploring anthropological and metaphysical themes in ancient, medieval, and phenomenological thinkers, with a defined focus on philosophical personalism in the Christian tradition. He currently resides in Carlow, Ireland, with his wife, Caroline, and their five children.

Keywords: AI, Deep Learning, Edith Stein, Human Intelligence, Knowledge, Natural Language, Thomas Aquinas, Truth, Wisdom

Fr. Andrew Hofer, O.P. argues that the Holy Spirit is the real power behind evangelization, showing how Mary, the apostles, and every Christian become instruments of God’s mission through grace, witness, and prayer.

This lecture was given on December 13th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies.

Apply for the Thomistic Institute Study Abroad program by August 1, 2026. To learn more, visit https://thomisticinstitute.org/study-abroad.

About the Speaker:

Fr. Andrew Hofer, O.P., (Ph.D. Notre Dame) is professor of patristics and ancient languages at the Pontifical Faculty of the Dominican House of Studies where he serves as the director of the doctoral program. He authored Christ in the Life and Teaching of Gregory of Nazianzus (Oxford University Press, 2013) and The Power of Patristic Preaching: The Word in Our Flesh (Catholic University of America, 2023). He co-authored A Living Sacrifice: Guidance for Men Discerning Religious Life (Vianney Vocations, 2019). Editor-in-chief of the academic journal The Thomist, Hofer is editor or co-editor of several volumes including The Oxford Handbook of Deification, The Cambridge Companion to Augustine's Sermons, and Thomas Aquinas and the Greek Fathers. He enjoys speaking with students about their theological and spiritual questions.

Keywords: Apostles, Charity, Confirmation, Evangelization, Holy Spirit, Intercession, Mary, Pentecost, Preaching, Sacraments

Fr. Irenaeus Dunlevy shows how evangelization works by grace from the inside out, arguing that its deepest “form” is the contemplative, witness-filled communication of Christ that moves others to faith.

This lecture was given on December 13th, 2025, at Dominican House of Studies.

Apply for the Thomistic Institute Study Abroad program by August 1, 2026. To learn more, visit https://thomisticinstitute.org/study-abroad.

About the Speaker:

Fr. Irenaeus Dunlevy, OP is a Coordinator for Campus Outreach at the Thomistic Institute in Washington, DC. He has served as a parochial vicar at St. Pius V Church in Providence, RI, as well as an adjunct professor and assistant chaplain at Providence College. He originates from Columbus, OH, studied architecture in Virginia and Switzerland, and practiced in the DC area before entering the Order of Preachers in 2013. He was ordained a priest in 2020 at the Dominican House of Studies during the quarantine. In his work with the Thomistic Institute, he has given talks on the virtue of penance, loving God with the mind, and the intersection of theology and architecture. He often travels the country visiting Thomistic Institute Campus Chapters, leading seminars that help students grasp Thomistic concepts. Additionally, he coordinates the TI's intellectual retreat programming, which affords students time to pray and integrate into their lives Thomistic theology and philosophy.

Keywords: Aquinas, Blessed Virgin Mary, Christ, Contemplation, Evangelization, Formal Cause, Grace Of The Word, Holy Spirit, Sacred Doctrine, Witness

Prof. Paige Hochschild introduces natural law by exploring what nature is, how we know it, and why the classical tradition treats the world as an intelligible order to which human beings are truly fitted.

This lecture was given on April 6th, 2026, at University of California, San Diego.

Apply for the Thomistic Institute Study Abroad program by August 1, 2026. To learn more, visit https://thomisticinstitute.org/study-abroad.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Paige Hochschild is a professor of historical and systematic theology at Mount St. Mary's University (MD), specializing in Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and the early Church.  She also teaches philosophy courses at the Seminary at Mount St. Mary's.  She has written a book on the place of memory in Augustine's theological anthropology, and publishes on the Church, education, tradition, and 20th Century theological debates within the Church (scripture, history, marriage).

Keywords: Aristotle, Classical Metaphysics, Essence, Fittingness, Natural Law, Nature, Philosophy Of Nature, Scientific Laws, Thomistic Tradition